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Med Waiver for an Admin Sep

LilWill524

New Member
Hi, this is somewhat of a crazy situation but I'm hoping someone out there has some advice...

I was admin sepped under Milpersman 1910-122, under honorable with an RE code of 3G JFX, "personality disorder"in december 2010. I knew this was not correct, but was told by the PS1 processing my sep to just sign my DD214 because if I fight it, they might not give me an honorable discharge and that I was "basically getting a free pass out of the Navy"...

However, I do not have this condition. There is no documented history in my service record of me having behavioral problems, or declining performance. I had P and MP evals my entire 5 years in the Navy and made E4. I had never been to mental health or taken medication for any conditions dealing with mental health.

Long story short, I was on shore duty for pregnancy. I canceled my shore duty early for orders to stay in my current city. I went back to sea duty early, my baby was only 8 months old and his father (we were not married) was deployed. I kept having problems within the command about duty watches (they would put me on the balls to 8 watch repeatedly, knowing that I had a new baby at home and his dad was gone) and additionally, the command was preparing for deployment, so I went to mental health just for counseling to have someone to talk to about the stress of the situation.

I went for counseling at mental health for 2 months before I was told I was being separated with the PD. I was told this at the end of November 2010, I was out of the Navy by the second week of December. The counselor "unofficially" showed me an email thread between my command CO and a Psychiatrist at mental health, the one who wrote the letter that led to my sep. Basically, the assumption is, the command thought I was a "problem or liability" for deployment and took advantage of the fact that I was in counseling in order to get rid of me. I have read the Milpersman 1910-122 over 100 times in the past 4 years and still to this day cannot figure out how they got away this.

I now have my BA degree and am in touch with an officer recruiter trying to apply for a med waiver... but he is skeptical that NPC will approve it because they were the final approval on the separation and basically they would have to admit they did something wrong. I want to go back in the Navy because I should have never been out in the first place.

Anyone ever heard of something like this?? Has anyone ever seen med waiver for 3Gs get approved??
ANY advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.
______________________________________________________________________
Here I have listed how the MILPERSMAN 1910-122 was not followed in my case:

2-c. I was not formally counseled nor given the opportunity to correct deficiencies (formal counseling stated as Admin Remarks NAVPERS 1070/613 and Admin Remarks counseling/warning (MILPERSMAN 1910-204; neither of which are in my service record)

2-d. "observed behavior of specific deficiencies should be documented in appropriate counseling or personnel records and include history from sources such as supervisors, peers, and others, as necessary to establish that the behavior is persistent, interferes with assignment to or performance of duty, and has continued after the service member was counseled and afforded an opportunity to overcome the deficiencies."
This can be disproved by my Evals, no mention in my service record of documented behavioral problems prior to the separating command; Prior command I received a 3.4 MP eval in July of 2010 just 5 months prior to receiving the diagnosis. And once again, I was never forwarded the opportunity to overcome the deficiencies.

2-e. They could have stated having "behavior" problems as me stating I was having issues with standing watches (00-0800 watches) etc. because of the new baby and his father being deployed, however this paragraph states, the I cant be separated for a PD on the "basis of unsatisfactory performance or misconduct"

2-g. "notification procedure in paragraph 6 shall be used. Documentation must include evidence that the service member is unable to function effectively because of a personality disorder." Notification procedure not followed as per the instruction and also, there is no evidence that I was unable to perform due to the PD

5-b. "The diagnosis of a personality disorder should be made only when the characteristic features are typical of the person’s long-term functioning" Again, there is no long term history of having problems; the first documented incident was in November 2010 when I was diagnosed. I never even received a counseling chit at the separating command regarding the issues I was having within in the command as far as standing watches etc. I was separated in December 2010.

6-b(2). "There is documented evidence that the diagnosed personality disorder interferes with the member’s performance of duty. Evidence may be in the form of documented reduction in performance marks, minor disciplinary infractions, work disruptions, etc., which persist in spite of reasonable attempts by the command in correcting deficiencies through leadership and non-medical counseling." I had never had a reduction in rank, I was not even at the separating command long enough to receive an Eval, and once again no attempts were made by the command to correct the problems.

6-c. "Member must receive a NAVPERS 1070/613 (Rev. 7-06), Administrative Remarks counseling/warning (MILPERSMAN 1910-204), and be given an opportunity to overcome his/her deficiencies in performance and conduct prior to any ADSEP action for a personality disorder. Per reference (c), there are no exceptions." Nothing in this paragraph was done.
 

TimeBomb

Noise, vibration and harshness
LilWill,
You'll probably have to go through the Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) to try and get resolution. Their ruling is final.

From your letter, it appears that you are disputing both the diagnosis of personality disorder and the process leading to administrative separation. I would recommend challenging the medical diagnosis first, since waivers for personality disorders are unlikely. If you can successfully get the diagnosis removed from your record, you can then argue you were inappropriately separated under 1910-122 as your chain of command did not comply with the provisions of that article. I don't know the current PERS-8 code who has the separation authority for enlisted, but a phone call to Millington might help you in getting started.

As historical background, this instruction was heavily revised in the wake of the services (usually not the Navy) discharging OIF/OEF personnel who actually suffered from PTSD (and perhaps with performance problems) by labeling them instead as personality disorders. Personality disorders are not eligible for medical disability compensation. Congress appropriately raked a lot of senior officers over the coals for that practice. The command and/or evaluating psychiatrist may not have been aware of the modified MILPERSMAN article when your case was in front of them.

R/
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
TimeBomb has sage wisdom; you need a doctor and a lawyer, not an Internet forum.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I'm not trying to dispute whether the command handled the counseling/separation correctly or not, but one thing to keep in mind...

As a single parent, you are required to have a Family Care Plan. That plan allows for situations where you do get the midnight watch or have to deploy (since that was coming up), the child is still going to be cared for. If there was no plan (or if the plan wasn't realistic), the command may still have shown you the door, eventually, albeit hopefully on better terms than what you've described.
 

TimeBomb

Noise, vibration and harshness
LilWill,
Gatordev makes an excellent point. You may also have been eligible for separation under 1910-124, which deals with admin sep for pregnancy/single parenthood. Nittany03 is also correct, and much more concise than I was. Taking this on is going to take a while, probably cost you a fair amount of dough, and nothing may be different at the end of the day. Probably worth a shot though, since a diagnosis of personality disorder is a red flag for any prospective employers.
R/
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
from an OR standpoint if you can't get done what TimeBomb has said in order to get your RE code changed you have little if any chance of getting back in.
 

LilWill524

New Member
Thanks everyone for the advice.

As far as a doctor and lawyer are concerned, I have contacted both over the past couple years... No psych would diagnose or undiagnose a preexisting condition in 5 or less visits. (which raises yet another question on how the Navy psych was able to diagnose me in 40 minutes) nonetheless, psych visits are veryyy expensive! And even getting a second opinion may not be in my favor, because I have not been seen nor treated since receiving the diagnosis (which the Navy stated I would need extensive treatment not avail within the Navy) which proves that I was misdiagnosed by itself. I think honestly, the better route would be to present the case as is - no history of mental health issues and the fact that if I truly had this condition, how is it that haven't needed treatment? As for an attorney, the couple I contacted knew nothing of military law and suggested JAG/ Navy Legal; but of course JAG said they only represent AD members and also do not represent in cases against the Navy (of course)...

I have the form to submit my request yet again to the Board for Corrections, this time I am going to send my entire medical record whenever the VA gets it to me. Unfortunately, time is not on my side as my 31st birthday is in 7 months. If my DD214 was changed, the only officer program I would be eligible for would be Intel. I was hoping for Suppo since I was an AK/SK/LS for 5 years. I am also submitting the med waiver with my record and all the facts as well and just cross my fingers that something positive comes from it.
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for the advice.

As far as a doctor and lawyer are concerned, I have contacted both over the past couple years... No psych would diagnose or undiagnose a preexisting condition in 5 or less visits. (which raises yet another question on how the Navy psych was able to diagnose me in 40 minutes) nonetheless, psych visits are veryyy expensive! And even getting a second opinion may not be in my favor, because I have not been seen nor treated since receiving the diagnosis (which the Navy stated I would need extensive treatment not avail within the Navy) which proves that I was misdiagnosed by itself. I think honestly, the better route would be to present the case as is - no history of mental health issues and the fact that if I truly had this condition, how is it that haven't needed treatment? As for an attorney, the couple I contacted knew nothing of military law and suggested JAG/ Navy Legal; but of course JAG said they only represent AD members and also do not represent in cases against the Navy (of course)...

I have the form to submit my request yet again to the Board for Corrections, this time I am going to send my entire medical record whenever the VA gets it to me. Unfortunately, time is not on my side as my 31st birthday is in 7 months. If my DD214 was changed, the only officer program I would be eligible for would be Intel. I was hoping for Suppo since I was an AK/SK/LS for 5 years. I am also submitting the med waiver with my record and all the facts as well and just cross my fingers that something positive comes from it.

Did you seek treatment at at VA facility, it would be your responsibility to seek out treatment after discharge.

I know a navy psych and basically the book with all the things you can diagnose a person with is very big, he said if I wanted to I could label just about anyone with some sort of diagnosis as everyone has something.

I can't tell you how many civilian psych docs I have seen diagnose a person with a condition in one meeting, I have read all those records, and have had family experience, so it is very common.

The hard fact is getting BCNR to change your record without at least one doctor saying the diagnosis was in error is probably not going to happen, you need to give them something that they can look at and say what happened in the past was a mistake, they were wrong.
 

TimeBomb

Noise, vibration and harshness
LilWill,
While cost is a factor in almost anything medico-legal, I would recommend getting a civilian attorney who has experience in handling BCNR cases. Many of them are retired JAG officers, which is really the only way you're going to get this situation un-gooned up. I would venture a guess that any fleet concentration area will have any number of attorneys who have worked in this area.
R/
 
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