The Board has determined that the appellant's character of discharge from service is a bar to VA benefits due to willful and persistent misconduct, including drug use, AWOL periods, and desertion. The appellant was not insane at the time of his offenses.
The deciding factor: The appellant had multiple instances of misconduct during service, including drug use, AWOL periods, and being declared a deserter, which constitute willful and persistent misconduct leading to an other than honorable discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- drug use, AWOL (absent without leave), desertion
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2015
- Citation
- 1528518
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 1528518.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service records and a need for an addendum opinion on the issue of insanity.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and secondary service connection due to issues related to antisocial personality disorder, drug use, erectile dysfunction, and lumbar spine disability. The remand requires an addendum opinion from a VA examiner regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's antisocial personality disorder.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a video-conference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. The issues of service connection are related to new evidence and the exposure basis is not applicable.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board determined that the appellant's character of discharge was a bar to VA benefits due to his multiple instances of AWOL and other offenses, but did not address service connection or any specific rating.
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