Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO....??

Is it possible for a reservist with less than 20 years service to get medically retired in stead of just medically discharged with no retirement benefits? I am a marine corps reservist with over 4 years in the reserves, one of those years being active duty oversees in Iraq. I am a combat veteran and am rated 100% disabled from the VA. I informed my unit of my VA rating over a year ago so that I could be put on TMPQ and stop going to drills. They sent some of my medical records out for a MEB. I don't know much at all about the process, but now, about year later, the HM1 who works for our unit said it came back today and they recommended medical separation. I called her today to get more info, because I thought there may be a possibility of being medically retired as opposed to medically separated.... She said there is no such thing as getting medically retired in the reserves... that it is only for people on active duty and she said that they don't do DoD disability ratings for reservists... just active duty. She said that for reserves you are either fit for duty, or not fit for duty... and if you are found not fit, then they just discharge you with no benefits....

I guess I was hoping for a medical retirement as opposed to just a medical discharge... She is a new person to our unit and never worked with the marine corps before, and I am her first Med Board she's ever sent out.... so I don't know what to believe. I wish I could call someone and find out the facts... From what I read online, I thought everyone got rated by the DoD and if you were 30% or more, you were medically retired.... I don't know...

Thank you for your help...
 
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Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

You surely can be medically retired as a reservist. This is not a question open to interpretation. I have represented many reservists who have been retired.

You can reference 10 USC Chapter 61 or the Navy Reg, SECNAVINST 1850.4E.

Demand an MEB and PEB.
 
Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

Who ever is telling you this is telling you a whole bunch of wrong information. Reservists and Guardsmen can be medically retired. Read up on the site here and you'll get all the relevant regulations regarding this. That being said, just because you are 100% VA rated doesn't mean that you qualify for a medical retirement. The disability has to be service disqualifying based on your occupation/grade/rating/office.

You said your records were sent out for a MEB. Did you ever go through the MEB physical or get the results of what the MEB came back with? It's entirely possible they came back with a fit for duty recomendation and your unit is trying to now separate you as unfit for duty. There have been some other Reservists/Guardsmen who have run into similar circumstances and it shouldn't happen that way.
 
Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

I never went in for a physical examination or anything like that for the MEB. All I did was hand in some on my VA medical records showing my disability rating and they sent it off. Then today, finally got an email from the HM1 at my unit with an attachment about 10 pages long of some correspondences... It just says based on the medical information available, the reservist IS NOT physically qualified for retention due to history of....(some of my disabilities). Then on another page it says to assign a separation program designator code such and such. There is no more info than that, nothing about a DoD rating assignment, really no evidence in the packet other than that... My unit hasn't ever really gone through this process and I have no resources to go back on. I was asking the HM1 about medically retirement and she there was absolutely no such thing for reservists. She also said the only reason why I would appeal would be if I wanted to NOT be separated.. in other words, if I had changed my mind over the past year and wanted to stay in.... So, how do I go about getting the CORRECT information for myself and to the HM1 at my unit and getting this process corrected?
 
Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

I'd start in the Navy/Marine Corps service specific forum here. There you will find the Navy Manual of the Medical Department, Chapter 18 (MEBs). There is a section on there specifically addressing Reservists, section 18-23. This is a good place to start. From there you will probably have to do some further research into other Navy and/or DoD regs. There might also be some other threads regarding your questions. Not being a person who falls under the Dept of the Navy, I haven't looked there for anything so I'm not sure what all is there.

Hope that helps for a start.
 
Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

As someone already stated it is possible, especially if your disability is from your deployment. A different set of regs apply to line of duty injuries leading to medical disqualification versus non duty injury. If the medical condition is not from military service then to the best of my knowledge for the reserve compnent you need 15 years in for medical retirement. Good luck
 
Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

For a reservist /guardsman to get a medical retirement you must have a LOD and get a rating of over 30% from the PEB. Reserve units refer to a fit for duty determination as an MEB but they really are not-they are just determining if you are fit for duty/worldwide qualified and will separate you with ZERO benefits-you don't have enough years for a reserve retirement at age 60-so the only way to get retired is get a LOD and demand a MEB/PEB as Jason says-this would apply only if your medical issues were incurred or aggravated by service. If they were not, the VA is the best you will get. Be prepared for a fight.
 
Is it possible for reservist to get medically retired?? They are telling me NO...

Yes, I'm a reservist as well and will be receiving a 70% medical retirement for LOD injuries. You can tell that HM1 she is dead wrong and if she has questions, you have an 0-6 that would like to speak with her. You didn't say if your injuries or illnesses occurred while on active duty status in the line of duty or if you were on orders for 30 days or more. If so, you are entitled to be on active duty medical orders retroactively until the final disposition of your case. You could also opt for incapacitation pay. What did the VA rate you for? It doesn't sound like you received an MEB, but some other administrative action.
 
I have a similar problem & will soon go on orders for an MEB, u should have been able to do the same thing. I've not spoken to a JAG but need to because this is going on far too long. I had a spinal injury I was treated with physical therapy for abroad(Iraq) because they did not have the equipment to test me properly. They told me to get an MRI when I got home & it showed some problems. Problem is I have tens of thousands in medical bills because the VA misdiagnosed me. The DAV is awaiting the results of my MEB to increase my rating from 10% to not sure what. I have a bachelors degree & am used to making $23 an hour; now I am not employable & some days can't even move. What bugs me most is I lost my job for calling in too much for medical reasons & I don't have drill pay anymore. Close to losing my car that is almost paid off & WAS at some point living in my car. On so many meds I can't think straight or drive. I'm tired of them hiding the pain & just want to be fixed. Some things they can fix with my back but the Clonus & Spasticity are a permanent diagnosis. Reservists really get screwed my tour in the Navy Seabees was 11 months active duty. 8 of which were boots on the ground.o was fortunate enough to have been able to move in with my new fiancé & he helps pay the bills somewhat but he shouldn't have to & he doesn't make enough to cover everything. His ex wife left him while he was deployed to Afghanistan & cleaned him out so we struggle pay check to paycheck foregoing groceries sometimes just to pay the necessary bills. We don't even bother paying bills that can wait & only pay minimum on our maxed out credit cards. Prior to deployment I had 40k in savings. I have lived on that since I came home in 31JUL11. I had full custody of my son & lost that because I was homeless. I have many blessings to count but at some point I couldn't see past losing my son & being homeless so I overdosed & was in a coma for almost a week. I am still in the reserves & on TMPQS status. Everything was reported accurately, there was an incident report & LOD for back & knee. Yet I'm only allowed to go to the VA who do not have the resources (the one near me) & misdiagnosed me. I was happy to serve but I didn't think for a minute that it would have to come out of my pocket because I'm a reservist & not active duty. If anyone can offer good advice please call me at 596-719-1219. Thank you & Happy Veterans Day thanks for serving folks!
 
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