IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    26 August 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100000744 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his discharge be corrected to show he was separated due to a service-connected disability.

2.  The applicant states he would like to have his record reviewed and corrected to afford him a physical disability retirement.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and a Department of Veterans Affairs award letter.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 October 2002, completed training and was awarded the military occupational specialty 63H (Tracked Vehicle Repairman).

3.  The applicant served in Iraq from 10 August 2003 through 26 August 2004.

4.  On 10 March 2005, while he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, members of his unit found him in his room after he stopped going to work.  He was described as disorganized and disoriented and had superficial lacerations on his arms.  The applicant was escorted to the emergency room where he reported having auditory hallucinations and had carved "Al," the name of one of his voices, in his arm.

5.  The applicant was evaluated and released back to his unit with instructions that he be escorted to the mental health clinic the following morning.  The applicant escaped his escort and left base.  Four days later on 13 March 2005, he returned stating he wanted to go back to work.

6.  On 14 March 2005, he referred himself as a walk-in to the mental health clinic for assessment.  He was admitted to inpatient psychiatry in Topeka, Kansas, for stabilization and diagnostic clarification.

7.  The applicant was afforded a medical evaluation board.  Incorporated in the evaluation is a psychiatric evaluation.  The attending psychiatrist states the applicant advised them that he had used a variety and large quantity of hallucinogenic drugs prior to enlisting.  He had suffered from visual and auditory hallucinations and paranoid thoughts and had made a suicidal attempt prior to service.  The applicant has a family history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 
The psychiatrist diagnosed the applicant as suffering from bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder.  The medical evaluation board recommended the case be referred to a physical evaluation board (PEB).

8.  The DA Form 199 (PEB Proceedings) states the applicant has a history of compromised mental health manifested by auditory hallucinations, with and without the use of a multitude of controlled substances, including cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine, and lysergic acid diethylamide.  The applicant reported that with the exception of cannabis, his drug use had been discontinued prior to enlistment.  Upon return from his deployment, the applicant's condition deteriorated.  He was diagnosed as having a bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder that existed prior to service (EPTS).  The PEB determined his condition was not incurred in or aggravated by his service, but that it rendered him medically unfit for continued service. The PEB recommended that he be separated without disability benefits.  The applicant concurred with the PEB findings and recommendation.

9.  On 5 August 2005, the applicant was honorably discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations), paragraph 
4-24b(4), for a disability that EPTS as determined by a PEB.

10.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1201, sets forth the law for disability retirement and provides that the disability must be the proximate result of performing active duty, not the result of the member's intentional misconduct or willful neglect, not incurred during a period of unauthorized absence, and the disability was not noted at the time of the member's entrance on active duty (unless clear and unmistakable evidence demonstrates that the disability existed before the member's entrance on active duty and was not aggravated by active military service).

11.  Army Regulation 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation) states:

	a.  Disability compensation is not an entitlement acquired by reason of service-incurred illness or injury; rather, it is provided to Soldiers whose service is interrupted and who can no longer continue to reasonably perform because of a physical disability incurred or aggravated in service.

	b.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests that his discharge be corrected to show he was separated due to a service-connected disability.

2.  The applicant was diagnosed with bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder.  By his own admission, this condition had its onset prior to his entry on active duty.  As such, it is not a condition for which disability retirement processing is authorized.

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__X_____  __X_____  ___X____  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.



      _______ _  x _______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100000744



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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)