In April 2020, a VA Decision Review Officer received many documents from the lieutenant to be considered. The lieutenant had asked the VA to recognize his military service as honorable.
The lieutenant requested a face-to-face interview with the decision review officer (DRO), but was cancelled after the COVID-19 virus temporarily eliminated all face-to-face interviews.
Thirty-six (36) years after he dated an enlisted woman in the naval reserves, the lieutenant at 68 years of age, granted the VA Decision Review Officer permission to make his decision based on submitted documents.
The lieutenant was denied. The VA was statutorily barred from providing any benefits to anyone who received a dishonorable discharge.
Did the lieutenant receive a “dishonorable” discharge. He still has nothing in writing from the Navy indicating his discharge was dishonorable, but that part of the game they play. His DD-214 says “dismissal” which is a code word for a “Dishonorable Discharge.”
The VA instructed the lieutenant to appeal the DRO’s decision to an administrative law judge. He filed the appeal, but the Covid pandemic slowed everything up. Eventually, the lieutenant obtained a date for a hearing before an administrative law judge.
The lieutenant traveled 225 miles to Los Angeles to attend a hearing with an administrative law judge who was prior Navy. The lieutenant asked the judge point blank, ‘sir are you statutorily prohibited from giving me and discharge upgrade for VA purposes?’
The judge paused for a moment and said, ‘I’m not sure. I’ll have to research the matter before I can answer that.’
Because the VA was so backed up and because of the pandemic that slowed down everything, there were 70,000 other cases to be decided before the lieutenant would hear back from the judge.
The lieutenant submitted his claim with the VA on May 12, 2018. His hearing was on March 7, 2022. As of Oct 24, 2023, there were 38,372, other cases which is down from 70,000 cases before his when the administrative law judge finished the hearing.
In perhaps 2025, the lieutenant will receive a decision from the Veterans Administration as to whether his Dishonorable Discharge can be raised up to an Honorable for VA purposes after leaving the service almost 40 years ago.
The saga continues…