--
		IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  16 September 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140000997 


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 correction of item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his disability was service-connected.

2.  The applicant states his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability award letter is proof that his disability was service-connected.  He also states that his disability did not exist prior to his military service.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214 and VA disability award letter/rating decision.

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.  On 20 November 2006, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 14T (Patriot Operator/Maintainer).  The highest rank he held was specialist/pay grade E-4.

3.  On 14 August 2008, an informal Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) convened at Fort Lewis, Washington.  The PEB found after a review of the objective medical evidence of record that the applicant's medical condition (disability) of paranoid schizophrenia, the onset of which was prior to military service, was not permanently service aggravated.  A description of the disability indicated he was unfit for further military service due to the risk of decompression in a high stress military environment.  It further stated that according to generally accepted principles of psychiatry, the onset of schizophrenia is insidious in about half of patients, with the earliest signs of involvement occurring many years before the more blatant manifestations of psychosis appear.  It stated the applicant's condition was not permanently service aggravated as it had followed this typical course.  The applicant was classified under the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities code 9203, but was not given a rating.  The PEB recommended the applicant be separated from the service without disability benefits.

4.  On 18 August 2008, subsequent to receiving counseling on the findings and recommendations and on his legal rights, the applicant concurred with the PEB's findings and recommendation and waived his right to a formal hearing of his case.

5.  On 21 August 2008, the findings and recommendations of the PEB were approved.

6.  On 9 November 2008, the applicant was honorably discharged.  The DD Form 214 he was issued shows he was discharged under the provisions of paragraph 
4-24b(4) of Army Regulation 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation), due to a disability that existed prior to service as determined by a PEB.  This form further shows he completed a total of 1 year, 11 months, and 20 days of creditable active military service.  Item 28 shows the entry "DISABILITY, EXISTED PRIOR TO SERVICE (EPTS), PEB." 

7.  He provides a VA rating decision showing he was assigned a 100 percent disability rating for schizophrenia, paranoid type effective 1 March 2011.

8.  Army Regulation 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation) establishes the Physical Disability Evaluation System and sets forth policies, responsibilities, and procedures that apply in determining whether a Soldier is unfit because of physical disability to reasonably perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating.
	a.  It provides for medical evaluation boards (MEB), which are convened to document a Soldier's medical status and duty limitations insofar as duty is affected by the Soldier's status.  A decision is made as to the Soldier's medical qualifications for retention based on the criteria in chapter 3 of Army Regulation 40-501 (Standards of Medical Fitness).  If the MEB determines the Soldier does not meet retention standards, the board will recommend referral of the Soldier to a PEB.

   b.  Chapter 4 provides for the separation of enlisted Soldiers found to be unfit by a PEB due to a condition which existed prior to service or occurred in the line of duty and not due to the Soldier's misconduct.  Paragraph 4-24b(4) provides for separation for physical disability without severance pay.

   c.  This regulation also states that 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 are congenital malformations and hereditary conditions or similar conditions in which medical authorities are in such consistent and universal agreement as to their cause and time of origin that no additional confirmation is needed to support the conclusion that they existed prior to military service.

	d.  Appendix B (Army Application of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities) states hereditary, congenital, and other EPTS conditions frequently become unfitting through natural progression and should not be assigned a disability rating unless service-aggravated complications are clearly documented or unless a Soldier has been permitted to continue on active duty after such a condition, known to be progressive, was diagnosed or should have been diagnosed.

9.  Title 38, U.S. Code, permits the VA to award compensation for a medical condition which it determined was incurred in or aggravated by active military service.  The VA, operating under its own laws and regulations, can evaluate a veteran throughout his or her lifetime, adjusting the percentage of disability based upon that agency’s examinations and findings.  As such, the award of a VA disability rating does not mean the rating assigned by the Army or absence thereof was in error.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends his disability did not exist prior to his military service and that the VA's assignment of a disability rating is proof that his disability was service connected.  His PEB shows he suffered from a medical condition – paranoid schizophrenia – that rendered him unfit for further military service due to the risk of decompression in a high stress military environment.  The PEB stated that according to generally accepted principles of psychiatry, the onset of schizophrenia is insidious in about half of patients, with the earliest signs of involvement occurring many years before the more blatant manifestations of psychosis appear.  It stated the applicant's condition was not permanently service aggravated as it had followed this typical course.

2.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant's narrative reason for separation was assigned based on the PEB's determination that the applicant's disability of paranoid schizophrenia, the onset of which was prior to military service, was not permanently service aggravated.  There is no evidence of error in the PEB's findings.  He concurred with those findings at the time.

3.  An award of a different rating by another agency does not establish error in the rating assigned by the Army's PDES.  The VA operates under its own laws and policies.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient basis for granting the applicant's request.

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)                                         AR20140000997





3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140000997



2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1