Secretary of Defense Memo to BCMR/NRs on Discharge Upgrade for those w/PTSD

Secretary of Defense Memo to BCMR/NRs on Discharge Upgrade for those w/PTSD 2014-09-03

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Jason Perry submitted a new resource:

Secretary of Defense Memo to BCMR/NRs on Discharge Upgrade for those w/PTSD - SECDEF Orders BCMRs/BCNRs to give additional consideration to discharge upgrades for those with PTSD

The Secretary of Defense has ordered the BCMR's and BCNR to give additional and liberalized consideration to cases requesting characterization of service discharge upgrades when the member has PTSD or alleges that she or he has PTSD.

This memor covers the direction to the boards and provides additional guidance.

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Thank you for sharing. This is good news for all Vets with PTSD.
 
Thank you for sharing. This is good news for all Vets with PTSD.


Indeed! Very good news for those who seek remedy to their wrongful discharge characterizations while symptomatic or outright diagnosed with PTSD.

Now, if we can only get the military to correctly diagnose and annotate PTSD on SMs while under the military's immediate medical/psychiatric care - well, then THAT would indeed be another miracle!

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound a cure - for all involved.

Getting it right out the gate from the very beginning, and this would rarely have happened to so many Veterans.

Better late than never - but better never late.

'Bout time.

V/R,
nwlivewire
 
Not sure if its still true, but in March 2002 the VA Outreach Centers would see AD. I found the VA psychiatrist not the least bit reticent to document "service connected PTSD" in their files. So if you feel the Service is not properly documenting PTSD, then I'd try plan B. That was not the reason I went elsewhere. I liked the fact they were PTSD specialist. But its an option.
 
Not sure if its still true, but in March 2002 the VA Outreach Centers would see AD. I found the VA psychiatrist not the least bit reticent to document "service connected PTSD" in their files. So if you feel the Service is not properly documenting PTSD, then I'd try plan B. That was not the reason I went elsewhere. I liked the fact they were PTSD specialist. But its an option.


I went to the VA Mental Health people while I was still in the IDES program because the Army was refusing to accurately diagnose ANY of my mental health issues!

I told the VA I was within six months of discharge - which is what I was always told by my WTU Cadre - why else only be on six month extension orders for 4 years, right?

So I went to the VA and was properly and fully evaluated.

Later, when the VA & Army went to the DUAL system (IDES), this worked out very well as I had very deep and good VA psych records that were used during my C&P and ratings determinations.

I also went to a civilian PHD shrink, too. And although the Army said there was nothing wrong with me and suggested I was a liar (!), BOTH the VA and the civilian shrink came up with the same diagnosis - and came up with the same diagnosis independent of each other.

I had Medicare insurance as I had been awarded SSDI retro-dated, so my Medicare kicked in and I used that for the civilian shrink. He was very well versed in issues relating to PTSD, too.

V/R,
nwlivewire
 
nwlivewire,

I'm glad it worked out for you also. The criteria is clear to me, but evidently not to some providers. Best wishes.
 
I wonder how large an impact this will have on backlog at BCMRs and whether there will be any benefit to honorably discharged individuals who were misdiagnosed prior to the existence of PTSD.
 
Clearly this further substantiates the system-wide problems with processing BCMR applications in regard to PTSD, and possibly other condtions. My AFBCMR package is submitted for the very reason the USAF rated me at 10% for the same condition at the VA rated at 70% effective my date of discharge. Completely PTSD/MDD related; documented, treated, diagnosed, and continuous for years. And I tried to stay in because I said it was all "manageable" so instead of being kept on active duty, or getting an accurate MEB rating, I got medically discharged at 10 years without being kept in, or receiving anything more than 10%. I just went into the process open and honest; and all I asked for was a fair determination and I would go with whatever their decision was. I didn't think it would be some quasi- middle ground though!

90% rated day of discharge by the VA; now 100% TDIU backdated to date of discharge.
MEB'd out, May of 2011, at 10%
 
I have a special circumstance. I was given a medical Sep with severance pay in 2005. I had PTSD related to 2003 while active duty on board the Fleet Hospital US Comfort where I was forced to work as Nurse Corp Officer 12 hour shifts while locked in a room with 12 to 15 Iraqi prisoners. I was horrified. The command notified our staff "to due diligence since some of the EPW's had murdered our marines." They were untied and unconstrained . Long story short multiple staff members were emotionally injured.
My command insured my Medical board did not dx PTSD instead they called it an emotional adjustment disorder. In 2007 the VA investigated the incident and I was given a dx of PTSD "SERVICE CONNECTED". I am eligible to petition the board for my military retirement retroactive...
How do i address the board since it took 2 years for them to correct the diagnosis ?
 
I would also like to add the DAV has rated me 100% disabled . 70% for PTSD. I am also wondering about my original dx of Fibromyalgia. I was living in constant bodywide pain. IN 2005 my lawyer addressed the med Sep board stating THE VARSD CODE rated 40% for this dx alone. The board replied we could prove I had it but couldn't prove it separately unfitting.
How do you prove such? I had been removed from my duties as a nurse at the hospital and reassigned to work at the education and training due to the fact that I lived in constant moderate to severe pain having sleep disorders causing gaps in my memory..
I became unsafe to do patients care. I had 10 years experience as an RN but became so very ill. Not to mention how the PTSD affected me.I was too sick to defend myself at my MEB. I didn't know the command was going to do this. My husband was present. One of the three board members was actually asleep and had to be frequently nudged. It appeared quite clear the determination of the board had been deemed well before my lawyer presented my case.
How do you prove an unfit determination?
 
Unfit means not of the necessary quality or standard to meet the purpose.

So first question to answer is what is the purpose right? So what are the basic tasks required of your job. This can't just be pass the APFT, because that's a standard of performance that can be waived, its not a required task. Its not just to deploy, they can find jobs for you outside of deployment. So break it down as your basic jobs are evaluating patients, writing notes, what have you. Then show how your fibro prevents you from performing that/those task(s). Its not enough to say its hard to do those tasks, you need to show how you couldn't perform.

It could be valid to say they have a need for someone to do the education and training, and since it would ease your symptoms, they put you there. This is different from saying you couldn't do it. They could say it was the PTSD and the required patient interaction that placed you in the new position, not the pain.

For fibro, the most common disqualifier is that the pain prevents you from meeting availability requirements. You can't stand or sit for the time needed to complete a task. Your pain prevents you from doing a full work day or taking excessive breaks. That sort of thing. From what I've seen if the disqualifier is sleep related memory problems, they will associate that with PTSD, not fibro. That may be a hard one to say belongs to both fibro and PTSD.
 
I have a special circumstance. I was given a medical Sep with severance pay in 2005. I had PTSD related to 2003 while active duty on board the Fleet Hospital US Comfort where I was forced to work as Nurse Corp Officer 12 hour shifts while locked in a room with 12 to 15 Iraqi prisoners. I was horrified. The command notified our staff "to due diligence since some of the EPW's had murdered our marines." They were untied and unconstrained . Long story short multiple staff members were emotionally injured.
My command insured my Medical board did not dx PTSD instead they called it an emotional adjustment disorder. In 2007 the VA investigated the incident and I was given a dx of PTSD "SERVICE CONNECTED". I am eligible to petition the board for my military retirement retroactive...
How do i address the board since it took 2 years for them to correct the diagnosis ?

"Forced" to work as a Nurse Corp Officer? What was your job and what were you supposed to be doing? Also, how did they "emotionally injure" the medical staff?
 
I'm a long time member of this forum but haven't logged in for quite some time. I have a question regarding the SECDEF's PTSD Memo regarding upgrade requests.
I submitted a package in 2007 to have my honorable discharge changed to a military retirement due to PTSD and PTSD related major Depression. The Navy turned it down and my understanding was that, at the time, there were no appeals to this decision. After my VA representative informed me about this memo I wondered if this would be grounds for me to re-submit my package to the Navy for reconsideration.
Anyone have any info on this. I would appreciate any info anyone might have.
Thanks.
 
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