In August 2002, three months after your discharge from the USNR, you were hospitalized for Depressive Disorder.
In May 2002, you received an honorable discharge in the rank of E-4, with a reentry code RE-1. By all accounts, you were a high performing Sailor and entirely fit for duty, and the Navy would have welcomed your continued service if you had chosen to reenlist. Based on your performance evaluations, recommendations for retention, honorable discharge, and recommendation for reentry, the Board concluded that your documented mental health conditions and the spine/musculoskeletal concerns identified by the Army in 1998 do not appear to have significantly impacted your ability to carry out the duties of your office nor do they appear to have rendered your fitness for continued service questionable. Accordingly, the Board concluded that there was no basis upon which to refer you to the DES prior to your discharge.
Mr. Hassay’s enlistment expired in May 2002, and he was honorably
discharged. Appx00042, Appx10430. At the time of Mr. Hassay’s discharge, his DD
Form 214 (Certificate of Discharge) noted that Mr. Hassay was eligible for
reenlistment had he so elected. Appx10387–88, Appx00044 (reenlistment code RE-1
indicates that a Sailor is eligible for reenlistment). There is no indication in any of Mr.
Hassay’s military service records at that time that Mr. Hassay requested a medical
examination upon his discharge. Appx00044.
The only evidence presented to this Board that your medical condition represented a decided medical risk to your health was the opinion provided by your current mental health provider, Dr. Foote, years after the fact. As previously discussed, the Board discounted the credibility of Dr. Foote’s opinion in this regard because it was clearly biased and not supported by the objective evidence. Based upon the totality of the circumstances, the Board could not identify any time during your service in the USNR when your continued service presented a decided risk to your health. If anything, your continued service would have been beneficial to your health, as you would have been eligible to receive medical care for the mental health condition for which you were briefly hospitalized several months after your discharge from the USNR if you had chosen to reenlist. At the very least, there was never any reason for any Navy officials or medical providers to believe that your continued service in the USNR presented a risk to your health, or to refer you to the DES. Having made this determination, however, the Board also believes that it is irrelevant with regard to the ultimate question in this case, because even if it is true, in hindsight, that your continued service presented a risk to your health, you never would have been found unfit for duty under the circumstances.
In May 2002, you received an honorable discharge in the rank of E-4, with a reentry code RE-1. By all accounts, you were a high performing Sailor and entirely fit for duty, and the Navy would have welcomed your continued service if you had chosen to reenlist. Based on your performance evaluations, recommendations for retention, honorable discharge, and recommendation for reentry, the Board concluded that your documented mental health conditions and the spine/musculoskeletal concerns identified by the Army in 1998 do not appear to have significantly impacted your ability to carry out the duties of your office nor do they appear to have rendered your fitness for continued service questionable. Accordingly, the Board concluded that there was no basis upon which to refer you to the DES prior to your discharge.
Mr. Hassay’s enlistment expired in May 2002, and he was honorably
discharged. Appx00042, Appx10430. At the time of Mr. Hassay’s discharge, his DD
Form 214 (Certificate of Discharge) noted that Mr. Hassay was eligible for
reenlistment had he so elected. Appx10387–88, Appx00044 (reenlistment code RE-1
indicates that a Sailor is eligible for reenlistment). There is no indication in any of Mr.
Hassay’s military service records at that time that Mr. Hassay requested a medical
examination upon his discharge. Appx00044.
The only evidence presented to this Board that your medical condition represented a decided medical risk to your health was the opinion provided by your current mental health provider, Dr. Foote, years after the fact. As previously discussed, the Board discounted the credibility of Dr. Foote’s opinion in this regard because it was clearly biased and not supported by the objective evidence. Based upon the totality of the circumstances, the Board could not identify any time during your service in the USNR when your continued service presented a decided risk to your health. If anything, your continued service would have been beneficial to your health, as you would have been eligible to receive medical care for the mental health condition for which you were briefly hospitalized several months after your discharge from the USNR if you had chosen to reenlist. At the very least, there was never any reason for any Navy officials or medical providers to believe that your continued service in the USNR presented a risk to your health, or to refer you to the DES. Having made this determination, however, the Board also believes that it is irrelevant with regard to the ultimate question in this case, because even if it is true, in hindsight, that your continued service presented a risk to your health, you never would have been found unfit for duty under the circumstances.