Should I write a Personal Statement Letter if the DES Attorney wants me too?

I'm Active Duty Marines, on a Med Board for Mental Health Conditions. I didn't want to write a personal statement letter in
fear of it somehow backfiring, but the Disability Evaluation System (DES) Attorney really wants me to.


She sent me a template for guidance and wants to go over it with me once I'm done. Should I just go
ahead and trust her on this and do it? Or is it better to play it safe and don't do one?
 

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Listen to your attorney.
 
austin7142 said:
I'm Active Duty Marines, on a Med Board for Mental Health Conditions. I didn't want to write a personal statement letter in
fear of it somehow backfiring, but the Disability Evaluation System (DES) Attorney really wants me to.


She sent me a template for guidance and wants to go over it with me once I'm done. Should I just go
ahead and trust her on this and do it? Or is it better to play it safe and don't do one?
Click to expand...
Your Code 16 attorney will review the statement, make edits and discuss it with you to ensure that it does not backfire on you- which I take to mean that you are concerned that it might lock you into a course of action that clashes with your goals. Your attorney will give you a realistic assessment of your case and what the likely potential outcomes would be re fitness determination for each condition at issue. And you can draft a statement, have it edited, and choose not to submit it with the initial MEN package when it is sent to the IPEB for initial adjudication. Thus, there is no real risk in drafting the statement now- your attorney will also use this statement to focus his or her efforts in developing your case, as it will provide an outline of your various conditions and how they do/do not affect you in the military workplace.
 
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