RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 14 April 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20040005559
I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.
| |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | |Director |
| |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos | |Analyst |
The following members, a quorum, were present:
| |Mr. James E. Vick | |Chairperson |
| |Ms. Ann M. Campbell | |Member |
| |Ms. Margaret V. Thompson | |Member |
The Board considered the following evidence:
Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.
Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests that the narrative reason for his separation be
changed.
2. The applicant states that he was never diagnosed with asthma and asthma
was never documented in any record prior to his enlisting. He was not
diagnosed with asthma until November 2002 after he returned from
Afghanistan. The brigade surgeon miscommunicated his statement regarding
any allergies and instead thought he was saying that he had asthma. He
participated in sports all his life, successfully completed football camp
and basic training and never had any medical diagnoses of asthma, only hay
fever. Since his return from Afghanistan, his medical condition has
worsened. He has since been diagnosed with sleep apnea and still continues
to take the medication prescribed to prevent an asthma/allergy attack.
3. The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or
Discharge from Active Duty).
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 22 July 1999. He
completed basic training and advanced individual training and was awarded
military occupational specialty 92G (Food Service Specialist).
2. The applicant's Medical Evaluation Board/Physical Evaluation Board
(MEB/PEB) packet is not available.
3. On 30 September 2003, the applicant was separated under the provisions
of Army Regulation 635-40 for disability, existed prior to service, PEB.
4. Army Regulation 635-40 governs the evaluation of physical fitness of
Soldiers who may be unfit to perform their military duties because of
physical disability. The unfitness is of such a degree that a Soldier is
unable to perform the duties of his office, grade, rank or rating in such a
way as to reasonably fulfill the purpose of his employment on active duty.
According to accepted medical principles, certain abnormalities and
residual conditions exist that, when discovered, lead to the conclusion
that they must have existed or have started before the individual entered
the military service. Examples of these conditions are scars, fibrosis of
the lungs, hereditary conditions, and similar conditions in which medical
authorities are in such consistent and universal agreement as to their
cause and time or origin that no additional confirmation is needed to
support the conclusion that they existed prior to military service.
5. The National Institutes of Health, National Center for Biotechnology
Information internet site states that asthma affects more than 5 percent of
this country's population. It is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the
airways characterized by coughing, shortness of breath, and chest
tightness. A variety of "triggers" may initiate or worsen an asthma
attack. Asthma is what is known as a "complex" heritable disease. This
means that there are a number of genes that contribute toward a person's
susceptibility to a disease.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The applicant's contention that he had never been diagnosed with asthma
prior to November 2002 is noted. However, even though his MEB/PEB packet
is not available he provides no evidence to show that the brigade surgeon
"miscommunicated his statement regarding any allergies" and did not,
instead, make a competent medical diagnosis that the applicant had asthma.
It is noted that government medical authorities have identified asthma as
being a heritable disease. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it
is presumed that the allergies he suffered from earlier were mild symptoms
of asthma.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__jev___ __amc___ __mvt___ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.
__James E. Vick_______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20040005559 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON | |
|DATE BOARDED |20050412 |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
|DISCHARGE REASON | |
|BOARD DECISION |DENY |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY |Mr. Chun |
|ISSUES 1. |108.00 |
|2. | |
|3. | |
|4. | |
|5. | |
|6. | |
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