Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 7/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: Here is my situation. I had a issue in Aug 08 where I was having difficulty catching my breath and nervous. Went to a Urgent care dr who said I was hyperventilating and asked personal questions which basically boiled down to because my grandfather(best friend) had passed and broke up with girlfriend and my grandmother( who was in hospital with serious surgery) these things were weighing on my mind and I was anxious about it even subconciously and caused this issue. Anyway in Sept I enlisted in Navy and filled out the paperwork and answered all the questions but didn't think anymore about this issue so on the question about anxiety or nervous I had checked no as well as Er visits I checked no when I forgot I had stitches two years ago froma baseball accident. I did tell all this to the recruiter afterwards who said it should be ok. In Dec I started having the issues periodically again and went to regular dr. He wanted to run stress test and ultrasound to make sure all ok before I left for bootcamp. My recruiter was aware of this and it was Jan and my leave date was in Feb. Test turned out fine and Dr just said all test were negative and nothing to worry about. My mom said it was just probably a panic attack over things getting close and my grandpa's both passing both ex military. My dr sent the records to my recruiter via fax and then she later called me withmy new departure date of March 27. I figured all had been cleared with the Navy and now felt good that all was in records. I went to boot camp and within three days I had an episode of shaking and nervous. I of course immediately thought of the other spells and was sent to talk to a psych dr. where I went through all the above. He recommended me to leave and I was shocked. Long story short he classified as panic attacks without agor something and I was given an Re4 and a JDa. I do not understand how I have a fradulent entry when my dr sent the records to the recruiter and I have proof of that. I didn't say anything at the moment of truth because I thought that information was already in my records then. I also feel that the spell I had there was not the same and after talking with my mom I think it was low blood sugar as I had not eaten much since I arrived as I had a hard time adjusting to that food. I wish they would of checked that out to see and it didn't help that I mentioned the word panic attack only because my mom had said that to me before not my dr. I want to get my Re code changed and at least that fraudlent entry off of my dd214. Is this possible? I want back in the Navy if not the Army. I have not had any more issues and am willing to see a psychiatrist to prove i dont' have panica attacks. Please tell me what my chances are. The dr there said I would be able to come back in with a waiver so why did he or whoever give me an re 4
Thanks
Matt  

Answer
Matt,
Your explanation makes perfect sense to me, however the Navy boils it all down to 2 simple codes.  A Separation Code of JDA means exactly "Fraudulent Entry" and a Reenlistment Eligibility code of RE-4 means exactly "Not recommended for reenlistment."

Getting your codes changed is possible but extremely difficult and your chances are slim.  In short you must prove the government made a mistake, and good luck doing that.  The process is time consuming and expensive (travel to Wash., D.C,, lawyer fees, etc.) and is designed that way on purpose.  You have a better chance of winning the lottery.

There's no way the Navy will ever take you back, that would be the same as them admitting they were wrong and it just isn't going to happen.  However, in some instances the Army will issue a waiver for an RE-4, especially from another Service.  They're eager to say, "See, we're better than them."  They have a list of waiverable moral and administrative disqualifications.

So in summary, the Navy screwed you and that's never gonna change.  You have a slim chance with the Army.

You need to talk to an Army recruiter right away to get his opinion.  To be honest with you your chances are not great, but there's still a chance.  Since it's late in the fiscal year, ask him if it would improve your odds any if he held your application until 1 October when the 2010 quotas are released.

I wish you all the best.  Let me know how it turns out.
Colonel H