BCNR timeline after docket number received

Chrisa4532

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I received my BCNR docket number and it is 2017-4xx, anyone have any approximate timeframes from receiving the docket number to when they hear back from the board?
 
Congressional Mandate for case processing time (90% within 10 months – 100% within 18 months).

Congress exercises an important oversight function for the BCMRs. As the BCMRs exercise Congress’s authority as delegated by 10 U.S.C. § 1552, Congress requires that the Boards properly exercise that function.3 To help ensure the independence of the BCMRs in the exercise of their quasijudicial function, Congress mandated the Boards have independent legal and medical advisors through enactment of 10 U.S.C. § 1555.4 To ensure the processes for reviewing requests for correction by any of ARBA’s boards are transparent, Congress mandated, through 10 U.S.C. § 1556, that the Boards disclose virtually all communications with anyone outside the Agency to the applicant if that communication pertains directly to the applicant’s case or has a material effect on the applicant’s case.5 To ensure the BCMRs timely process requests for correction and the services properly resource the BCMRs, Congress enacted 10 U.S.C. § 1557 mandating that no case take more than eighteen months to process and that, as of fiscal year 2011, the BCMRs must complete ninety percent of all cases within ten months of receipt.
 
I received my BCNR docket number and it is 2017-4xx, anyone have any approximate timeframes from receiving the docket number to when they hear back from the board?

I submitted my application to the BCNR on April 23rd, 2015. My docket No was 4506-15 and the response letter was written February 17, 2016.
 
I submitted my application to the BCNR on April 23rd, 2015. My docket No was 4506-15 and the response letter was written February 17, 2016.
They told me it was a 10 month wait, it looks like that's you had. If you don't mind me asking, was the outcome in your favor?
 
They told me it was a 10 month wait, it looks like that's you had. If you don't mind me asking, was the outcome in your favor?

This is the response I got from the BCNR:

This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to the provisions of 10 USC 1552.


A review of your application revealed that you requested a review of Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) decision to approve the recommendation of the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) in your case. As stated in the Director, Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards ltr 1850 CORB:003 of 12 May 2011, the Secretary’s decision is a final agency action in your case and is not subject to review by this board. Accordingly, we are administratively closing your application.

You may consider filing another application with the PDBR with your new evidence that was not previously available. Thank you for your interest in the Board of Correction of Naval Records.


- I'd like to point out the last paragraph. The board of corrections suggested I file another application with the PDBR. Has anyone ever done that?
 
I then wrote to my senator (July, 2016)to ask his assistance. Here's the BCNR's answer to him:


Dear Senator Rubio:


This is in response to your recent letter concerning the application of one of your constituents, Mr. John Jacobson, a former member of the United States Navy.


Mr. Jacobson previously applied to the Board for Correction of Naval Records after his case was reviewed by the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR). In accordance with Department of Defense Instruction 6040.44, the recommendation of the PDBR, once accepted by the respective military department, is final. Since Mr. Jacobson's PDBR recommendation was accepted by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), the decision in his case is considered a final agency action and outside this Board's jurisdiction. Since Mr. Jacobson has exhausted his administrative remedies, he may seek relief through a federal court of appropriate jurisdiction.


I hope this information will assist you in responding to your constituent.


This was the response from my senator:


Dear Mr. Jacobson,


You wrote to me regarding your request to have your military discharge upgraded. Attached to this email is a copy of the response my office received from the Department of the Navy in reference to the inquiry I made on your behalf. I hope you find this information helpful.



As a U.S. Senator, I do not have the authority to overturn a decision already issued by a federal agency. Should you require assistance with any other issues pertaining to the federal government, I am at your service.



Thank you for sharing your concerns with me and the opportunity to serve you. I am humbled by my responsibilities in the United States Senate, and I will continue to work on behalf of our state of Florida.


Sincerely,

Marco Rubio
United States Senator

 
I had a very complicated BCMR application. I argued for PDRL after a 10% discharge w/ severance. My case was compelling and included references to hundreds of pages of records and my argument was 141 pages and of that a good majority of it was addendums/citations/specific copies of evidence/records outside the actual argument. I took from 2011 until 2013 obtaining and organizing all of my records from the USAF and the VA. I filed my BCMR in May of 2014 approximately two weeks before the three year statute applied.

From May 2014 I did not hear a single thing from the AFBCMR other than a letter assigning a docket number. October 2015 I received an advisory opinion which I agreed with. November 2015 about two weeks before the 18 month mark my case was decided favorably. I was finally notified in December 2015.

At that point I pressed the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program at the end of January as I hadn't received or heard anything else. Nothing.

The Wounded Warrior representative was able to get me my retirement orders so I could go and get my blue military retired ID card. They also helped me obtain and updated copy of my DD Form 214.

To date I have still not heard or received a single other piece of correspondence from any other agency, unit, or department outside of it being a direct result of an engagement from the Air force Wounded Warrior program on my behalf. If it wasn't for them I really don't think the Air Force would have found me as all my addresses they had listed "in the system" were extremely old, inaccurate, and about 2,000 miles away DESPITE my accurate information on my AFBCMR application and my proactive efforts to reach out to everyone with my current contact information. The entire process is awful on its own merit and I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the AFW2 direct involvement. Every time I called as an "outsider" and tried explaining the AFBCMR process nobody had any experience with it. I was also told such a favorable outcome in my circumstances is so rare from the AFBCMR a lot of the staff in these offices literally had no experience with it.

Bottom line up front; 17 months and 2 weeks. Just barely short of their 10% allotment of finishing all cases within 18 months.

And I had to fight like hell to get a flag, retirement certificates, and everything else despite a retirement flag award being codified in federal law. I'm glad I won my case but seriously if I had not been proactive and cared I would be sitting with my 10% severance and a discharge as I was NOT eligible for the PDBR. I also would not have gotten my retirement orders, updated discharge, etc. on my own without the AFW2 program being on the inside and holding everyone's hand to get it done. Again, I am very happy the board flipped a 10% discharge with severance into a 70% PDRL well over four years after the fact - but they really do not give one care what happens after that just like they didn't care when they botched my entire MEB the first time and repeatedly.

I hope my insight on the process helped and everything I did was from information I learned, used, and got to know on PEBForum.com.

Also to note, I did not go through this entire BS long disorganized and often arbitrary process for a dime, and I actually came out of this entire process with a pending 50k dollar recoupment waiting for me at DFAS (severance owed back) and owing for the Survivor Benefit Program. I actually lost money on the entire process in the long run as my 90% rating from the VA cancels out any retirement money from DFAS since I only had ten years of service. I did it all on principle that right is right, wrong is wrong, and my MEB/PEB results were a joke considering the VA reviewed the same exact records and determined 90% right out the gate (and they rated my unfitting condition 70% whereas the USAF rated it 10%) before I-DES came into play but after the eligibility date for the PDBR.

ANY LEGACY MEB/PEB AFTER THE PDBR ELIGIBILITY DATES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FAULTY AND IT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PDBR ELIGIBILITY WINDOW AS THERE WAS A HUGE GAP FROM THE END OF THE LEGACY MEB/PEB UNTIL THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE I-DES. BOTH WERE DESIGNED TO FIX OR CORRECT THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE LEGACY MEB PROGRAM.
 
your post
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Yours is the type of post that makes this forum so valuable.
 
I had a very complicated BCMR application. I argued for PDRL after a 10% discharge w/ severance. My case was compelling and included references to hundreds of pages of records and my argument was 141 pages and of that a good majority of it was addendums/citations/specific copies of evidence/records outside the actual argument. I took from 2011 until 2013 obtaining and organizing all of my records from the USAF and the VA. I filed my BCMR in May of 2014 approximately two weeks before the three year statute applied.

From May 2014 I did not hear a single thing from the AFBCMR other than a letter assigning a docket number. October 2015 I received an advisory opinion which I agreed with. November 2015 about two weeks before the 18 month mark my case was decided favorably. I was finally notified in December 2015.

At that point I pressed the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program at the end of January as I hadn't received or heard anything else. Nothing.

The Wounded Warrior representative was able to get me my retirement orders so I could go and get my blue military retired ID card. They also helped me obtain and updated copy of my DD Form 214.

To date I have still not heard or received a single other piece of correspondence from any other agency, unit, or department outside of it being a direct result of an engagement from the Air force Wounded Warrior program on my behalf. If it wasn't for them I really don't think the Air Force would have found me as all my addresses they had listed "in the system" were extremely old, inaccurate, and about 2,000 miles away DESPITE my accurate information on my AFBCMR application and my proactive efforts to reach out to everyone with my current contact information. The entire process is awful on its own merit and I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the AFW2 direct involvement. Every time I called as an "outsider" and tried explaining the AFBCMR process nobody had any experience with it. I was also told such a favorable outcome in my circumstances is so rare from the AFBCMR a lot of the staff in these offices literally had no experience with it.

Bottom line up front; 17 months and 2 weeks. Just barely short of their 10% allotment of finishing all cases within 18 months.

And I had to fight like hell to get a flag, retirement certificates, and everything else despite a retirement flag award being codified in federal law. I'm glad I won my case but seriously if I had not been proactive and cared I would be sitting with my 10% severance and a discharge as I was NOT eligible for the PDBR. I also would not have gotten my retirement orders, updated discharge, etc. on my own without the AFW2 program being on the inside and holding everyone's hand to get it done. Again, I am very happy the board flipped a 10% discharge with severance into a 70% PDRL well over four years after the fact - but they really do not give one care what happens after that just like they didn't care when they botched my entire MEB the first time and repeatedly.

I hope my insight on the process helped and everything I did was from information I learned, used, and got to know on PEBForum.com.

Also to note, I did not go through this entire BS long disorganized and often arbitrary process for a dime, and I actually came out of this entire process with a pending 50k dollar recoupment waiting for me at DFAS (severance owed back) and owing for the Survivor Benefit Program. I actually lost money on the entire process in the long run as my 90% rating from the VA cancels out any retirement money from DFAS since I only had ten years of service. I did it all on principle that right is right, wrong is wrong, and my MEB/PEB results were a joke considering the VA reviewed the same exact records and determined 90% right out the gate (and they rated my unfitting condition 70% whereas the USAF rated it 10%) before I-DES came into play but after the eligibility date for the PDBR.

ANY LEGACY MEB/PEB AFTER THE PDBR ELIGIBILITY DATES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FAULTY AND IT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PDBR ELIGIBILITY WINDOW AS THERE WAS A HUGE GAP FROM THE END OF THE LEGACY MEB/PEB UNTIL THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE I-DES. BOTH WERE DESIGNED TO FIX OR CORRECT THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE LEGACY MEB PROGRAM.
Thank you for all of that! What did they do with your recoupment? Did you continue to pay it back via your VA disability or did DFAS expect a check for the amount of the severance? Obviously since I was seperated with a severance they take 20% from it every month because I was seperated at 20%. I would think it would be a little overwhelming for most people to have to fork over their entire severance because they won their case.
 
Really unique situation. My MEB coded me as MDD and I was awarded severance.

The VA did not code me as MDD and instead rated me under a different code for PTSD so there is no recoupment since technically I was not paid for the same disability twice. Its a really screwed up and weird situation but this is what I have figured out over the years.

As far as my recoupment goes it is on the books that I owe 50k at DFAS and I was later retired by the AFBCMR four years after my discharge.

Recoupments aren't sent to collections and are not pursued from my understanding. However, if I were ever to be awarded CRSC I would not get a penny of back pay as it would ALL be applied to my severance debt.

The rule is you can't be paid for the same disability twice. If the military gave you severance for it; you can't get paid for the same condition by the VA until the severance is paid back. Most people get separated for the 10 or 20% rating but when they get their overall VA rating its usually much higher so they get money. They only take back for the same conditions they paid severance for that the VA awards a rating for. All other ratings, conditions, whatever are not touched and they are paid to the veteran since they were not awarded severance by the military for those other conditions.

Hope this helps.
 
And I agree about having to fork back over money after winning a case.
 
Congressional Mandate for case processing time (90% within 10 months – 100% within 18 months).

Congress exercises an important oversight function for the BCMRs. As the BCMRs exercise Congress’s authority as delegated by 10 U.S.C. § 1552, Congress requires that the Boards properly exercise that function.3 To help ensure the independence of the BCMRs in the exercise of their quasijudicial function, Congress mandated the Boards have independent legal and medical advisors through enactment of 10 U.S.C. § 1555.4 To ensure the processes for reviewing requests for correction by any of ARBA’s boards are transparent, Congress mandated, through 10 U.S.C. § 1556, that the Boards disclose virtually all communications with anyone outside the Agency to the applicant if that communication pertains directly to the applicant’s case or has a material effect on the applicant’s case.5 To ensure the BCMRs timely process requests for correction and the services properly resource the BCMRs, Congress enacted 10 U.S.C. § 1557 mandating that no case take more than eighteen months to process and that, as of fiscal year 2011, the BCMRs must complete ninety percent of all cases within ten months of receipt.


Kontum6870...do you happen to know what happens "IF" the ABCMR takes longer than 18 months to complete a case? Currently, I have filed my case 533 days ago (Feb 1, 2016 was when my packet was received). By my math, 30 days * 18 months is 540 days, so in a week from now, it will be past the 18 month time frame. I'm not sure if that means they are carefully considering it or just putting it off in the hopes I go away. I emailed them a few times to try and get a status update and one time a board analyst actually replied saying that my case was presented well but that it could take up to 12 months. In an effort not to bug them, I thanked him, let him know I was available any time for any questions or concerns or available for an at-no-govt-cost in-person appeal to the board, and then did not respond again as of yet.

Without going into too much detail, it was a well-documented and presented appeal to remove an unsubstantiated GOMOR and to reconsider an "involuntary separation" from Active Duty. I'm just wondering if you or possibly anyone here knew anything more? Thank you for any information you can provide.
 
Submit a Congressional.

That's your last hope for a timely completion. Hold their feet to the fire.
 
Kontum6870...do you happen to know what happens "IF" the ABCMR takes longer than 18 months to complete a case? Currently, I have filed my case 533 days ago (Feb 1, 2016 was when my packet was received). By my math, 30 days * 18 months is 540 days, so in a week from now, it will be past the 18 month time frame. I'm not sure if that means they are carefully considering it or just putting it off in the hopes I go away. I emailed them a few times to try and get a status update and one time a board analyst actually replied saying that my case was presented well but that it could take up to 12 months. In an effort not to bug them, I thanked him, let him know I was available any time for any questions or concerns or available for an at-no-govt-cost in-person appeal to the board, and then did not respond again as of yet.

Without going into too much detail, it was a well-documented and presented appeal to remove an unsubstantiated GOMOR and to reconsider an "involuntary separation" from Active Duty. I'm just wondering if you or possibly anyone here knew anything more? Thank you for any information you can provide.

I am on the same timeline, submitted late January 2016. I will probably wait until the 18 months is up and then ask the ABCMR for an explanation for delay. If I don't receive a satisfactory explanation, I'll take eps17 advice and get a congress critter involved.
 
Kontum6870 -
You and I are on almost the exact same timeline with the BCMR (Air Force in my case though). I filed in late Dec and my package was received in Jan 2016. I went over 18 months earlier this month and still have no official word. Unofficially, though, I know the board unanimously granted approval of my request. I believe once the Board approves, it still needs to be reviewed by legal and other teams to ensure what's being granted is correct. Not sure if it's already at DFAS or not (I asked for credit for active duty), as they'll need to determine my pay and allowances for the period. I called a few weeks ago and they said they're backlogged and the person I spoke to said it will be some time before I officially hear about my case (I heard from my source it could be as long as November, which would total 22 months...). Hopefully it will be sooner.

This is my first time posting here in almost 3 years. My MEB was changed to RILO and was returned to service and flying status with no limitations except to see a psychiatrist yearly for my PTSD. My case was mishandled from the very start, but seems as though the error/injustice is about to get corrected, and the case finally closed after over 4 years.
 
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Kontum6870 -
You and I are on almost the exact same timeline with the BCMR (Air Force in my case though). I filed in late Dec and my package was received in Jan 2016. I went over 18 months earlier this month and still have no official word. Unofficially, though, I know the board unanimously granted approval of my request. I believe once the Board approves, it still needs to be reviewed by legal and other teams to ensure what's being granted is correct. Not sure if it's already at DFAS or not (I asked for credit for active duty), as they'll need to determine my pay and allowances for the period. I called a few weeks ago and they said they're backlogged and the person I spoke to said it will be some time before I officially hear about my case (I heard from my source it could be as long as November, which would total 22 months...). Hopefully it will be sooner.

This is my first time posting here in almost 3 years. My MEB was changed to RILO and was returned to service and flying status with no limitations except to see a psychiatrist yearly for my PTSD. My case was mishandled from the very start, but seems as though the error/injustice is about to get corrected, and the case finally closed after over 4 years.

Thanks for the information. It sounds like the end is at least in sight for you. I have been totally unsuccessful in my quest for information, formal or informal. I'd settle for a good rumor.
 
Thanks for the information. It sounds like the end is at least in sight for you. I have been totally unsuccessful in my quest for information, formal or informal. I'd settle for a good rumor.
I hear you! My ABCMR case is at the 15 month mark and I've yet to hear anything other than my docket number in the beginning. I have a lawyer but she gets the same automated answers I get from email and the phone number. I would just like a "Hey yes! We're working your case, it's not lost in the wind somewhere"...but nothing and no avenues to take to find out anything. I search these forums and see people talked with so and so and ......WHO did you talk to and HOW did you get in touch with a live person?????? If you know of any avenues I could take I would appreciate it very much if you would share with me as I'm out of ideas to get some answers.
 
At the just over the12 month mark I sent an email and received this:

Sir,

You have an open application is identified as AR # that is being reviewed by the staff of the Board to ensure it complies with applicable statutes and governing Army regulations before presentation to
the Board.

We process over 22,000 applications a year. Based on this volume and our commitment to justice, we strive to complete most applications within 12 months of its receipt date. Unfortunately, due to an increase in
volume and influx of complex cases it currently taking 12 months or more for cases to be completed. The Army Board for Correction of Military Records will notify you of the Board's decision by separate correspondence.

v/r


Every 4 months I've emailed and received a "it's processing". Since its a different email I've been trying to decode this email all morning.
 
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