MEB 16 Months service 20 yrs old

[firecatf7333]

I am in the air force and my job is security forces. rank is e-3 and have now been in for 16 months. I'm currently going under a MEB and i guess it went to the next stage when it went from my local hospital now too lackland afb, or at least i think. I'm waiting to hear a decision from them. My doctor started a MEB on me b/c fractured my L2(broke my back) by falling out of a tree stand hunting on leave right out of tech school. I am at work now doing my job, and passed my PT test, but still have pain everyday. I can't deploy right now, and don't know if i ever will be able to. What do you think they will decide on the med board. I don't want the option where u can be seen up too 5 yrs. I'd rather get discharged, and then go to a civilian doctor and get surgery by them. How do they determine the % of your disibility. Will i get my MGIB or some of it, and could i reiecieve some kind of pay for the rest of my life each month? Any help would be nice, thanks

[scarecrowbdass]

I am also in the air force undergoing an MEB for herniated discs in my back and and some other things. If you get medically discharged you get 100% of you GI bill, (now Post 911). I am going to wait until i get discharged to get back surgery, because i dont trust military doctors with a knife. It it prob best that way. The best thing to do is see a back specialist and get a mri done and start getting everything documented so when you go to the VA it can all be rated. I cannot give you my proper rating yet cause i dont know. Im still waiting on my separation date then i will know, but the important thing is get everything documented and ask lots of questions/do research.

[firecatf7333]

I read somewhere where you get a certain % of the GI bill for the amount of service time you have in. 3 yrs= full GI bill, while 12 months was like 50% and it kept going up. What do they mean by "service-connected" injury. My injury was on leave and not at work, so does that mean it was not service connected? How about severance pay. How does that work?

[builtgypsy]

Service connected means it happened while you were entitled to basic pay (there may be a more techincal definition for this). All of my injuries happened "off the job" yet all are considered service-connected. One of them was while I was on leave as well, but it wasn't a problem for the IPEB to consider it service-connected.

[firecatf7333]

How do they determine the disibilty % your at. Like the rate from 10% disabiled all the way too 100%. I have a compression fracture of my l2(broke back) and can't bend and twist very far( like i can't touch my toes and not very flexible), what do you think my % rate would be just off a ruff guess? How do you find out what your % is?

[firecatf7333]

Also, Can i find out what beniefts i would recieve if i was discharged even though i'm still going throuhg the MEB process, or do i have to wait until i find out what decision they make for the MED board( return to duty/discharge.


Also, if i got discharged would it be honarble discharge and medical discharge. Or med discharge under honarble conditions?

[Jason]

firecatf7333,

You will get all benefits of an honorable discharge. That is the discharge you will get as a result of separation due to physical disability.

Your percentage rating will depend on your ROM, most likely. The rating criteria is found in the VASRD (see the link in my signature block, below).

Best of luck!

[firecatf7333]

Thanks for the % chart, i geuss i'd only be 10% disabiled according too that chart. That means i would get severance pay. Is that a lump sum 1 time payment that you get and how is it calculated. I read somewhere you can still apply to the VA for a monthly payment if your injury is service-connected.

Do I have to wait until i found out my med board decision b4 i can apply to the VA for any of these beniefts i may recieve? I would figure soo b/c they need to figure out my % rating and if there going to keep me in or not. But even if they return me to duty, could i still get some disibilty pay since i meet the 10% disibilty rating.

[firecatf7333]

A few more questions

1. According to the chart link below your name jason, i'd be 10% disabled and severance pay would be 2x 3yrs servicex1500 base pay= $9,000. Now what is the monthly pay for 10% which is $117. Is that something else i would have to apply for, and is that 117 per month for the rest of your life? DO you get to choose from the severance pay or the monthly pay?

[keehn]

Originally Posted by firecatf7333

A few more questions

1. According to the chart link below your name jason, i'd be 10% disabled and severance pay would be 2x 3yrs servicex1500 base pay= $9,000. Now what is the monthly pay for 10% which is $117. Is that something else i would have to apply for, and is that 117 per month for the rest of your life? DO you get to choose from the severance pay or the monthly pay?

I just went through TAPS at our Navy base, learned a lot about the disability benefits. The way it was explained to us was you will get your severance pay. However, the VA will not pay you disability UNTIL the entire amount of the severance has been reimbursed. Easy math using constant numbers: 9,000 severance divided by 117 equals approx. 77 months until you see the 117 in the mailbox.

Of course, the kicker is you pay 28 percent tax on that lump sum severance you get. So out of 9,000, you will only see 6,480 after taxes. The VA still counts the 9,000 balance towards the 117 payment. You end up losing 2,520 in taxes withheld on the severance payment.

In the end, if you get the option and don't need the money up front, the VA disability check is the better option. Unfortunately, the VA rep who spoke to us didn't specify if we could opt out of the severance payment or not.

Jason, do you know if separating members can opt out of the medical severance check and receive VA disability right off the bat?