RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	   25 September 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070006260 


	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.  


Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano

Director

Ms. Jeanne Marie Rowan

Analyst


The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. William Powers

Chairperson

Ms. LaVerne Douglas

Member

Mr. Jerome Pionk

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 her discharge be charged to reflect her medical unfitness for continued service due to her medical conditions. 

2.  The applicant states, in pertinent part, that her discharge does not reflect the circumstance under which she was forced to withdraw from the United States Military Academy (USMA).  Medical doctors at West Point determined she was medically unfit for service and she believes her discharge should reflect their medical opinion.  She further states, that her type of discharge and its characterization impedes her attempts to seek disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

3.  The applicant provides a copy of her discharge document with a separation date of 1 February 1990, a medical narrative summary from her Medical Evaluation Board (MEBD) initial examination, a current medical evaluation from her treating physician, and a copy of a letter she wrote to her Senator.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the USMA on 1 July 1986.  

2.  The applicant provided a copy of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) which shows she separated on 1 February 1990 with a characterization of service as under honorable conditions (general discharge) and the reason for her separation was Dropped from the Rolls (DFR). The DD Form 214 she submitted shows she was not available for signature when separated.   

3.  Item 18 of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows the entry "Item 12c includes service as a Cadet at USMA from 860701 to 900201 and is not creditable for commissioned service." 

4.  Neither the applicant's discharge packet nor her cadet personnel service and attendance records were available for the Board to review. 

5.  The applicant provided a copy of Standard Form 502 (Narrative Summary (Clinical Resume) which shows that she was evaluated by a medical doctor in the rank of lieutenant colonel for pain in her right tibia.  The medical exam was for the MEBD and it is undated.  The medical examiner stated, in effect, the applicant, a 4th class cadet (freshman), injured her right leg in a track and field event two years ago which aggravated a previous stress fracture or stress reaction that occurred while a high school student prior to her entrance into the USMA.  The resulting treatments while a cadet revealed no significant physical findings, and found the patient had a full range of motion of both her lower extremities and a normal range of motion in her ankle.  No abnormal masses were found.  The applicant's right tibia did exhibit medial tenderness when direct pressure was applied during the examination.  The examining physician found that the applicant's pain in her right tibia was secondary to an old stress fracture that had healed with local scarring and it was classified as existing prior to her entry into service (EPTS).  The examining physician found the applicant unfit for medical service in accordance with Army Regulation 40-501 (Standards of Medical Fitness).  He also stated that she did not "feel she was capable of completing the training at West Point and that she would like a year of rehabilitation and possible surgery to remove any scar tissue."

6.  There are no MEBD or Physical Evaluation Board documents available for the Board to review.  

7.  The applicant provided a letter dated 21 April 2007 from her treating physician, which states, in pertinent part, that the applicant is suffering from widespread myofascial pain syndrome in her lower extremities.  He writes that the applicant's onset of pain was in high school when she had recurrent shin splints, and then was aggravated by her physical training at West Point.  Currently she now has pain in her lower back and shoulders to include her entire lower extremity with a loss of tissue integrity.  She currently walks with a cane and has had to leave civilian employment due to her physical limitations.  

8.  Army Regulation 40-501 (Standards of Medical Fitness), in effect at the time of the applicant's separation states, in pertinent part, that general and miscellaneous conditions and physical defects resulting in interference with satisfactory performance of duty as substantiated by the individual's commander or supervisor shall be considered for separation from military service for physical unfitness or the inability to perform the physical duties of soldiering.  

9.  The Department of Defense Pay Manual (DODPM), paragraph 10101p, states that service as a cadet or midshipman is creditable in computing basic pay of 
enlisted members.  In accordance with Table 1-1-1 of this manual, service in any of the military academies for cadets and midshipmen who were appointed after 25 June 1956 is not creditable.  

10.  Title 10, U.S. Code, chapter 61, Retirement or Separation for Physical Disability, provides for the medical retirement and for the discharge for physical unfitness, with severance pay, of soldiers who incur a physical disability in the line of duty while serving on active or inactive duty.  However, the disability must have been the proximate result of performing military duty.  Section 1217 of this title states that chapter 61 does not apply to cadets at the USMA.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that her discharge should be changed to a medical discharge as the medical doctors at USMA found her medically unfit for continued service.  The medical evaluation provided by the applicant herself shows that she did not want to continue with her training at USMA as she "did not feel that she was capable of completing the training."

2.  The applicant, although a member of the USAR by virtue of her enrollment at USMA, had no duty status unless she was commissioned and entered on active duty; she was not commissioned and did not enter active duty.  She was separated and the reason noted on her DD Form 214 was DFR or absent without leave in excess of 30 consecutive days.  

3.  The applicant is not entitled to medical separation with separation pay or with placement on the retired list per statutory guidance because she was a cadet.  Cadets of USMA are not entitled to medical separation for physical disability.  She entered USMA from a civilian status and both the military medical treating officer and her current medical doctor state her injuries were from a prior condition that occurred while in high school and not while in the status of cadet.  Therefore, she is not entitled to change her discharge to a medical separation. 

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__WP ___  __LD ___  __JP____  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.





_____William Powers________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20070006260
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070925
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
145.0000
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.