Get Out of MEB Board

Hello,

I am writing on behalf of my husband. We just got notified and had our first appointment with an Liaison in the MEB process. My husband has served 8 years and has always wanted to retire after his 20 years. He had a medical emergency where he might have blacked out due to not eating and drinking while doing layouts all day and they are ruling him unfit without doing the test that had already been ordered by the doctor. Is there anyway that he can stop the MEB process or would the test results help stop the process if they come back normal?

We are just not sure why we are even in this process when we haven't done anything medically as yet.

Any information is greatly appreciated.
 
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I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Vasovagal Syncope can be a scary. Loss of consciousness is worthy of being investigated medically but if this is his first time, it is really surprising they would assign him a PEBLO so quickly. Does he have a medical history of passing out like this?

You cannot stop the train at this junction BUT you can rest assured that the DOD absolutely hates medically retiring people because they become eligible for retirement benefits without doing the 20 year career. Once he is assigned the PEBLO, the PEBLO will request a NARSUM (narrative summary) and CIS (Commander impact statement). The NARSUM is a medical summary typed up by the primary physician that states what the problem is as they see it and how long do they expect you to be unable to perform military duties. You can appeal this NARSUM and ask for a second opinion. I would recommend submitting evidence from the specialist saying that he is fine and this is a normal physiological response to high exertion, dehydration, and low blood sugar.

If the second opinion comes back in your favor, the higher headquarters review of your IDES package might get kicked back to return to duty.

Keep us posted
 
Guardguy11 said:
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Vasovagal Syncope can be a scary. Loss of consciousness is worthy of being investigated medically but if this is his first time, it is really surprising they would assign him a PEBLO so quickly. Does he have a medical history of passing out like this?

You cannot stop the train at this junction BUT you can rest assured that the DOD absolutely hates medically retiring people because they become eligible for retirement benefits without doing the 20 year career. Once he is assigned the PEBLO, the PEBLO will request a NARSUM (narrative summary) and CIS (Commander impact statement). The NARSUM is a medical summary typed up by the primary physician that states what the problem is as they see it and how long do they expect you to be unable to perform military duties. You can appeal this NARSUM and ask for a second opinion. I would recommend submitting evidence from the specialist saying that he is fine and this is a normal physiological response to high exertion, dehydration, and low blood sugar.

If the second opinion comes back in your favor, the higher headquarters review of your IDES package might get kicked back to return to duty.

Keep us posted
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He has never had an issue like this before.. he is 36 years old and had seizures from the age of 13 to 18 and had surgery to remove them. That is the extent of his medical history. Has not had one since and that is almost 20 years ago. For them to MEB so quickly without further testing puzzles me.
 
It is certainly puzzling. Good news though is that because he has 8 years of active duty (8-year rule) service any conditions he had prior to the military, including these seizures, will be considered in the line of duty for disability evaluation.
 
I'm sorry to hear this - a couple questions if I may: what service branch is he in, what is his MOS (Military Occupational Skill), rank and where is this taking place, which base or hospital. I agree with @Guardguy11 about how the process works, I worked as a PEBLO for seven years so I will do my best to help answer your questions if something comes up that others do not have an answer for. For one thing, your PEBLO should have mentioned legal counsel as part of the initial IDES counseling.
 
RetiredColonel-MikeT said:
I'm sorry to hear this - a couple questions if I may: what service branch is he in, what is his MOS (Military Occupational Skill), rank and where is this taking place, which base or hospital. I agree with @Guardguy11 about how the process works, I worked as a PEBLO for seven years so I will do my best to help answer your questions if something comes up that others do not have an answer for. For one thing, your PEBLO should have mentioned legal counsel as part of the initial IDES counseling.
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Hello,

He is Active Army at JBLM, WA his MOS is 91E which is machining and welding. His rank is E5
 
KatEu49 said:
Hello,

He is Active Army at JBLM, WA his MOS is 91E which is machining and welding. His rank is E5
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Have either of you talked to his PEBLO yet, esp to obtain legal counsel to see what they say? Also, there's a very distinct difference between "unfit" and "non-retainable" - no one at that office has the authority to "rule him unfit" - that is reserved specifically to the US Army Physical Disability Agency (USPDA) or their designee, which happens to be the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). It may be a matter of semantics, but I personally would go head-to-head with them in that definition, but that's just me. If they don't want to "stop the MEB" at this juncture, definitely get legal counsel involved - you have every right to appeal not only at the MEB level, but also at the PEB level. If the MEB wants to push it through, submit a written appeal (with legal counsel's assistance) to the MEB. This falls under AR 40-400 ch 7-18, failure to do so, when brought to the attention of the PEB, will return the case to the Medical Treatment Facility (MTF). You do not have much time to get your written appeal in, start drafting it now.

AR 40-400 Patient Administration (08 July 2014)(most current regulation)
7–18. Counseling members concerning medical board results
a. Upon completion of the MEB and approval of the proceedings, the member will be counseled concerning the
findings. If the member disagrees with the board, the member has 3 working days to prepare a written appeal for
submission to the appointing authority. If no action is taken by the member within 3 working days, the board results
will be forwarded, as if approved by the member, to the Service reviewing authority for further action.

I hope this helps!
 
We've had the first meeting with PLEBO just last week who discussed the process and then proceeded to say they've "never seen anyone get out of the MEB process" when my husband stated he wanted to stay in. We have a meeting again tomorrow with someone else at the the MEB process as well as had his first appointment with the VA part of the steps he was told to take.
 
Well, fwiw, I have, more than once, however, that was ten years ago so take it with a grain of salt. I believe the next person you will see is the MSC who handles the VA side of things. If his primary care has already ordered the tests, go through with them.
 
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