ptsd Discharge Changes

[deserteagle]

I was asked an interesting question and wonder if anyone here would have the answer. If you were honorably discharged from service during OIF I and were exhibiting signs of PTSD before discharge, could you have your discharge changed to medical or medical retirement? What would you need to back up such a claim? If you are 100% SC for PTSD, does that help? I have read that you can have discharges upgraded if OTH, but was curious on this topic.

[justrluk]

As the saying goes, it depends. It depends on the documentation of the condition, severity and if the condition was directly prohibitive of continued military service with treatment. The former service member could always apply to the Service-specific Board for the Correction of Military Records, and see what happens. Again, make sure all ducks are in a row, and if it's important enough or the former member is having a real issue with the characterization of his/her discharge, get a lawyer's opinion - with a specialty in military justice and discharge appeals. JMHO.

[john999]

If you are asking the DOD for any money benefit I think you are going to need a lawywer. The BCMR and Discharge Review boards are not nearly as veteran friedly as the VA. I went to a board many years ago and got an upgrade, but this was within a year or two of my discharge and it cost them nothing. The boards look at the facts as they were known at your discharge. If you were able to do your job at the time of discharge then you are probably out of luck. However, if you want to try I would give it a shot. How long have you been out of the service?

[deserteagle]

I have been out of service now for about 6 years. I have documentation of my post deployment health assessment, evals, documents stating that I would no longer be considered for promotion (basically forcing me out). Since I have been out, I held 5 jobs in 4 years and finally went for treatment at my local VA. I am currently rated 100% SC for PTSD alone. I would think that with this backing my case, I would stand a pretty good chance, maybe?

[john999]

Since it has been six years I think you will have to go before BCMR. You need a lawyer. If your case is black and white these people are OK, but if there is any grey you need expert help. I was denied for a medical discharge. I felt I was treated with a gross lack of respect. I was granted a disability rating within one year of discharge and they just laughed at that. The thing is what do you have to gain? Tricare maybe and that is about it. You can't get medical retirement pay and VA compensation at the same time since you did not retire after 20 years or did you? Only about 3-5% of discharges are changed by BCMR. This was told to me by a lawyer friend of Alex Humphrey who posted here long time. Plus you have to pay the lawyer out of your pocket. I would run it by a lawyer who does these things and see what he says about your chances and potential benefits. It could be worth the money you would pay? Without a lawyer I think you will be spinning your wheels. The discharge is assumed to be valid until you prove otherwise. No benefit of doubt. Were you getting treatment for PTSD in service? I was in treatment for medial reasons when I was thrown out and into the loving hands of the VA.......splat! You probably should have gotten a medical and so should I if the army was doing their job, but their real job is to save money, and get rid of broken down soldiers cheaply.

[hawkfire27]

I know this thread is from earlier this year, but I just wanted to add my thoughts and knowledge, it may help.

If you were discharged without correct procedure being followed this could be grounds for a discharge upgrade.

My husband is currently taking the US Army to court about his discharge in 1972. It is now November 2011. You can apply for an upgrade with the applicable BCMR at any time. After 15 years though you require a waiver to be filed with the merits of your case.

If your service medical records indicated a progression of PTSD like symptoms and you did not receive a psych eval upon discharge, or they did not complete another part of the discharge process. This is grounds to apply for a discharge upgrade.

You can get concurrent Medical retirement pay and Va compensation. It is a specific program that applies only to combat wounds, of which PTSD is one. This allows you to receive your full VA and retirement benefits both without tax or penalties. But only combat disabilities are considered. For example sleep apnea is not a combat wound even if it is secondary. The "Combat Related Special Compensation" (CRSC) is also retroactive. You need to apply for this separately though after you would receive retirement.

We have a lawyer representing my husband. Mostly because the BCMR is not the VA and they only allow certain types of evidence and there process is a lot more legalish (?) than the VA. The VA spends a lot of time figuring out the evidence whereas the BCMR will just deny if the evidence is not clear. They also have a 25 page evidence limit and if you don't follow all their rules they just throw your case out and deny.

I really recommend getting a lawyer. If your case is found in your favor then the BCMR generally assigns you your current VA ratings. (So the lawyer tells me from experience).

If you really want to know if you have a case, go through your service records and find evidence of PTSD, any medications look them up, could they be used for this i.e. Valium etc. Find your proficiency reports is there a pattern you can prove? Get your evidence together because you basically need to prove that there is enough substantial evidence to warrant proceedings under the Medical Evaluation Board, and you are claiming that they made an inadvertent mistake in your case and you believe that in the interests of justice and fairness that you should be granted a medical discharge or retirement.

P.S. Retirement is generally granted for service members with 8 years or more, but can be granted with as little as 30 days active duty IF the BCMR feels the error was a gross injustice.

Good Luck.

Edited November 12, 2011 by hawkfire27