AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

RECORD OF PRPOCEEDINGS 

 

 
DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-01031 
COUNSEL: NONE 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
   
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
1. His record be corrected to reflect that an injury he received 
while a member of the Air Force Reserve (AFR) be reflected as a 
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  
 
2. He be granted a disability retirement from the AFR. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
1. On 28 Mar 90, while loading technical orders he fell and hit 
his  head  against  a  metal  strip  on  the  loading  dock.    He 
continued working unaware he had ruptured a blood vessel in his 
head.   
 
2. On 11 and 29 Apr 90, he underwent two surgeries to repair the 
broken  blood  vessel  and  relieve  the  pressure  caused  by  the 
massive  subdural  hematoma.    Since  his  injury,  he  has  had 
psychological  and  emotional  problems,  which  have  made  it 
impossible for him to continue his military career.   
 
3. He had 18 years of service (active duty, Air National Guard 
(ANG) and AFR) at the time of his injury.   
 
4. On 18 Dec 94, he should have been medically retired from the 
AFR  rather  than  being  honorably  discharged.    He  was  discharged 
because  he  stopped  reporting  for  duty  due  to  the  problems 
resulting from his head injury.  
 
In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of his 
reserve  orders,  DD  Forms  214,  Certificate  of  Release  or 
Discharge  from  Active  Duty;  NGB  Form  22,  Report  of  Separation 
and Record of Service; DD Form 214-3, Report of Separation from 
Active  Duty,  medical  records,  eye  witness  statements  and  other 
documentation associated with his request.  
 
The  applicant's  complete  submission,  with  attachments,  is  at 
Exhibit A. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
Data extracted from the Military Personnel Data System (MilPDS) 
indicates  the  applicant  initially  entered  uniformed  service  on 
8 Sep  66  and  was  discharged  from  the  Air  Force  Reserve  on 
18 Dec 94. 
 The  applicant  served  in  support  of  Operations  DESERT 
SHIELD/STORM during the following periods: 5-6 Mar 91; 9-10 Mar 
91; 16-17 Mar 91; 23 Mar 91; 30-31 Mar 91; 13-14 Apr 91; 20-21 
Apr 91; 27-28 Apr 91; 11-12 May 91; 18-19 May 91; 25-27 May 91; 
8-9 Jun 91; 15-16 Jun 91; 22-23 Jun 91 and 29-30 Jun 91.    
 
The  remaining  relevant  facts  pertaining  to  this  application  are 
contained  in  the  letter  prepared  by  the  appropriate  offices  of 
the Air Force, which is attached at Exhibits B and C.  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFRC/SGP  recommends  denial.    In  accordance  with  (IAW)  AFI  36-
2910,  Line  of  Duty  (Misconduct)  Determination  a  line  of  duty 
(LOD)  should  have  been  completed  through  appropriate  military 
channels.    No  LOD  was  presented  in  the  applicant’s  request.    In 
addition,  the  medical  records  provided  are  silent  from  the  time 
of the operative treatment in 1990 until 2010.   
 
The  subdural  hematoma  would  not,  in  and  of  itself,  have  been 
necessarily disqualifying for continued military service IAW AFI 
48-123, Physical Exams and Standards.  As noted on the operative 
report,  the  applicant  was  discharged  from  the  hospital  in  good 
condition.    Absent  medical  records  showing  sequelae,  it  is 
impossible to medically state that a disability did in fact arise 
from the accident.   
 
The complete SGP evaluation is attached at Exhibit B.  
 
AFRC/A1K  states  that,  absent  a  medical  determination  from  an 
authoritative  medical  source  validating  the  medical  condition 
presented by the applicant warranted him being processed via the 
Disability  Evaluation  System  (DES),  AFRC  has  no  basis  for 
supporting the applicant’s request.    
 
A1K  states  the  applicant  has  not  provided  any  documentation  to 
support  that  a  military  line  of  duty  (LOD)  determination  was 
initiated  and  subsequently  approved  as  being  in  the  LOD  for  the 
injury in question.  

 The complete A1K evaluation is at Exhibit C.  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 

 

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APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF THE ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
The  applicant  disagrees  with  the  AFRC/A1K  and  SAF/MRBR 
recommended disapproval decisions.  He states the AFR failed to 
acknowledge he was honorably discharged from the active Reserve 
service without ever being given a medical/physical examination 
as  required  by  Department  of  Defense  and  Air  Force  Regulation 
and  Standards.    He  never  received  any  completed  LOD  or 
authorization documents for his Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and 
has  spent  many  years  trying  to  track  down  the  source  of  such 
documents. 
 
The  applicant’s  complete  response,  with  attachments,  is  at 
Exhibit E. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 
 
1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing 
law or regulations. 
 
2.  The  application  was  not  timely  filed;  however  it  is  in  the 
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.  
 
3. Insufficient  relevant  evidence  has  been  presented  to 
demonstrate the existence of error or injustice.  We took notice 
of  the  applicant’s  complete  submission  in  judging  the  merits  of 
the case; however, we agree with the opinions and recommendations 
of  the  Air  Force  offices  of  primary  responsibility  and  adopt 
their rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has 
not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or  injustice.    The  applicant 
contends  that  he  never  received  a  completed,  Line  of  Duty 
determination  or  authorized  documents  for  his  TBI  and  had  one 
been completed he would have been disability retired from the Air 
Force Reserves due to said diagnosis.  However, as pointed-out by 
AFRC/SGP subdural hematoma would not, in and of itself, have been 
necessarily  disqualifying  for  continued  military  service.    In 
addition, we see no evidence which would lead us to believe that 
at the time of his separation, a physical condition existed that 
was  determined  by  competent  medical  authority  to  be  a  physical 
disability  which  specifically  rendered  him  unfit  for  continued 
military service.  Therefore, we conclude that the applicant has 
failed to sustain his burden of proof that he has been the victim 
of  an  error  or  injustice.    In  view  of  the  above  and  in  the 
absence  of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  we  find  no  basis  to 
recommend granting the relief sought in this application. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 

 

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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-2012-01031  in  Executive  Session  on  15  Nov  12,  under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
 
 
 
 
The following documentary evidence was considered: 
 
       Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Mar 12, w/atchs. 
       Exhibit B.  Letter, AFRC/SGP, dated 1 Oct 12. 
       Exhibit C.  Letter, AFRC/A1K, dated 1 Oct 12.  
       Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 3 Oct 12. 
       Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 29 Oct 12, w/atchs 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

Panel Chair 
Member 
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