Need Help!

Hey all,

I am in the MEB process at Fort Belvoir. I was in the middle of C&P Exams when COVID locked everything down. I completed 2 exams and the remaining 3 were canceled for obvious reasons. I have been aggressively trying to have an impact getting things rescheduled, but with all this going on it's not going well.

My issue is that I have a UNICORN of a job lined up, but this delay has a real chance at screwing it up. Has anyone heard of taking a leave of absence, or any other methods of taking advantage of your next career? I am just sitting in limbo status waiting on the country to go back to normal...seems like a major waste. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.
 
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Hello,

i have never heard of of a military “leave of absence” in the context of your situation. I took terminal leave in conjunction with a regular retirement and was hired 45 days prior to my military retirement date.

If you are in the Army: Military Leaves and Passes AR 600-8-10

Good luck,
Ron
 
Hello,
Welcome first off! I think if you look over the forum here you’ll find a ton of frustration about the slowness of the process. I get they design it to be fair but it is SLOW!! I am unaware of any programs that will allow you to take a new job and if you do before the board and it comes up in social media etc it could actually be used against you. Not trying to be a downer but I have tried and there is no real way to rush the system other than electing LDES which will abbreviate your timeline at the risk of loosing out on some benefits. Your pretty much at its mercy. Hang in there and best wishes as your case moves forward!
 
Welcome to the PEBFORUM. What service are you in?
 
“MEB process at Fort Belvoir”

Ron
 
RonG said:
Hello,

i have never heard of of a military “leave of absence” in the context of your situation. I took terminal leave in conjunction with a regular retirement and was hired 45 days prior to my military retirement date.

If you are in the Army: Military Leaves and Passes AR 600-8-10

Good luck,
Ron
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Ron,

I appreciate the reply Ron. I haven't been able to find anything either. It was mentioned to me by a mentor of mine to look into. Thanks!
 
Usndocgreen said:
Hello,
Welcome first off! I think if you look over the forum here you’ll find a ton of frustration about the slowness of the process. I get they design it to be fair but it is SLOW!! I am unaware of any programs that will allow you to take a new job and if you do before the board and it comes up in social media etc it could actually be used against you. Not trying to be a downer but I have tried and there is no real way to rush the system other than electing LDES which will abbreviate your timeline at the risk of loosing out on some benefits. Your pretty much at its mercy. Hang in there and best wishes as your case moves forward!
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Thanks for the advice! I am aware of LDES, but don't think it would be worth the risk of possibly losing out. Take care.
 
Re: “I am unaware of any programs that will allow you to take a new job and if you do before the board and it comes up in social media etc it could actually be used against you.”

Just a thought, but it seems unlikely board members would peruse the media pages of those going through the process.

Also, if it is a consideration, don’t post private matters on Facebook (for public viewing) or other media. I don’t.

I hope he is successful in getting the job he wants; however, the provisions of AR 600-8-10 will govern whether he leaves early.

Regards,
Ron
 
Ron,
I can attest differently. There is an evidence section D on the board just for social media! 10 minutes before my telephone fpeb I got an email with evidence document 10. It was 15 pages of screen shots from the internet. I am a surgeon and used to work in a private practice with command approval before my health caught up to me. They had 2 and 3 year old screen shots of my old website, google reviews, previous speaking engagements, and a website of a buisness I still own! They are looking and if you have stuff out there apparently they will find it! I had ceased all Facebook Instagram use a year ago and closed those pages but this stuff all came up anyway! Just FYI
 
Thanks for the report. Although I have used the Internet since ~1992 and could write raw HTML at one time, I confess to not having experience with social media and employment. I was last hired in 1991 by a university and besides the interview, my college
credentials and military history were all that were examined.

Your comments are educational...

Thanks,
Ron
 
I was AF. The AF equivalent will help members regardless of their assignment. The phone call would be free.
 
Wishing you the best always.
 
BrokenHeloDriver said:
I have a UNICORN of a job lined up
Click to expand...

INTERNSHIP
Another option all separations have... Have you completed SFL-TAP (you don't have to but they discuss it in SFL-TAP)? The 6m internship/jobs program will allow you to work for up to 6 months from an employer that's willing to provide a memorandum saying they are interested in hiring you and want to provide training. (As an example SFL-TAP here at Ft. Bragg has a 6m Auto Body Repair training program with Caliber Collision, you apply get accepted from Caliber, commander approves, SFL-TAP does paperwork, your new place of duty is a Caliber for next 6 months).

Talk to SFL-TAP about what they need to approve or review, then, talk to your employer let them know COVID delayed your separation and ask if they will write a memo for you to be an intern to hold your job. They CANNOT pay you because you are are still on the Army's payrolls, but it does allow you to start working and not lose the position. Very few employers have issues with this because they basically get your work time and the Army pays your paycheck of that time, so win/win for them. Many also use it for on-boarding and initial training so you can start actual work soon as you are free.

If the new job is out of driving distance you'll need to request pTDY from your command after the internship is approved. The job can not pay any expenses while on active service, but they can legally "reimburse you for cost of living/housing" as a signing bonus or relocation bonus once you are separated.

SFL-TAP or a local VSO should be able to help you set up the program. If you are or were in SOF and injured and have Care Coalition support, they can coordinate this stuff too. Typically SFL-TAP only offers the programs they already established, but the regulation allows any internship, you just have to do the extra leg work of getting the employer to agree and write the memo, and get SFL-TAP to support if you don't have a VSO or Care Coalition doing it for you.

LEAVE
If you have some lazy person who refuses to work with you and just tosses up road-blocks on internship... It is completely legal for you to use your leave time for this purpose.

You would need commanders written permission to "moonlight" a second job (basically counseling saying it wont effect your duty requirements and no conflict of interest like working for a company you just approved a contract for). With commanders approval for 2nd job, just use your units local leave policy to burn you leave up. Cover your ass by having a counseling with your commander stating he know's you'll be working during that time, and you'll have some kind of health and welfare check in or some such (to cover his ass as well) by text. It'll make you transistor faster after PEB anyways since you wont have the leave to use as transition leave.

I did something similar, my commissioning program did not allow leave for the full 2 years, and i was required to report with 0 leave balance. My BDE policy was any leave over 29 days required BN CDR and over 45 required BDE Commander. My company commander approved 3x 29 day leave forms and 1x 7 day leave form, and I took 94 days off with just the CO's approval, came in to work for 1 duty day between each one, checked in with my CO and left again.
 
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RonG said:
Re: “I am unaware of any programs that will allow you to take a new job and if you do before the board and it comes up in social media etc it could actually be used against you.”

Just a thought, but it seems unlikely board members would peruse the media pages of those going through the process.

Also, if it is a consideration, don’t post private matters on Facebook (for public viewing) or other media. I don’t.

I hope he is successful in getting the job he wants; however, the provisions of AR 600-8-10 will govern whether he leaves early.

Regards,
Ron
Click to expand...

To be clear...I'm not looking for any "under the table" solutions. I know that there are programs dedicated to this very thing (for typical transitioning soldiers). I just wanted to see if there are any specific or accomodating for MEB situations. I do appreciate all of the input!
 
JoePlasm said:
INTERNSHIP
Another option all separations have... Have you completed SFL-TAP (you don't have to but they discuss it in SFL-TAP)? The 6m internship/jobs program will allow you to work for up to 6 months from an employer that's willing to provide a memorandum saying they are interested in hiring you and want to provide training. (As an example SFL-TAP here at Ft. Bragg has a 6m Auto Body Repair training program with Caliber Collision, you apply get accepted from Caliber, commander approves, SFL-TAP does paperwork, your new place of duty is a Caliber for next 6 months).

Talk to SFL-TAP about what they need to approve or review, then, talk to your employer let them know COVID delayed your separation and ask if they will write a memo for you to be an intern to hold your job. They CANNOT pay you because you are are still on the Army's payrolls, but it does allow you to start working and not lose the position. Very few employers have issues with this because they basically get your work time and the Army pays your paycheck of that time, so win/win for them. Many also use it for on-boarding and initial training so you can start actual work soon as you are free.

If the new job is out of driving distance you'll need to request pTDY from your command after the internship is approved. The job can not pay any expenses while on active service, but they can legally "reimburse you for cost of living/housing" as a signing bonus or relocation bonus once you are separated.

SFL-TAP or a local VSO should be able to help you set up the program. If you are or were in SOF and injured and have Care Coalition support, they can coordinate this stuff too. Typically SFL-TAP only offers the programs they already established, but the regulation allows any internship, you just have to do the extra leg work of getting the employer to agree and write the memo, and get SFL-TAP to support if you don't have a VSO or Care Coalition doing it for you.

LEAVE
If you have some lazy person who refuses to work with you and just tosses up road-blocks on internship... It is completely legal for you to use your leave time for this purpose.

You would need commanders written permission to "moonlight" a second job (basically counseling saying it wont effect your duty requirements and no conflict of interest like working for a company you just approved a contract for). With commanders approval for 2nd job, just use your units local leave policy to burn you leave up. Cover your ass by having a counseling with your commander stating he know's you'll be working during that time, and you'll have some kind of health and welfare check in or some such (to cover his ass as well) by text. It'll make you transistor faster after PEB anyways since you wont have the leave to use as transition leave.

I did something similar, my commissioning program did not allow leave for the full 2 years, and i was required to report with 0 leave balance. My BDE policy was any leave over 29 days required BN CDR and over 45 required BDE Commander. My company commander approved 3x 29 day leave forms and 1x 7 day leave form, and I took 94 days off with just the CO's approval, came in to work for 1 duty day between each one, checked in with my CO and left again.
Click to expand...

I believe you're referring to the CSP or Career Skills Program. I am aware of the program and I am currently trying to make it work. I am trying to nail down my exact date of "Military Retention Determination Point". According to the CSP Army Directive, after the 85th day POST MDRP, you're eligible for CSP. So I am working that angle and touching base with all appropriate folks who have a hand in it. From what I have found, that's pretty much the only possible option. AR 600-8-10 doesn't have anything else applicable to this situation. I appreciate the information and you taking the time to share!
 
BrokenHeloDriver said:
I believe you're referring to the CSP or Career Skills Program. I am aware of the program and I am currently trying to make it work. I am trying to nail down my exact date of "Military Retention Determination Point". According to the CSP Army Directive, after the 85th day POST MDRP, you're eligible for CSP. So I am working that angle and touching base with all appropriate folks who have a hand in it. From what I have found, that's pretty much the only possible option. AR 600-8-10 doesn't have anything else applicable to this situation. I appreciate the information and you taking the time to share!
Click to expand...

MRDP is reached at 365 days on profile or when the medical provider has determined that the SM cannot reasonably recover and return to duty within the 365 days. At MRDP a provider has 2 options, refer to WTU for rehabilitation in excess of 365 days, or start an MEB. If you are in the IDES process you have already reached MRDP. The 85 day from MRDP would be 85 days from when the P3 profile was submitted to IDES by your PCM.
 
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