Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 5/3/2011

Question
My son enlisted in the Navy about 2 1/2 years ago.  He enlisted for six years because of the field he is in.  He's in the airplanes running some of the search equipment.  He was deployed.  While at the first location, he started sleepwalking.  Some of his buddies told him about it as he had no memory of it.  He has evidently done it several times.  Somebody reported it and he was called in for a physical.  They also ran some sort of test while he was sleeping for a few hours, my understanding to check for seizures.  The test results came back fine.  He was told that he would be getting an administrative separation with no benefits.  He does not have a history of sleepwalking.  It started after deployment.  As far as I know, there is nothing negative in his personnel records.  In fact, they kept him on the flight schedule even after they had knowledge of the sleepwalking episodes.  I don't understand, first of all, why it would not be a medical discharge, and why he would not be getting the benefits and GI bill.  Could you explain this to me, please?  He hasn't actually received any paperwork yet, but this is what he was told by the admin office.  The doctor that saw him said that his sleepwalking didn't meet the criteria for a medical discharge.

Answer
Denae,
If hey administratively discharge him he will indeed have no benefits.  Only if he is medically discharged would he have benefits.

Sailors often sleep with their weapons. If they are actually in combat, he could get up and walk and accidentally shoot himself or somebody else.  Therefore it's not safe to keep him in the Navy.

It may be a stress-related thing if he began sleepwalking after deployment.  It's unusual that he didn't begin right after joining because it is somewhat common to new recruits that some  will develop leeping issues with the new schedule, pressure and such.  But 2 1/2 years later is quite unusual.   the doctor said his sleepwalking does not meet medical criteria, then they would have to give him an administrative discharge as that's the only choice left.  An administrative discharge is not punitive and generally is accompanied by an Honorable condition.

They generally give you a full medical checkup, which it sounds like he's had.  If his condition was medical then he his case and records would be reviewed by a medical board.  Medical boards are used to determine a person's fitness for duty as well as their potential to serve further in the military.  This process is typically very slow, as doctors and paperwork in the are always further reviewed and asking for input. The upside is that if they do separate him from the military they also make a determination as to any compensation or additional benefits he should be entitled to.  If the military does view his condition as being caused by them, then it could entitle him to either a stipend for a certain amount of time and/or medical treatment related to his condition for free (at a VA hospital).

If it truly is an Admin Discharge under the Personnel Manual, it'll happen quickly. The whole thing only takes maybe a month from the time it began until he's back home.

I'm sorry, but those are the facts he's facing.
Colonel H