In September 2005, James Chapman was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard for failing to “maintain reasonable and consistent progress” during his probationary weight-loss period. He weighed around 250 pounds and had 32% body fat at the time he was discharged. In April, he had been given six months to shed 70 pounds and 8% body fat.
Chapman asked the Board for Correction of Military Records to vacate the discharge, reinstate him to active duty, or correct his military records so he could retire with 20 years of service. He had been approved to retire in September 2006. Chapman claimed the Coast Guard “condoned for 19 years his marginal weight performance,” and his commanding officer had unfairly singled him out in his last year of service. The board ruled against him, noting that he had previously been placed on weight probation in 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.
Chapman then filed a claim under the Military Pay Act, alleging that his commanding officer had used the weight program to remove him from the Coast Guard for filing grievances. The Court of Federal Claims, however, found the board’s conclusion was reasonable based on Chapman’s previous compliance with the weight program through a combination of diet and exercise. The court further noted that compulsive overeating does not qualify as a physical disability in the military.
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