I have 19 years and 3 months of enlisted service and was just notified today that my RILO came back today and recommended a full MEB. Being within 9 months of retirement and eligible to retire, I would rather submit a length of service retirement than a possible MEB retirement/separation due to the fact if I am under 20 years I will get either AF retirement or VA disability but not both. While doing some reading on the subject I found a blurp in DODI 1332.18 that states:
f. Service members who are pending permanent or temporary disability retirement and who
are eligible for a length of service retirement at the time of their disability evaluation may elect
to be retired for disability or for length of service. However, when retirement for length of
service is elected, the member’s retirement date must occur within the time frame that a
disability retirement is expected to occur.
Can I elect to apply for retirement under normal retirement procedures or am I doomed to play the MEB process out and gamble with my AF retirement and VA disability? Any help would be much appreciated.
f. Service members who are pending permanent or temporary disability retirement and who
are eligible for a length of service retirement at the time of their disability evaluation may elect
to be retired for disability or for length of service. However, when retirement for length of
service is elected, the member’s retirement date must occur within the time frame that a
disability retirement is expected to occur.
Can I elect to apply for retirement under normal retirement procedures or am I doomed to play the MEB process out and gamble with my AF retirement and VA disability? Any help would be much appreciated.
