The Veteran's appeal is denied as he did not meet the eligibility criteria for Chapter 30 educational assistance benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 3011(a)(1)(B) due to his discharge being for alcohol rehabilitation failure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was discharged from service for alcohol rehabilitation failure, which does not qualify as a physical or mental condition that interfered with performance of duty and is not characterized as disability due to willful misconduct.
- Claimed conditions
- Alcohol dependence, Personality disorder not otherwise specified (mixed with narcissistic and immature features)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2015
- Citation
- 1516186
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1516186.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD with associated depression, major depressive disorder, polysubstance dependence, cocaine dependence, alcohol dependence, and a history of heroine dependence.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of November 27, 2013, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder with major depressive disorder, anxiety, and alcohol dependence due to new and relevant evidence.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that personality disorders are considered congenital or developmental defects and not subject to service connection.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied an earlier effective date for service connection of PTSD with major depressive disorder, alcohol dependence and cannabis use disorder. The issues of entitlement to a rating in excess of 70 percent for psychiatric disability (PTSD) and TDIU based on psychiatric disability are remanded.
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