Promotion "protection" during MEB/IPEB

Z

zerstorer335

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
I know that being in the IDES process is not a barrier to promotion (in fact, my last promotion happened while I was undergoing an MEB/IPEB).

But, now that I'm facing a board while undergoing a new MEB/IPEB, I was wondering if there are any rules or regs that protect members from being undersold and ranked lower in the promotion process due to an MEB? (I've looked through 41-210 and the promotion AFIs to no avail.)

My condition has never been a barrier to my ability to actually do my job. But I'm worried that, at a point where it's CRITICAL to get glowing reviews from my superiors, I may be undermined because, among other medically-related things, my commander has been / is unable to go to bat for me when it comes time to rack-and-stack me against my peers because my condition has impacted my ability to do the non-work-related things that would make me look good on paper when it comes to stratifications and who gets P or DP.
 
DPs are very limited. Lots of good folks don't get DPs and still get promoted.
 
Sure is a barrier, I was directly told I was stratted lower because I was under meb. They didn't want to waste a "must promote" rating on someone who might be seperated.
 
chaplaincharlie said:
DPs are very limited. Lots of good folks don't get DPs and still get promoted.
Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying and I totally agree with you. I know that getting a "P" is far from a death knell for promotion chances.

Noobzor said:
Sure is a barrier, I was directly told I was stratted lower because I was under meb. They didn't want to waste a "must promote" rating on someone who might be seperated.
Click to expand...

This is closer to my situation. I'm basically guaranteed I'm only going to get a P (for a reason that is explained, below).

More specifically, I'm looking at the following chain of causality:

1) I’m undergoing an MEB. As a result:

2) The simple fact I’m undergoing an MEB means the AF says I cannot do every theoretical duty in my AFSC. (I’d like to emphasize that this is because of my current MEB status and how the AF administratively handles my MEB situation. My actual ability to do these duties is not impacted by either my condition or the profile.) As a result:

3) My commander told me they cannot / will not stratify me or advocate for me for accolades (things like quarterly awards) because I’m “a ________ who cannot do his full job”. (I can understand the logic, but it does mean I'm not getting these things, which are important for promotions.) As a result:

4) No strats or accolades coming from above the squadron level, either. As a result:

5) I lose strats and accolades that can be included in the PRF form, I lose any chance at a DP because I’m not currently stratified, and, if you look at my bigger record, it looks like my recent performance is either inconsistent or dropping, because I’m not getting strats or awards. As a result:

6) It’s not unreasonable to think the board, feeling I’m unreliable or slipping, might end up scoring me below the cut-line, putting me among the people who gat a “P”, but still don’t get selected for promotion.

(And this is all stacked on top of how my previous MEB/IPEB impacted almost the very same aspects, meaning that, before this MEB started and the current promotion board was even close to coming up on my radar, I already had multiple years of OPRs that were soured by an MEB situation.)

As an officer, getting promoted is all about my PRF, which means it's predominantly about how my commanders write or wrote about me. That’s why I was wondering if there was protection to mitigate the risks of people being low-balled because of how commanders react to things associated with an MEB.


I don't mind being rated a "P". My concern is that looking like a bad "P" and ending up below the cut line if there isn't a safeguard somewhere in the AFIs.
 
What would be your next rank?
 
It would have been O-4. But, at this stage, they're basically telling me to get ready to leave the AF, because if the MEB/IPEB doesn't send me packing, then getting passed over on this board will because I'm now APZ, which does nothing to help my odds.

I discovered the described chain of cause-and-effect when I was asking my supervisors what I could do to improve my package for this upcoming board. I'd also learned much of that chain was in-place for the last board, the main difference is that now my MEB/IPEB is *formally* underway, with the MEB phase starting just after the last board and the IPEB now being in "full swing" during this one.
 
Since I missed the 5-minute editing opportunity:

For the last board, many of those elements had apparently been in-place for a while without anybody alerting me to the fact or giving me guidance on how to overcome the issues. (And, I must admit, it's quite possible they didn't understand the issues, themselves, since, between my first MEB/IPEB and the new one, I'm apparently a bit of an oddball.)
 
Hey zerstorer335,
I just read your note, promotions are not supposed to be limited to service members due to line of duty injuries. What ever happened were you promoted, you COC is wrong, and sounds abusive at every level.... I was promoted while in the MEB...
 
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