RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-00698


      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED: NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His administrative separation for non-participation be changed to a  medical
retirement.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was discharged due to non-participation of drills.   He  has  a  line-of-
duty (LOD) injury that prohibited his participation.  The proper  procedures
were not followed, nor was he given proper medical treatment.  He  has  been
dealing with this injury and its complications since January 1995.   It  has
progressively gotten worse to the point where  he  can  no  longer  maintain
employment.  He has lost his civilian job and has been  separated  from  the
military with seventeen years of service.  This has been handled badly  from
the time he was injured and needs to  be  corrected.   If  he  is  medically
unfit to serve, due to an LOD injury, he should be  retired  medically  from
the time of injury.

In  support  of  his  appeal,  the  applicant  has  provided   documentation
extracted from his medical records, documentation associated  with  his  LOD
determination, documentation associated  with  his  Department  of  Veterans
Affairs  (DVA)  claim,  and  documentation  associated  with   his   Medical
Evaluation Board (MEB) findings.

His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Marines on 14 February 1984 and was  progressively
promoted to the grade of lance corporal (E-3).  He was honorably  discharged
after serving 4 years of military service.  He served  in  the  Arizona  Air
National Guard from 22 August 1989 through 13 March 1998.  He enlisted  into
the Air Force Reserves on 23 May 2000 for a period of 6 years.  On 15  March
2002, he  was  assigned  to  the  obligated  Reserve  section  due  to  non-
participation.

From 6 June 1986 until 31 July 1986,  the  applicant’s  records  reflect  he
experienced back problems during his early career while in the Marine  Corp.


In January 1995,  an  LOD  investigation  was  conducted  to  determine  the
details of  a  back  injury  that  occurred  while  he  was  deployed.   The
investigation concluded that he suffered a back injury while  deployed.   0n
31 August 1995, the commander determined the injury was In-LOD and  that  he
could perform limited duty.

An MEB reviewed his condition on 14 February  1996  and  recommended  he  be
returned to duty.  The physician indicated  that  there  were  no  objective
findings on physical evaluation or radiographic evaluation  to  explain  why
he could not perform his assigned tasks in the Air National Guard.

On 13 January 2000, an LOD investigation  was  conducted  to  determine  the
details of an incident that occurred while he was performing a  3-mile  walk
on 4 December 1999.

On 6 May 2000, the  investigation  concluded  that  he  has  performed  many
physical activities over the course of the previous  several  years  without
any restrictions or concerns for a back injury.  There  is  no  evidence  to
suggest he suffered any injury as a result of his  3-mile  walk.   If  there
was an injury, it did not happen when he was performing his normal  military
duties.  The injury found was not In LOD because the  injury  existed  prior
to service.  JA concurred with the determination.

On 23 May 2000, the applicant’s supervisor,  with  the  concurrence  of  the
deputy commander, did not recommend him for reenlistment.

On 24 October  2001,  applicant  was  notified  that  he  had  12  unexcused
absences  and  was  subjected  to  involuntary   reassignment,   involuntary
discharge,  or  recall  to  active  duty  (Palace  Chase)  unless  unexcused
absences are excused.

On 31 January 2003, the Veterans Affairs awarded the  applicant  a  combined
disability evaluation of 30 percent.

The applicant’s AF Form 526, ANG/USAFR Point Credit Summary, dated  1  April
2004, reflects he has 15 years  of  satisfactory  service  and  4  years  of
unsatisfactory service.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFRC/DPZ recommended denial.  According to AFRC/SG’s review,  the  applicant
was placed in a no military duty status  (4  profile)  on  13  January  2000
based on his claims of having a back injury.  He was required  to  bring  in
supporting medical documentation to his  Reserve  medical  unit  (944  MDS).
After repeated failures to  provide  944  MDS  with  the  requested  medical
information and keeping medical appointments, he was  returned  to  military
duty on 6 May 2000.  The effective dates of his "4" profile status  were  13
January 2000 through 6 May  2000.   Apparently,  the  member  satisfactorily
performed his military duty between the dates of 6 May 2000 and  July  2001,
when his  unsatisfactory  participation  started.   Review  of  the  medical
documentation provided does not show he reported back to the  944  MDS  with
further medical complaints regarding his back.  There  is  an  8  July  2000
entry in his military medical records, which indicates that he had  returned
to the 944 MDS, and completed a periodic non-fly physical  exam.   That  was
the last medical entry  found  in  his  records  before  the  start  of  his
unsatisfactory participation.

The DPZ evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states he has been dealing with an injury that first  occurred  in
June 1986.  Being young and  somewhat  trusting,  he  listened  to  military
doctors when they said that he only "had a strain, it’s  nothing."   He  was
honorably discharged and joined the Arizona National Guard.  He  dealt  with
recurring flare-ups of his injury in order to maintain good standing in  his
military career.  In January  1995,  he  was  involved  in  an  accident  in
Columbia, South American compounding the existing injury.  When he  returned
to Arizona, he reported his injury and an LOD determination was conducted.

Since January 1995, his  injury  has  continually  increased  in  pain.   He
missed numerous days of civilian employment due to it  and  was  fired  from
his civilian job due to excessive absences.  He  had  to  file  against  his
employer to prove that the absences  were  due  to  injury  and  beyond  his
control.

He has seen many civilian specialists that  have  diagnosed  and  documented
his injury.  He has argued with the Veterans Administration  for  two  years
to prove his injury to them.  He has  lost  a  job  making  eighty  thousand
dollars a year due to this injury.  He has filed bankruptcy due to his  loss
of income.  His quality of life has diminished to the point that  he  is  no
longer physically active and has lost forty pounds since 1995. He  has  been
informed that he  was  “Voluntarily  reassigned  to  the  obligated  Reserve
section.”  The only thing that he voluntarily  did  was  enlisted  in  1984,
1988, and 1998.  He guesses four consecutive enlistments  is  not  proof  of
his military commitment and intent.  He placed his belief  in  the  military
as an eighteen-year-old kid, and twenty years later has found  that  he  was
sadly mistaken.  His completion submission, with attachments, is at  Exhibit
E.

_________________________________________________________________

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  that  would  warrant  correction  of  his
records to reflect that he  was  medically  separated  from  the  Air  Force
Reserves.  After a thorough review of the evidence  of  record,  it  is  our
opinion  that  under  the  circumstances  of   this   case,   administrative
separation for non-participation was  proper  and  in  compliance  with  the
appropriate directives.  No evidence has been presented which would lead  us
to believe a  physical  disability  existed  that  would  have  warranted  a
finding of unfitness in accordance  with  the  governing  instruction  which
implements the law.  The  purpose  of  the  military  Disability  Evaluation
System (DES) is to maintain a fit and vital force by separating members  who
are unable to perform their duties because of a  physical  disability.   The
mere presence of a physical defect, however, does not qualify a  member  for
disability retirement or discharge.  The defect or  conditions  must  render
the member unfit for  duty.   Therefore,  we  agree  with  the  opinion  and
recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility  and  adopt
their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant  has  not
been the victim of an error or injustice.   In  the  absence  of  persuasive
evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to recommend  granting
the relief sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________

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 AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2004-
00698 in Executive Session on 13 Oct 04, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

      Ms. Martha J. Evans, Panel Chair
      Ms. Carolyn B. Willis, Member
      Mr. Jay H. Jordan, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 9 Mar 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFRC/DPZ, dated 14 Jun 04, w/atch.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Jul 04.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 30 Jul 04, w/atchs.




                                   MARTHA J. EVANS
                                   Panel Chair