Welcome to the Physical Evaluation Board Forum!

I have received my PEB back - 30% perm-retirement. The timeline at Ft Knox MEB/Ft Houston PEB was in all four months & two weeks.

My PEBLO at Ft Knox was superb and patient with my concerns. I want to say thank you all for your knowledge & insight to the process. I will be forever grateful.

I have informed other comrades to visit this site for knowledge & understanding of the process which they will be undergoing. Again, Thanks & be blessed

4evrfavor

that's awsome news!! don't be a stranger here cause your exerience could deffinately benefit others. don't give up the fight either. once you get lined up w/the VA apeal, apeal, apeal. don't forget social security too. good luck and keep us posted!

I just had my MEB package sent to the PEB, how long did your case take from the time it was sent from your medical group? Just trying to estimate a timeline for when i may hear something back. Congrats on your results, i am hoping for something similar to that!

Hi everyone,

I am new here and my husband's 12 year career may be going down the drain! Due to the new Air Force PT sit up standards he can't do all of them, was 11 sit ups shy! (Though getting 90's on the overall PT test). The reason that he can't do them is because he has degenerative disc disease caused by an injury in tech school while on duty. However, his PT monitor told him to go in and get a waiver to state he can't do situps and he would be fine. His new Doctor told him that's not how it works and that because he has degenerative disc disease (2 lunbars) if he puts him on a year long profile it would red flag him for MEB. So instead the PCM is doing a whole new work up since my husband has not had the surgery. Now as far as his back problem he is currently deployable, doesn't miss work, doesn't have sick calls for the problem.

The thing is he has done physical therapy and it works for short periods but he has never ever had a back surgery, so we are hoping that his PCM after his X-Ray will go ahead and authorize surgery to avoid MEB.

Now my question is since he has not had a back surgery yet , once he get's it will this cause red flags? If so, with the military trying to downsize that that affect him? Also, if he gets surgery and still can't do sit ups (but MEB has not be red flagged yet) can he then go in and request the one year profile to heal?

Please help we are so worried....

Hi Linda, I am no expert but there are plenty on this forum. I can give you my story so maybe it will help give you some answers. I too have DDG along with a couple of disc herniations etc. I was not a candidate for surgery. I have done the injections nerve blocks etc. Anyway, I am AF and fly a desk. I have nineteen years in and received my MEB IPEB results this past Friday. 40% permanent retirement. Now, in your husbands case, back surgery might or might not help and avoiding an MEB might be impossible given the new rules on being deployment eligible. Back injuries are not C coded by AFPC meaning if you have one it is not likely they will still say you can deploy which is what you need to stay on active duty. As for the profile, the time he can't test counts everything counts, so from the time he is first seen and profile initiated this is the start of the one year clock. So, hopefully, the surgery helps and he can pass the PT test without any exemptions. If he can't pass and must be exempted for more than a year for say the situps, it will force the MEB to happen. Also, if his doctor knows he can pass but still has residual issues like lots of pain medicines etc. they can initiate the MEB. So basically, anytime the physician feels your husband would have problems deploying, they can start the process.

Good luck and if you have any specific questions please let me know.

Originally Posted by Linda

Hi everyone,

I am new here and my husband's 12 year career may be going down the drain! Due to the new Air Force PT sit up standards he can't do all of them, was 11 sit ups shy! (Though getting 90's on the overall PT test). The reason that he can't do them is because he has degenerative disc disease caused by an injury in tech school while on duty. However, his PT monitor told him to go in and get a waiver to state he can't do situps and he would be fine. His new Doctor told him that's not how it works and that because he has degenerative disc disease (2 lunbars) if he puts him on a year long profile it would red flag him for MEB. So instead the PCM is doing a whole new work up since my husband has not had the surgery. Now as far as his back problem he is currently deployable, doesn't miss work, doesn't have sick calls for the problem.

The thing is he has done physical therapy and it works for short periods but he has never ever had a back surgery, so we are hoping that his PCM after his X-Ray will go ahead and authorize surgery to avoid MEB.

Now my question is since he has not had a back surgery yet , once he get's it will this cause red flags? If so, with the military trying to downsize that that affect him? Also, if he gets surgery and still can't do sit ups (but MEB has not be red flagged yet) can he then go in and request the one year profile to heal?

Please help we are so worried....

Thanks for emailing me back.

We are really hoping that the back surgery will help him if allowed. It stinks though..... Of course the military has been our way of life for 12 years and we only have 3 more years until our son gradutes so this is going to really suck for him. We were hoping to keep him in the same school, but what can you do.........

I know this is hard for my husband too as he is the bread winner of the family and he really wanted to retire from the AF. I guess we will just have to be strong and do what we have to do.

Just a few more questions....

Do you think that if he is a candidate for back surgery they will try it or can his PCM just go ahead and start the MEB. To me if he is a candidate for back surgery, that should be done prior to the MEB. I have saw so many posts on various websites and every single person (except you) have mentioned that they already had back surgery and it did not work thus they are being MEB'ed. They need to help him regardless of rather the MEB is involved or not, for one I don't want my husband to be in pain for the rest of his life "AND" lose his career.

By chance did it take them a long time to determine your status?

BTW- Stay encouraged,I wish you the best of luck and Thank you for serving our Country.

Praying and keeping our fingers crossed!

Linda

Originally Posted by yingyang

Hi Linda, I am no expert but there are plenty on this forum. I can give you my story so maybe it will help give you some answers. I too have DDG along with a couple of disc herniations etc. I was not a candidate for surgery. I have done the injections nerve blocks etc. Anyway, I am AF and fly a desk. I have nineteen years in and received my MEB IPEB results this past Friday. 40% permanent retirement. Now, in your husbands case, back surgery might or might not help and avoiding an MEB might be impossible given the new rules on being deployment eligible. Back injuries are not C coded by AFPC meaning if you have one it is not likely they will still say you can deploy which is what you need to stay on active duty. As for the profile, the time he can't test counts everything counts, so from the time he is first seen and profile initiated this is the start of the one year clock. So, hopefully, the surgery helps and he can pass the PT test without any exemptions. If he can't pass and must be exempted for more than a year for say the situps, it will force the MEB to happen. Also, if his doctor knows he can pass but still has residual issues like lots of pain medicines etc. they can initiate the MEB. So basically, anytime the physician feels your husband would have problems deploying, they can start the process.

Good luck and if you have any specific questions please let me know.

Hi Linda,

The goal of the physcian should be to heal your husband. If your husband hasn't been seen by a specialist in the field of spinal surgery etc., this should be the first step of the PCM, refer your husband to a specialist. Before the referral, your husband should have an MRI and Xrays. There are several other types of treatment which can help before surgery is discussed. The specialist will be able to answer those questions and provide the most realistic care solution.

Statistically, back surgeries have a poor success rate, although they are gettitng better as medicine improves. I think each person with a back injury needs to weight the pain factor in big time. Such as, you are in pain now, how bad is it and how is it impacting your quality of life. If doing situps are the only issue with pain, is it worth the surgery. It is a personal choice and no one should undergo surgery just to ensure they receive a disability rating from the VA. It is your body "in your husbands case" and it is your choice with what happens to it. Some people have bad pain and effectively manage it without pain killers or surgery.

From start to finish, I am in the DOD pilot program "fast track" and from start to finish it took 8 months. I hope this is helpful and gives you some avenues to explore.
Thank you and many blessings.

Originally Posted by Linda

Thanks for emailing me back.

We are really hoping that the back surgery will help him if allowed. It stinks though..... Of course the military has been our way of life for 12 years and we only have 3 more years until our son gradutes so this is going to really suck for him. We were hoping to keep him in the same school, but what can you do.........

I know this is hard for my husband too as he is the bread winner of the family and he really wanted to retire from the AF. I guess we will just have to be strong and do what we have to do.

Just a few more questions....

Do you think that if he is a candidate for back surgery they will try it or can his PCM just go ahead and start the MEB. To me if he is a candidate for back surgery, that should be done prior to the MEB. I have saw so many posts on various websites and every single person (except you) have mentioned that they already had back surgery and it did not work thus they are being MEB'ed. They need to help him regardless of rather the MEB is involved or not, for one I don't want my husband to be in pain for the rest of his life "AND" lose his career.

By chance did it take them a long time to determine your status?

BTW- Stay encouraged,I wish you the best of luck and Thank you for serving our Country.

Praying and keeping our fingers crossed!

Linda

Linda,

I cannot answer whether or not your husband will be flagged, but I do have some suggestions for you. Assume he will be flagged and be prepared for it.

Gather all his service and medical records and get them organized. I used a four inch thick three ring binder. I made one a master file, from which all copies were made for distribution. I organized it carefully so as to make it easily accessible. I placed all military records in numerical order according to the form number. With medical records, I put them in chronological order, and tabbed the most important information. You'll want to pay attention to the most important documents, DD214's Profiles, LOD's, CAB's CIB's etc. Whenever a copy was needed it made it easy to do, as I got new documents, it made it easy to add to in order. When a doc, lawyer, or the VA needed records, it made it easy.

Next, I would take him to the VA with those records. He doesn't have to be discharged to do so. There are two reasons, first, done during or VERY shortly after service, makes it very difficult for the VA to say not service connected. Second, during any medical board process, having a service connected rating from the VA makes it harder for the military to deny service connected, and may provide protection from under rating.

If you can take your husband to a civilian doctor for serious evaluation, the third party evaluation will provide balance to your husbands case with both the VA, and the Military.

Keep emails, notes and any record of contacts in one place and organized. Also, keep a diary of how his condition effects him and prepare a statement of case for your husband for the VA, identify how his condition effects his life, work, etc. How many times a week does his condition effect him, does it keep him from working, attending to activities of daily living etc. The VA will not only perform range of motion measurements to determine his rating, but also will measure his quality of life.

You will not be able to control whether or not he is discharged, but you do have control over how well he is prepared, no matter what. Good luck to you, and your husband.

I was medically separated from the Navy in 2005 after 12 and a half years of service. I got out as an E-6. I was found unfit, reason given as "chronic low back pain". The VA disability code they gave was "lumbosacral or cervical strain" and percentage was 20%. I was not medically retired, but given severance pay.
I was reading an article today about the DoD's new program where servicemembers medically separated between 2001 and 2005 can appeal the findings of their PEB.
The issues I have are very similar to those mentioned by other people on here. I have degenerative disc disease, invertebral disc herniation, two bulging discs and lumbar and sciatic radiculopathy. They're all documented in my active duty medical record. I had a discogram and nerve conduction study as well. I dealt with an Army spine surgeon at Ft Gordon, GA (yup, Navy personnel on an Army base - hundreds of them) who told me that surgery was not an option for me because the issues I had involved multiple discs and multiple levels.
To make a long story short, I filled out the application for the appeal (DD294) and I'm going to mail it tomorrow. They said it should take about 8 months. I'm not trying to get ahead of myself, but what would happen if I get medically retired and I received severance pay?
I am currently 40% disabled through the VA, but only 10% of that is for degenerative disc disease, 10% for radiculopathy and 10% for arthritis in both knees. I don't receive the 10% for the degenerative disc disease, the VA sends it straight to the DoD to recoup the severance pay (something about double dipping). Would I still receive my VA disability that's unrelated to my back? Would I receive retirement pay or would they recoup the severance first?
Sorry for all the questions, but I just learned about this and I'm trying to get all the information I can.

Thanks,
Sean

Frank Swopes
SGT retired Army
fswopes@yahoo.com

I have only accessed this site a few times but I am glad to see information and links to better help me navigate through this MEB/PEB process. Reading I see some of the pit falls that other service man and women are going through and have had gone through in the past.

Thank you!!

I have a question re: spouse of 100% disabled vet and student loan repayment but don't know where to post, so please forgive me if this is not the proper place-

My husband is going through the med board, medical retirement process and we very much hope for 100% on both Navy and Va side, given the sort of injuries he has sustained. I am unable to work since he requires help. My student loans are going to come due, and since I cannot lie and say that I am seeking full time employment, the unemployment forbearance or deferment is not possible. Is there any program, that you know of, that would permit me to discharge this debt? The IBR (income based repayment) is a great option, provided that the need to feed children, pay mortgage, etc., is considered in the financial workup. I am not attempting to get out from under this obligation simply to do so, but am frightened that i won't find a way to handle everything and we will lose everytyhing. he has 11+ years in, and is a 1st class. We already have a thing from tricare stating that he requires a/a from non-medical person, to cover my food on our trips to see civilian specialist 6 hours away-
any ideas would be helpful. I contacted the FSA ombudsman (they were wonderful) but they know of no programs other than the standard deferment, forbearance, IBR.
thank you

Jason,
I talked with M. Parker on Friday, and he said to get a hold of you to discuss my case. I was wrongfully discharged in 2004.
Thanks,
Tim