IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 March 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110011085
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:
In effect, the applicant defers to counsel.
COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:
1. Counsel requests reconsideration of the applicant's request to change his administrative discharge for personality disorder to medical disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
2. Counsel states he has new evidence in the form of a medical opinion from Dr. D____ S____, PhD., a licensed psychologist.
3. Counsel provides copies of:
* the applicant's Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rating documents
* the applicant's service records
* the applicant's service medical records
* letter from Dr. S____, dated 22 April 2011
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20090019360 on 11 May 2010.
2. The original case shows the applicant previously served in various Reserve Components.
3. He originally enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) in February 1988. He completed initial active duty for training (IADT), but he did not attend unit training assemblies regularly. In March 1989, he was transferred to the USAR Control Group due to unsatisfactory performance. On 6 February 1996, he was discharged from the USAR in pay grade E-2.
4. He enlisted in the USAR again in March 2003. In September 2004, he enlisted in the Regular Army in pay grade E-2.
5. In July 2006, he reenlisted in the Regular Army for 5 years. At that time he had approximately 2 1/2 years of prior active service and about 11 years of total service.
6. The applicant deployed to Iraq from 26 October 2006 to July 2007. He was promoted to sergeant and awarded the Combat Action Badge during March 2007.
7. While home on leave from Iraq in late March and April 2007, he sought medical care for heart burn, gastroesophageal reflux disease, inability to sleep, and marital difficulty because of his temper. He started uttering suicidal threats and exhibited other aberrant behavior. The medical examiner assessed the applicant as having PTSD and as having suicidal ideations secondary to insomnia. The applicant was admitted for sedation and observation.
8. After he returned to duty in Iraq, his Medical Record Chronological Record of Medical Care, dated 5 April 2007, shows the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry, Squadron Surgeon indicated:
a. The applicant was brought in by his command for his combative attitude and saying he had no reason to live.
b. The applicant changed his demeanor where it is just a casual thing for him to say he wants to die.
c. The squadron surgeon thought that even though a personality disorder was driving the applicant's attention-getting behavior, the applicant might actually act-out simply to prove he should be taken seriously.
d. Practitioners at the mental health clinic also thought the applicant was being manipulative. He kept changing his story so they could not pin him down. He repeatedly reported traumatizing incidents that were apparently fictitious or to which he had not been a party.
(1) He was given a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test. The inordinate amount of time the applicant took and his contradictory answers indicated he was trying to invalidate the test.
(2) The MMPI test resulted in a diagnosis of personality disorder not otherwise specified.
e. The applicant 's continued refusal of help resulted in his placement under suicide watch and escort wherever he went.
f. The earlier impression of PTSD was dismissed when the mental health clinic staff learned the applicant had not participated in the incident as he had claimed.
9. On 12 June 2007, the applicant was notified of his contemplated administrative separation for personality disorder. He consulted with counsel and waived his administrative separation rights on 19 June 2007.
10. A suicidal gesture on 24 June 2007 resulted in superficial wounds to his wrists from attempting to cut himself with his keys.
11. On 27 July 2007, he was honorably discharge by reason of personality disorder.
12. On 11 May 2010, the ABCMR denied the appellant's request for a medical separation based on PTSD.
13. In support of this request for reconsideration counsel presents pages from the applicant's service and VA medical records. Counsel also offers a 7-page review of the case by a licensed psychologist as new evidence.
a. The psychologist reviewed the diagnostic criteria for personality disorder and noted it is a condition of long-standing duration and can usually be traced back to adolescence or early adulthood.
b. The psychologist noted the applicant displayed "no enduring pattern of behavior indicative of a personality disorder" while in the USAR from 1988 to 2004.
c. The psychologist observed that "after exposure to traumatic events in Iraq, the clear symptomology of PTSD emerges" and "he began experiencing documented mental health symptoms when he went home on mid-tour leave in March 2007."
d. The psychologist concluded that "without an in-person examination of the [applicant], my own diagnosis is
more likely than not that he was suffering from PTSD."
e. The psychologist reviewed the VA records and diagnoses and concluded that PTSD is correct.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The psychologist, whom counsel relies upon, admitted he has not actually examined the applicant. Rather, his evaluation is based upon the applicant's medical record.
2. The psychologist pointed out that the applicant's USAR record between 1988 and 2004 evidenced "no enduring pattern of behavior indicative of a personality disorder."
3. However, the psychologist didn't mention that the record shows no distinguishing progress or even significant participation. In fact, the applicant enlisted in the USAR, completed IADT, and was discharged in pay grade E-2 8 years later. About 8 1/2 years later, he enlisted in the Regular Army in pay grade E-2 at 33 years of age.
4. The applicant's behavior led to a diagnosis of personality disorder that was confirmed by psychometric testing. That personality disorder, not PTSD, caused the applicant's discharge.
5. The applicant may have PTSD now, but there is no available evidence that the applicant's PTSD was disabling to the point that it would have required processing for a physical disability separation at the time the applicant was processed for discharge.
6. After consulting with counsel and being advised of his rights and options, the applicant waived consideration of his case by an administrative separation board and declined to submit statements in his own behalf.
7. The VA is not required by law to determine medical unfitness for further military service. The VA, in accordance with its own policies and regulations including the requirement to give the Soldier the benefit of any doubt, awards compensation solely on the basis that a medical condition exists and that said medical condition reduces or impairs the social or industrial adaptability of the individual concerned. Consequently, due to the two concepts involved, the applicant's medical condition, although not considered medically unfitting for military service at the time of processing for separation, discharge, or retirement, may be sufficient to qualify him for VA benefits based on an evaluation by that agency.
8. In view of the foregoing there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20060019360, dated 11 May 2010.
____________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) AR20110011085
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110011085
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