RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2003-02398
            INDEX CODE 108.02  108.04
            COUNSEL:  DAV

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her 2003 medical discharge with 10% disability pay  be  changed  to  a
medical retirement.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She was incorrectly rated  at  10%  and  should  have  been  medically
retired for migraines. The frequency and  severity  of  the  headaches
dictated a  much  higher  rating.  Had  her  condition  been  properly
evaluated, she would have been medically retired.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 16 Jun 99  and  was
assigned to the 22nd Logistics Readiness Squadron at McConnell AFB, KS
as a customer service  support  element  journeyman.  Her  performance
reports reflect the highest overall rating of “5.” She was promoted to
the grade of senior airman on 16 Jun 02.

The  applicant’s  medical  records  indicate  she  began  experiencing
headaches during pregnancy but  they  markedly  increased  two  months
following her delivery in Nov 01. Her menses did not resume  following
delivery, indicating  hormonal  disturbances.  She  was  treated  with
injected pain medication on approximately 14 occasions and missed part
or whole days of work over a seven-month period between Feb 02 and Sep
02. Migraine headaches had been  diagnosed  following  a  neurological
evaluation in Apr 02. She was treated with a variety  of  medications.
In Aug 02, the neurologist initiated a new medication  treatment  that
correlated
with a significant  decline  in  the  frequency  of  severe  headaches
requiring urgent care. The applicant was treated  for  headaches  with
injected pain medication on 20 Dec 02 and 5 Feb  03.  These  occasions
were also noted to have occurred after  beginning  oral  contraceptive
therapy. A 4 Nov 02 medical entry indicated control of headaches  with
the new medication.

A Medical Evaluation Board  (MEB)  convened  on  17  Dec  02  and  the
Informal Physical Evaluation  Board  (IPEB)  considered  her  case  on
27 Jan 03. Her commander indicated she was unable to  deploy  and  she
missed one hour of  work  every  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday  for
medical appointments.  The IPEB concluded her headaches were unfitting
for continued military services,  rated  the  headaches  at  10%,  and
recommended discharge with severance pay. The applicant concurred with
the findings and recommendations on 29 Jan 03.

She was honorably discharged for disability with 10% severance pay  on
17 Mar 03 after three years,  nine  months  and  two  days  of  active
service.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The AFBCMR Medical Consultant  provides  details  of  the  applicant’s
military medical history. He advises migraine is an episodic  headache
that is more common in females, tends to run in families, and commonly
begins with  adolescence.  Hormonal  influences  are  evident  in  the
tendency in some women to  experience  worsening  with  birth  control
pills and following pregnancy. Headache and migraines  are  conditions
experienced commonly  by  many  people  and  do  not  typically  cause
occupational or economic inadaptability. When those  headaches  become
so severe (“prostrating”), frequent,  and  prolonged  as  to  prohibit
employment,  then  those  migraines  are  disabling.  There  are  many
individuals who experience severe, even prostrating, migraines yet are
fully employed and thus not economically disabled by their  headaches.
The role of hormonal factors  related  to  the  applicant’s  headaches
appears to be quite possible. Even during the most severe and frequent
headaches, she continued to perform at a high level in her job and was
limited primarily in deployability. The applicant clearly  experienced
a seven-month period of two attacks per month on average. However,  in
her final several months of active service,  the  frequency  decreased
markedly to approximately once every two to three  months,  consistent
with the 10% or less rating in the VASRD. The  applicant’s  rating  is
supported by the preponderance of the evidence and her request  should
be denied.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant and her counsel on 30 Jan 04 for review and  comment  within
30 days.  As of this date, this office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.    The applicant has exhausted all remedies  provided  by  existing
law or regulations.

2.    The application was timely filed.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice. After a thorough  review  of  the
evidence  of  record  and  the  applicant’s  submission,  we  are  not
persuaded her  medical  discharge  should  be  changed  to  a  medical
retirement. The applicant’s contentions are duly noted; however, we do
not  find  these  assertions,  in  and  by  themselves,   sufficiently
persuasive to override  the  evaluation  of  the  Medical  Consultant.
Despite her headaches, the applicant continued to perform  at  a  high
level and was limited primarily  in  her  ability  to  be  deployable.
Further, the frequency of her headaches diminished in the last several
months of her military service. We agree with the Medical Consultant’s
conclusion that the IPEB properly adjudicated the applicant’s case. In
fact, the applicant  herself  agreed  with  the  IPEB’s  findings  and
recommendations that her condition warranted  a  disability  discharge
with a 10% rating. In view of the above and absent persuasive evidence
to the contrary, the applicant has not sustained her burden of  having
suffered either an error  or  an  injustice.  Therefore,  we  find  no
compelling basis to recommend granting the relief sought.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the
application was denied without a personal  appearance;  and  that  the
application will only be reconsidered upon  the  submission  of  newly
discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 10 March 2004 under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                 Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Panel Chair
                 Ms. Ann-Cecile M. McDermott, Member
                 Ms. Kathleen F. Graham, Member

The following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2003-02398 was considered:

  Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 5 May 03 (received 21 Jul 03),
                   w/atchs.
  Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
  Exhibit C.  Letter, AFBCMR Medical Consultant, dated 30 Dec 03.
  Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 30 Jan 04.





                                   BRENDA L. ROMINE
                                   Panel Chair