The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) successfully argued a claim before the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) seeking a service-connected medical retirement for a Virginia Army National Guard veteran. M-VETS filed the claim on behalf of the veteran in 2023 and recently secured a medical retirement, allowing the veteran to receive access to Department of Defense retirement benefits and retain his military rank.

The veteran served honorably in the Virginia Army National Guard from 2016 to 2018. However, the veteran sustained an injury during basic training, which led to his discharge from active duty for medical treatment, potentially allowing him to return and complete the required training.  Without justification and without fault of his own, the veteran was separated from the Virginia Army National Guard because he was unable to complete the training required to remain in his military occupational specialty. This administrative discharge was in error, as the veteran should have been referred to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System due to his inability to complete military training resulting from his service-connected injury. This discharge prevented the veteran from accessing retirement benefits and did not accurately reflect his service.

“Thankfully, the veteran reached out to M-VETS for assistance, and we are glad we could correct this injustice,” M-VETS Director Timothy M. MacArthur stated. “Unfortunately, the Virginia Army National Guard made a clear error in judgment regarding the reason for separating our veteran from service. We have been working on this matter since 2018, and, because it was a National Guard matter, we had to exhaust all our administrative remedies through the National Guard Bureau before petitioning the BCMR for relief. Our client served honorably in the Virginia Army National Guard and was injured during his service; his service records should reflect these facts. This type of request is not often granted by the BCMR, so correcting this injustice and having him receive a medical retirement was a fantastic result.”

“Thank you to the student advisors and the M-VETS team for all the work you have done on my behalf!” said the veteran.

Due to the lengthy litigation process, many M-VETS student advisors worked diligently on this issue while in the clinic. “A significant amount of hard work went into this effort, and I want to thank the M-VETS SAs who handled this matter and made this outcome possible for our veteran, ” MacArthur continued.

M-VETS enables students to assist active-duty members of the armed forces, their families, and veterans in a wide variety of administrative, litigation, and non-litigation matters, including appeals of denials of Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation and educational claims, representation before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, applications for discharge upgrades or military records correction before the Boards for Correction of Military Records and Discharge Review Boards.