NAVY
DEPARTMENT  OF 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION  OF NAVAL RECORDS

THE 

2 NAW ANNEX

WASHINGTON DC 203704100

TRG
Docket No:
11 March 1999

7447-97

Chairman,
Secretary

Board for Correction of  
of the Navy

Naval Records

RECORD OF

(a) Title 10 U.S.C. 1552
(b) SECNAVINST 7220.383

(1) DD Form 149 w/attachments
(2) Case Summary
(3) Subject's naval record

From:
To:

Subj:

Ref:

Encl:

Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a

1.
former enlisted member of the United States Navy filed enclosure
(1) with this Board requesting, in effect, that his naval record
be corrected by reinstating him to active duty, changing the
reason for discharge or, in the alternative, that the record be
corrected to show that the unearned portion of his Selective
Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) was not recouped.
his reenlistment code be changed.

He also requests that

The Board, consisting of Mr. Dunn, Mr. Reid and Ms. Humberd,

2.
reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 23
February 1999 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that
the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the
available evidence of record.
the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and
applicable statutes,

Documentary material considered by

regulations and policies.

The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining

3.
to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice, finds as
follows:

a.

Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all

administrative remedies available under existing law and
regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b.

Enclosure (1) was filed in a timely manner.

C .

Petitioner enlisted in the Navy on 18 December 1990.

During the next three years he graduated from the Nuclear Power
School and the Nuclear Power Training Unit.
nonjudicial punishment for underage drinking.
discharged on 19 December 1993 for the purpose of immediate
reenlistment.

He also received a
He was honorably

d.

Petitioner reenlisted in the Navy on 20 December 1983.

At that time he was authorized an SRB of  

$25,339.50.

He was paid

l

an initial installment of  
remainder in annual installments of  
reported aboard the USS NIMITZ  

(CVAN 68).

$12,669.75 and was to be paid the

$2,533.95.

On 4 June 1994 he

e.

On 13 January 1995 Petitioner was referred for a

psychiatric evaluation.
degradation in work performance except an isolated episode of
crying, anxiety and transient suicidal thoughts.
subsequent psychiatric evaluation,
illness was described, in part, as follows:

The referral noted that there was no

the history of the present

In the

He described one recent episode

He claims that over the last 7 months his stress level
has gradually increased along with the work demands.
Current symptoms include insomnia, nightmares and
decreased appetite.
during which he experienced uncontrollable shaking,
crying, and transient suicidal thoughts. This was in
the context of (being) reprimanded by his division
officer for being late.
(He) prides himself on being
an outstanding performer and when it appeared that his
division officer was losing faith in him, he became
distraught.
this and he denied any history of psychiatric illness.
Upon returning to the clinic a second time, he reported
that things had gotten much worse and that he was
seriously contemplating suicide.

He denied any other episodes similar to

After psychological testing the psychologist made a diagnosis of
The psychologist's summary
Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
states, in part, as follows:

. he was informed on his initial evaluation that his
. 
. 
history and presenting complaints did not indicate any
psychiatric disturbance.
time, he clearly
was contemplating suicide.
suicidal at this time, but desperately desires
discharge from the Navy.
desperate enough to hurt himself or someone else or to
embarrass the Navy.

“upped the ante" and claimed that he
He is not considered to be

Upon returning the second

Unfortunately he may be

The psychologist recommended expeditious separation since he was
judged to represent a continuing danger to self or others if
retained in the Navy.

e.

On 1 February 1995 Petitioner was notified of

separation processing due to the diagnosed personality disorder
and waived his rights.
directed an honorable discharge.
February 1995.

At that time, he was assigned an RE-3G

The same day the discharge authority

He was so separated on 1

2

reenlistment code.

f.

Sometime after discharge,

the unearned portion of his SRB.
any documentation to show the amount of indebtedness he states
This indebtedness was caused, in
that the amount is $14,038.
large part, by the initial payment of  

$12,669.75.

Petitioner received a bill for
Although, he has not submitted

g-
follows:

Petitioner states in his application, in part, as

. I became disturbed about the low morale of some of my
. 
. 
shipmates, and went to see the Chaplain on board the
USS NIMITZ. Within 3 days, I was sent to the medical
officer, a psychiatrist at Bremerton Hospital and
completely separated from the United States Navy.
information written in (the psychologist's) report
concerning our two meetings together are not only
false, exaggerated and grossly misinterpreted, but down
I would never disgrace myself or the Navy
right lies.
in such a manner as to allege being suicidal.
facts surrounding my discharge and the time and
circumstances in which it was carried out, disprove any
I never once asked to be separated
such allegation.
from the Navy, and I certainly was not suffering from
That can be
any Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
confirmed by my 4.0 separation evaluation.

The

The mere

I have been unable to secure a job for longer than

. .
six months due to being diagnosed with a severe
adjustment disorder, which I developed after the way I
was separated from the Navy.
(not) be enough, with the legal action being placed on
my by the DFAS to collect a debt that is not backed by
I now have to declare bankruptcy at
merit or policy,
age 25. 

And as if this would

~.

h.

Reference 

(b) sets forth the criteria for remission or

waiver of indebtedness or erroneous payments made to or on behalf
of members and former members of the Naval service.
instruction implements Title 10 U.S.C. 6161 and 10 U.S.C. 2774.
Waiver action based on 10 U.S.C. 2774 is precluded in this case
since the payment was legal and proper when paid.
the provisions of 10 U.S.C.
of an enlisted member on active duty is authorized provided the
request for remission is approved by the Secretary of the Navy or
a designee prior to the individual's honorable discharge.

6161 a remission of the indebtedness

This

However, under

i.

The criteria for requesting such a remission of

indebtedness are set forth in reference  

(b).

That reference

3

states that an investigation must be conducted into the facts and
circumstances surrounding the request for waiver and the
commanding officer must recommend that the request for remission
The reference also directs that active duty members
be granted.
be advised of their right to request remission consideration
under the provisions of the reference immediately upon discovery
of an overpayment.
Petitioner was ever advised as required.
have been known, that an indebtedness would occur when discharge
was directed.
the 
certainly insufficient time to get a request for remission
through the system even if he had been properly advised.

discharge.authority's  decision for discharge, there was

Since Petitioner was discharged the same day as

There is no indication in the record that

It was known, or should

j.

The Board has recommended remission of indebtedness in a

few other cases where there was some degree of hardship, but the
Board did not wish to recommend a change in the reason for
discharge to hardship.
of all unpaid installments of the SRB.
is different because the discharge was based on an adverse
psychiatric evaluation.

Such a change would result in the payment

As indicated, this case

k.

Concerning Petitioner's request for a change in the

reenlistment code, the Board is aware that when an individual is
discharged because of a personality disorder, the only authorized
reenlistment codes are an RE-3G or RE-4.

CONCLUSION:

In reaching its decision, the Board notes that

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record the
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants partial
favorable action.
he has not submitted any evidence to support his contention that
he did not want to be discharged or that the statements made by
the psychologist in his evaluation were false and exaggerated.
To the contrary, the record shows that Petitioner wanted out of
the Navy and the psychiatric diagnosis appears to be based on a
thorough evaluation which included psychiatric testing. In
addition, he was advised of the discharge processing and elected
to waive his rights.
Petitioner was properly discharged due to the diagnosed
Accordingly, the Board denied  
personality disorder.
requests for reinstatement in the Navy and a change in the reason
for discharge.
restrictive reenlistment code authorized by regulation, the Board
also concludes that a change in the reenlistment code is not
warranted.

Further, since he was assigned the least

Therefore, the Board concludes that

Petitioner/s

However, given its conclusion that the psychiatric report

4

correctly diagnosed a personality disorder, the Board believes
that Petitioner was discharged, at least in part, because of a
condition beyond his control and remission of the indebtedness is
This can be accomplished by showing that a request
appropriate.
for remission of indebtedness was granted under the provisions of
Paragraph 7.a of
Title 10 U.S.C. 6161 and reference (b).
reference (b) indicates that a decision on the request for
remission must be made prior to discharge.
concludes that the record should show that Petitioner's
indebtedness due to the SRB overpayment was approved by the
Petitioner has not
Secretary of the Navy on 1 February 1995.
submitted any documentation to support his indebtedness, but he
claims he is indebted in the amount of $14,039 which appears to
However, the actual amount will be
be approximately correct.
based on the computation of the unearned portion of his SRB made
by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).

Therefore, the Board

RECOMMENDATION:

That Petitioner's naval record be corrected to show that

a.
he requested a waiver of his indebtedness and that this request
The amount
was favorably endorsed by his commanding officer.
recommended for waiver will be the amount of the unearned portion
of the SRB as computed by DFAS but should not exceed 14,500.

That Petitioner's record be further corrected to show that

b.
the request for waiver was approved by the Secretary of the Navy
on 1 February 1995, the day of his discharge.

That this Report of Proceedings constitute the report of

C .
investigation or written report required by reference (b), and
the Report of Proceedings be forwarded to the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service for implementation under the provisions of the
regulations.

That the remainder of Petitioner's requests be denied.
That this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner's

d.
e.
naval record.

It is certified that a quorum was present  

4.
review and deliberations,
and that the foregoing is a true and
complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled
matter.

-at the Board's

ROBERT D. ZSALMAN
Recorder

5

Acting Recorder

.

The foregoing report of the Board is submitted for your

5.
review and action.

Reviewed and approved:
&D3-fL

K
ahws.

 

KAREN S. HEATH

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy

(Manpower and Reserve Affairs)

MAY 2 1 1999

.