APPLICANT REQUESTS: In effect, that he be medically retired.
APPLICANT STATES: In effect, that he had not suffered from schizophrenia until after he reenlisted in the Army. Therefore, his condition should not have been considered to have existed prior to service.
In support of his application he submits a documentation showing that he had been granted service connection and a disability rating for his schizophrenia by the VA.
COUNSEL STATES: That the applicants discharge was not fair. The finding by the Army that the applicants condition existed prior to service is not supported by the medical evidence and is directly contradicted by the fact that the applicant had served a prior enlistment without problems.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military personnel and medical records show:
He was inducted into the Army on 25 January 1971 and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service on 24 January 1973.
He reenlisted on 19 August 1974. On 11 November 1974 he departed AWOL and remained AWOL until 6 January 1975.
On 17 March 1975 a medical evaluation board (MEB) found the applicant medically disqualified due to schizophrenia, paranoid type, severe, chronic, with marked impairment for further military duty and complete impairment for social and industrial adaptability. During the psychiatric evaluation conducted on the applicant during his MEB, the applicant stated that he had gone AWOL to complete a paper he had started writing a year before as a civilian, a paper which dealt with reorganizing the United States and Panama into one country, and the distribution of the wealth of the United States to Panamanian citizens.
On 29 April 1975 a physical evaluation board (PEB) convened and determined that the applicants schizophrenia was physically unfitting, but also determined that his disqualifying condition existed prior to his entry on active duty. Despite that finding, the applicants discharge was deferred and he remained hospitalized pending arrangements to have him transferred to a VA hospital. When those arrangements were made, on 15 August 1975 the applicant was honorably discharged due to medical disqualification, not service connected, without disability benefits.
Army Regulation 635-40, paragraph 3-2, specifies that a presumption will be made that a soldier was in sound physical and mental condition upon entering active service except for physical disabilities noted and recorded at the time of entry, and that any disease or injury discovered after a soldier entered active service, with the exception of congenital and hereditary conditions, that was not due to the members own misconduct, will be considered in line of duty. Paragraph 4-19b of this regulation states that a PEB may decide that a soldiers physical defect was EPTS, but must then determine whether the condition was aggravated by military service. If the PEB determines that a soldier has an unfitting EPTS condition which was service aggravated, the PEB must determine the degree of disability that is in excess of the degree existing at the time of entrance into the service. The method of determining the percentage of disability to be awarded in such cases is outlined in appendix B, item B-10 of this regulation. Appendix B of this regulation, paragraph B-107, states that a soldier diagnosed with schizophrenia within 90 days of enlistment will have the condition considered to have existed prior to service, not service aggravated, if it does not go into complete remission within 8 months.
Title 38, United States Code, sections 310 and 331, permits the VA to award compensation for a medical condition which was incurred in or aggravated by active military service. The VA, however, makes its own determination on service connection under its rules and regulations Consequently, an individuals medical condition, although considered to have existed prior to service by the Army, may be sufficient to qualify the individual for VA benefits based on an evaluation by that agency.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1. The applicant departed AWOL within 90 days of his enlistment, and his condition did not go into remission. The applicant stated that he had gone AWOL to finish writing a paper which dealt with the reorganization of the United States and Panama, a paper he had started a year prior to his enlistment. This arguably indicates that the applicants schizophrenia existed when he departed AWOL and prior to his enlistment.
2. As such, Army Regulation 635-40 specifies that the applicants schizophrenia be considered to have existed prior to service, a finding which precludes medically retiring the applicant.
3. The rating action by the VA does not necessarily demonstrate any error or injustice in the Army rating. The VA, operating under its own policies and regulations, assigns disability ratings as it sees fit. Any rating action by the VA does not compel the Army to grant or modify a disability rating.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicants request.
DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.
BOARD VOTE:
GRANT
GRANT FORMAL HEARING
DENY APPLICATION
Karl F. Schneider
Acting Director
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