COAD.. HELP..what are the chances of approval

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Yekpewa21

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Registered Member
So I'm trying to understand the chances of approval for COAD. Ive read the regulations and what I gather from it is, it is a right to be able ro apply for it if you're at atleast 15- 18 yrs of service. There is criteria that has to be met and it must be approved based on needs of the service. I have someone swearing up and down that there is no way that a Army solider at 18 yrs of service, found unfit, will ever be denied COAD. This person swears that no soldier who has applied for COAD has ever been denied, therefore soldiers at 18 yrs are granted this guaranteed protection to finish 2O yrs.

My interpretation is that it's a process that requires approval, therefore the possibility exists it can be denied. I see a lot if verbiage like "to be considered", "if selected".. Please give me guidance on this. Thanks.
 
Yekpewa21 said:
So I'm trying to understand the chances of approval for COAD. Ive read the regulations and what I gather from it is, it is a right to be able ro apply for it if you're at at least 15- 18 yrs of service. There is criteria that has to be met and it must be approved based on needs of the service. I have someone swearing up and down that there is no way that a Army solider at 18 yrs of service, found unfit, will ever be denied COAD. This person swears that no soldier who has applied for COAD has ever been denied, therefore soldiers at 18 yrs are granted this guaranteed protection to finish 2O yrs.

My interpretation is that it's a process that requires approval, therefore the possibility exists it can be denied. I see a lot if verbiage like "to be considered", "if selected".. Please give me guidance on this. Thanks.
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You are right to question that person. COAD is definitely not guaranteed. COAD is a Hail Mary last attempt to stay in by being given an exception to the rule.
 
Nothing is guaranteed, hell not even 18 year sanctuary can protect you from being medically separated at 19.5 years!!! What information is this person citing? Do they have real info or just a barracks lawyer spouting off their baseless opinion?
 
I would recommend reaching out to the COAD team via email or by DSN. I reached out to them a few months ago and they were extremely prompt with their responses and answered all of my questions. I have 19 years in and currently going through the MED board process so I had a bunch of questions for them. Good luck!

usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.epmd-coad@mail.mil
 
COAD is not "guaranteed" for anyone; however, if a Soldier does not have any bad paper in their recent records and the unfitting condition does not pose a threat to themselves or anyone else the chances are good for approval (I can only say this about Enlisted Soldiers and am not sure about the Officer side). Reach out to the COAD Team and they can send you an example packet. once the DA Form 199 is signed by the PDA you and your PEBLO will have 10 days to get the packet to the PDA. Good luck!
 
Yekpewa21 said:
I have someone swearing up and down that there is no way that a Army solider at 18 yrs of service, found unfit, will ever be denied COAD. This person swears that no soldier who has applied for COAD has ever been denied, therefore soldiers at 18 yrs are granted this guaranteed protection to finish 2O yrs.
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ARush said:
COAD is not "guaranteed" for anyone; however, if a Soldier does not have any bad paper in their recent records and the unfitting condition does not pose a threat to themselves or anyone else the chances are good for approval (I can only say this about Enlisted Soldiers and am not sure about the Officer side). Reach out to the COAD Team and they can send you an example packet. once the DA Form 199 is signed by the PDA you and your PEBLO will have 10 days to get the packet to the PDA. Good luck!
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I have very rarely seen COAD (or for reservists, COAR) approved. These days, I only see the cases that are from my clients or by hearing about cases through this forum. I can tell you that over the past 15 years or so, I have only seen a handful of cases that were approved. It's not that it cannot happen. It is just that in my experience it is extremely unlikely to be approved. (Also, yes, there is a waiver of appeals necessary to apply for COAD; I have also seen that requirement basically ignored, i.e., I have seen cases where folks did not waive their rights, appealed through the APDA, then applied. They were denied, however, no one raised the waiver prerequisite as a reason for denial).

My view is that COAD/COAR is not something that I would recommend pursuing. Additionally, in later appeals, the COAD waiver issues could come up.

I don't favor recommending COAD applications. There are usually better approaches to achieving goals that are reasonable based on the facts and circumstances of a case.
 
Jason Perry said:
I don't favor recommending COAD applications. There are usually better approaches to achieving goals that are reasonable based on the facts and circumstances of a case.
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@Jason Perry, can you provide as example for our edification?
 
chaplaincharlie said:
@Jason Perry, can you provide as example for our edification?
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No, I can't provide a specific example or a cite to a case.

Several reasons for that (which are similar or the same for the reasons I suggested, but also I could not provide an example of a case where I fought this issue out without the permissions of my client...however, there is also no such case that exists....I have never had or seen a case where this issue was fought out to the end.)
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1) If granted, then no one appeals, because they are happy with the outcome.
2) If denied, the COAD is very rarely (really never from what I have seen) the issue. The board finds the member unfit, and the COAD application is not really addressed.
3) Understand that I have probably directly seen 2-3 cases where COAD was an issue over the past 15 years. None of them resolved well. I have heard of some cases. But, I don't think that this is the right approach and I think that by pursuing an COAD application as that the main desired result, it is a bad idea.

But, if folks disagree with my thoughts and my understanding, go ahead and ignore what I think, apply for COAD, and see what happens. I hope it works out well. I would appreciate knowing the result and seeing if I should change my thoughts.
 
Jason Perry said:
No, I can't provide a specific example or a cite to a case.

Several reasons for that (which are similar or the same for the reasons I suggested, but also I could not provide an example of a case where I fought this issue out without the permissions of my client...however, there is also no such case that exists....I have never had or seen a case where this issue was fought out to the end.)
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1) If granted, then no one appeals, because they are happy with the outcome.
2) If denied, the COAD is very rarely (really never from what I have seen) the issue. The board finds the member unfit, and the COAD application is not really addressed.
3) Understand that I have probably directly seen 2-3 cases where COAD was an issue over the past 15 years. None of them resolved well. I have heard of some cases. But, I don't think that this is the right approach and I think that by pursuing an COAD application as that the main desired result, it is a bad idea.

But, if folks disagree with my thoughts and my understanding, go ahead and ignore what I think, apply for COAD, and see what happens. I hope it works out well. I would appreciate knowing the result and seeing if I should change my thoughts.
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No disagreement. Just trying to expand my understanding.
 
chaplaincharlie said:
No disagreement. Just trying to expand my understanding.
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It is very hard to know much about it and to have a true understanding based on the fact that there are so few instances where it comes up and there are no published decisions. It is horribly opaque. (That is also why I don't favor it; it is just too much of an unknown and unknowns are risky).

As an aside, years ago, the Air Force used to administer their version of COAD (it is called Limited Assignment Status) by having the PEB's issue "recommendations" as to LAS which were followed by SAFPC and the Air Force. At that time, I would advocate for that as a supplemental request to the contention and it was reasonably often granted. Then, one day, they made a policy decision to prohibit recommendations from the PEB, and that was pretty much the end of that. (This was in 2012 if I recall correctly).
 
"It is just too much of an unknown and unknowns are risky." This makes sense to me. I was a benefactor of the AF LAS, many years ago. I am always interested in your perspective because you have vast experience.
 
Greetings all,

My case is a successful one, but gents you are very right. Program is very small ~10-15 cases Army-wide. In fact, it means the vast majority of the Army and the VA don't know how to deal with me now that I am finally transitioning.

*BREAK*

If you look back to my history, I was found unfit, 100 P&T back in 2017 I was 40 and had >15 years of active duty service. I applied for COAD and was approved. For me, it was a very good deal, though my case may very well be unique. I experienced a sudden cardiac death that resulted in an anoxic brain injury. My executive function (logic/reasoning) and gross motor function (balance) were recovering slowly and it wasn't certain how much I would recover. As an acquisition officer, I hadquite a bit of education and experience directly applicable to the outside world, so COAD provided me a "safe environment" to see if my brain would still cash the checks my resume could write.

Returning to a job I knew well, in an envrionment with a high degree of support, was the best way to prove to the world (and myself) that I was still capable of doing the work.

Please PM me if you'd like more details and I would be happy to help however I can. The application process is very rigid and inflexible (I imagine deliberately) and service members have a very small window to requests COAD/COAR.

I am actually on terminal leave now.
 
TiredChef81 said:
Greetings all,

My case is a successful one, but gents you are very right. Program is very small ~10-15 cases Army-wide. In fact, it means the vast majority of the Army and the VA don't know how to deal with me now that I am finally transitioning.

*BREAK*

If you look back to my history, I was found unfit, 100 P&T back in 2017 I was 40 and had >15 years of active duty service. I applied for COAD and was approved. For me, it was a very good deal, though my case may very well be unique. I experienced a sudden cardiac death that resulted in an anoxic brain injury. My executive function (logic/reasoning) and gross motor function (balance) were recovering slowly and it wasn't certain how much I would recover. As an acquisition officer, I hadquite a bit of education and experience directly applicable to the outside world, so COAD provided me a "safe environment" to see if my brain would still cash the checks my resume could write.

Returning to a job I knew well, in an envrionment with a high degree of support, was the best way to prove to the world (and myself) that I was still capable of doing the work.

Please PM me if you'd like more details and I would be happy to help however I can. The application process is very rigid and inflexible (I imagine deliberately) and service members have a very small window to requests COAD/COAR.

I am actually on terminal leave now.
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Congratulations! I am glad to hear that things worked out well for you,, and I hope you are continuing to recover. Best of luck in a well-earned retirement!!

I know that you may not have time to respond, given that you are on leave and transitioning. But, if you have a chance sometime, I think it would be great if you could provide any tips, insight, or other information. Also, I wonder if your position in the Acquisition field influenced your success. What was your grade at the time of your placement on COAD? Did you have a particular position or skill set that made you especially valuable to the Army? Strong support from you chain? Anything you wished you knew before or anything you wished you did differently? I think this type of information may help others.

Again, congratulations!!
 
Does anyone know how long it takes to receive a decision on a COAD? It's been about 8 months since I submitted mine.
 
Jason Perry said:
Congratulations! I am glad to hear that things worked out well for you,, and I hope you are continuing to recover. Best of luck in a well-earned retirement!!

I know that you may not have time to respond, given that you are on leave and transitioning. But, if you have a chance sometime, I think it would be great if you could provide any tips, insight, or other information. Also, I wonder if your position in the Acquisition field influenced your success. What was your grade at the time of your placement on COAD? Did you have a particular position or skill set that made you especially valuable to the Army? Strong support from you chain? Anything you wished you knew before or anything you wished you did differently? I think this type of information may help others.

Again, congratulations!!
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Will do! As soon as I get my feet back under me post transition. Anyone in need of support right away grab my attention and ill do my best.
 
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