Separation from misconduct

ak89g

New Member
Registered Member
So the backstory. I am a commissioned officer in the Army. I have received a gomor for an alcohol related incident and have another pending alcohol related incident and am anticipating an elimination action. All of this started in January. I had just come back from a deployment last October and received orders to PCS the following January. I was afforded an opportunity to see BH/chaplain and saw a chaplain bud did not peruse any additional treatment because i was PCSing soon and was going to start treatment at my new duty station. The two incidents happened back to back. I went to see BH after the fact and they keep telling me that i am pre disposed to being an alcoholic since my father was an alcoholic and dont think i have ptsd and that i am doing this just to get out of my situation. They say i may have adjustment disorder. what can I do? should i hire a lawyer?
 
Wow, this situation is delicate did you tell them about the childhood trauma? If so then yea the providers are setting it up as pre-existing or not related to service. You can probably prevail with an aggravation claim but you would need to actually get an MH diagnosis first specifically a PTSD one. I'm not sure what type of stressors you may have from combat do you have any valor or combat awards? Because of the adverse action and by your own statements on how your command is handling the situation it looks like they will almost definitely pursue the adverse action and elimination route. Your plan is to pursue the BH as much as possible get it all documented at a later date you may get the BCMR to upgrade it-it will require a civilian or VA provider to clearly state your misconduct was clearly related to your combat deployment. Expect a long fight and there are no guarantees retaining legal counsel can definitely help

peblawyer.com
 
Thank you for your reply. I was awarded a Bronze star as my end of tour award but no valor awards. how long does it take to start an meb/peb process once ptsd is diagnosed? Also does the diagnosis need to come from a military doctor? The behavioral health here can only get me an appointment a month out. would a VA diagnosis be sufficient?
 
That's if the provider submits an MEB they already claimed they do not think you have a diagnosis yet you cannot make them and yes it has to be service provider, not a civilian. The civilian can be for a second opinion but they may dismiss it if the provider does have the full situation in front of them with an objective rationale. The VA would be fine but I'm not sure what your discharge characterization would be which can prevent being rated by the VBA. Even if an MEB goes up the base commander can reject it for the adverse discharge, it just depends on how your command treats officers in these situations. I can tell you from experience they usually do not give much sympathy at the BCMR for officers with misconduct always holding them to a higher standard because of their leadership position, unlike an enlisted soldier.
 
I have received a PTSD diagnosis and my provider says he believes that the PTSD contributed to my drinking and ultimate misconduct.
What are my options at this point? I am not trying to push blame away from me but is there any consideration taken to misconduct that was the result of combat related PTSD?
 
To be honest, I would have not told them anything about a family history of nothing. They are quick to attribute it to something that developed prior to service. The navy has secnav instruction that provides some protection when it comes to misconduct due to mental health issues. Have you checked to see if the army has something similar?
 
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