MEB, ETS?

J

justin319

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
so here's the deal been in the army for 4 years and some change I start terminal leave in sep. Iv had shoulder surgury, I have ptsd and chronic migranes and insomnia and apparently slipped discs as of today mri pending. I never even thought to get a meb untill I saw my neurologist and he suggested it. Is it worth it? How do I start it and what do I do if my unit refuses? Can my unit find out what my meb is for, don't really feel like dealing with the bullahit from all the people saying I'm weak or w.e, just kinda confused I just figured I would submit to the va thanks
 
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An MEB is started based of permanent restrictions a doc places on a profile. So to start it you talk to a doc about limitations due to your conditions and their permancy.

Your unit has no say in granting or denying. Your commander will be required to make an assessment of your abilities for continued service given the medical condition, so can't hide it very well.

You will likely receive some of the treatment people with profiles get. It will mostly be less, i find most can tell the difference between profile seeking and legit problems.

The benefits are likely worth it to.
 
I appreciate the info let me clarify and say our pa is buddy buddy with the cos I work at div so a lot of brass if the won't start a med board can I go to ig or should I utalize someone's open door policy and who's? Thanks again
 
The commanders do put pressure concerning profiles on the PA. its more of a general, hey, we hate MEBs. It is pretty hard to say a PA is wrong in not starting a MEB, as its a judgement call, so hard for IG or someone to help.

The specialist you are seeing, neuro, can start the MEB. You should be able to request another PCM if you don't like the care you are receiving.
 
The neurologist I saw is a civilian that works on post at the TBI clinic and said he didnt even know how to start it. My PCM is unaware of most of my issues as they are farmed out to specalists, should I just go to my PCM and say hey I was told to start a MEB?
 
Civilians generally do not have access to profile. However, they should be providing medical write ups and recommendations for limitations. Your PCM should have access to the specialists' notes.

I would rarely recommend asking for a MEB. The correct answer, in my mind, when asked if you want one is "I would like to continue to serve, is that going to be possible". Disability seperation has a stated pupose, compensate those with injury or illness cor their career being cut short. There is also stated requirements that those with injury and illness severe enough to prevent to prevent further service be considerex for military seperarion. Second requirement is clear that its fact based, but reality is circumstances, such as a desire to continue your career, is (probably wrongly) a big factor. Hence, i would just talk to the PCM about profile and what you can and cannot do safely. The facts should push him towards deciding on a MEB profile or not then. You could talk about what the specialists said you should avoid or talk about what effect certain tasks you do are having on you to direct the profile to be written intelligently.

Now, theere may be a point where you say you are trying to push the limits of your profile and are just sucking and its wearing you down, and request an MEB. That tends to work ok.
 
Do any of you guys know if there are any downsides to getting boarded for mental health issues as one of the major factors. Will I ever have to disclose what I was boarded for when applying to jobs as say a cop or corrections officer? I want to get help but at the same time I dont want to screw myself later wiith the stigma of PTSD
 
The ADA prevents employers from asking about disability when deciding to offer you a job. They can ask you if you are able to safely perform certain tasks. If you cannot do a necessary task for the job, you can request a reasonable accommodation to allow you to perform the task. While there is some wiggle room for employers to discriminate and not get caught, generally they take it pretty seriously.

So if the job, such as cop or corrections officer, requires you to handle a weapon, respond to stress, be around crowds, whatever, your answers to being able to perform those tasks will depend highly on the symptoms of your PTSD. Lying about it will be a reason for termination, and obviously they will put you in those situations so they will find out if you can or cannot perform.

Disability letters for preference in employment only state the percentage, not what the condition(s) are. Your DD214 will only state that you had a disability discharge, not what the disabilities are.

If you are functioning in the military with your PTSD you would not get boarded for it. It would be a claim with the VA. If you are not functioning in the military with your PTSD, working as a cop or corrections officer is probably not a healthy plan. The stressors are too similar IMO.

Its not like PTSD is unknown to happen to cops. If you didn't have PTSD, becoming a cop is decently likely to help you develop it eventually. In my mind showing that you have it and are dealing with it successfully is a plus, not a negative. There is always a question of how people are going to deal with it the first times things hit the fan, I'd advertise the fact your response is a known quality. Its not really, each new stressor can bring new responses, so the nature and quality of your PTSD may change over time. Being self aware enough to seek treatment is however a Good Thing. The ones who try to ignore it, self medicate, or deny it are the bigger problem IMO.
 
PTSD will be on my med board but is not the sole reason for my med board the med board process is being started by behavioral health because she knows my situation however the neurologist is the one who recommended it he is a civilian that works on post and informed me he does not know how to process the medical board.I guess what I'm trying to say is I can live with my PTSD in the military but I'm not sure how the med board process works or if that's going to be the sole focus The combination of issues is why they recommended mad bored
 
If you start the med board off the PTSD, it will be because the PTSD had the right profile to make you below retention standards. Its not unheard of for someone to go to a sympathetic provider and say just make this one MEB. The problem then becomes not having the right profile or evidence to make the other conditions, the ones that are really the problem, unfit as well. It can be done w/o profiles, but it is harder.

The best route is to get all the conditions labeled with the right limitations and restrictions. Then start the MEB. This is why many specialists will defer to the PCM to write the profile, he's supposed to synthesize the information from the various sources to get an accurate picture. BH will not profile the migraines, back and shoulder, and sometimes not the insomnia. It can backfire in the form of a lowball DoD rating, finding all the conditions fit except PTSD. That's the worry, not being labeled as crazy forever by everyone. Depending on all the facts, PTSD being the only unfit condition may be fine for your goals or an accurate picture, or you may find ways to get the other conditions labeled as unfit, PTSD just got the ball rolling.
 
ThAnks for the info my neurologist said he would be adding to the meb once started but said he didn't know how to start it, bh will be starting it this week hopefully it works out, bh said they would have started it sooner but never said anything about it because they knew I wanted out of the army asap, but upon talking to them about it they said I met the criteria I just needed to be dedicated for an extra 6 months or so to make it happen any input on the acctual time frame it takes? Iv heard 33days- 2 years kind of nerve racking
 
The process is now taking 295 days or less, and 45 to 60 days of that are for terminal leave and outprocessing. I am 3/4 of my way through the process and it startd with amen referral in Nov of last year, so it can happen quickly.

I highly recommend that you search and do a lot of reading here on mental health MEB's. The VA will fill out a mental health disability benefits questionnaire, I recommend you have your psychiatrist fill out the same form as well and submit to the MEB. In my case. Y civilian psych filled it out with the 70% VA mental health "language" and the VA MH examiner with the 50% language.... I don't know which the VA is going to go with yet, but I'm thinking it will be 70, not a bad I crease for some homework on my part... May not be possible with your doctors, but it's worth a try.
 
If you don't mind me asking, did they have to give you a no weapon profile or anything did your unit think you were nutty?
 
Another question if I had profiles from civilian docs could I just go to a pa and have them write up a master with everything on it and have them check the meb box? Sounds weird but mostlyy docs are civilians can you condense bh and Ortho and neurology onto on profile?
 
Thanks for all the input, just an update, BH gave me a story that they cant start it and only said they would add to it once it has been started. My neurologist is the one that is pushing me and told me to make an appointment with a PA so thats scedualed in a week. He ordered some MRIs that found that i have some bad discs in my back and he is emailing the PA prior to the appointment to recommend that I be seperated on accounts of migranes and back pain. I also have surgury schedualed for 3 weeks away on my shoulder for the second time, any way that can be included in the board? complete rotator cuff reconstruct. anyway thanks for all the help, good news soon I hope. Also once recomended for the P profile and it is approved then what happens, I was planning on taking Con leave for my shoulder at home away from post, would that be a bad move, should I be waiting by the mailbox for a letter or something?
 
example both shoulders are my unfitting conditions and I have a list of other claims that are being rated by the Va. So what started the MEB for me were my shoulders. It's and process and takes time but is way shorter than the past. I started mine in july got unfit memo in oct and just found out ratings are complete and waiting on my 199. Hope this information helps I'm not an expert in the MEB but I will try to help as much as I can.
 
calvinchisholm said:
example both shoulders are my unfitting conditions and I have a list of other claims that are being rated by the Va. So what started the MEB for me were my shoulders. It's and process and takes time but is way shorter than the past. I started mine in july got unfit memo in oct and just found out ratings are complete and waiting on my 199. Hope this information helps I'm not an expert in the MEB but I will try to help as much as I can.
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thanks for the info, my big question right now is I was planning on taking con leave starting the 18th away from my home at base, once it is started am i waiting for a letter for a peblo app? thats what I was told by a fellow soldier just trying to find out if that is accurate. I dont want to miss a peblo app due to being out of the area
 
I was told once MEB started you should try to be be around for all appointments and not to take leave until they are all done. But everyone's case is not the same I would wait to speak with your PEBLO before taking leave away from post so you do not miss any appointments. Sorry for the late response.. IDES system moves pretty quickly with all the appointment and you want to be around so you can keep the ball rolling. But again speak with you PEBLO first..
 
You miss appointments or try to reschedule, the longer your process will take
 
How long did it take you to speak to your peblo once your PA recommended a MEB? Did they call you or was it a letter?
 
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