The Board found that the Veteran's discharge was not due to willful and persistent misconduct, thus his character of discharge does not bar him from VA benefits.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran's single incident of drug use did not constitute willful and persistent misconduct as defined by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Drug Use
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20034278
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20034278.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board found that the appellant's discharge from service was due to drug use and misconduct, resulting in an OTH (Other Than Honorable) discharge. This constitutes a bar to VA benefits.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's claim that his character of discharge is a bar to VA benefits due to a continuous period of AWOL for over 180 days. The upgraded discharge did not set aside the bar to benefits.
- Denied
The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depression, and drug use. The Veteran's current mental health conditions are attributed to his active service but also related to other factors such as substance abuse and life stressors.
- Denied
The Board determined that the appellant's character of discharge from military service is a bar to VA benefits due to his willful and persistent misconduct, despite his claim of insanity at the time.
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