So obviously i have been posting alot on this issue because if it is accurate, I think it is really really odd and places Servicemen and Women with more serious DoD conditions at a huge disadvantage over those with less serious. Should go without saying that the title is somewhat of a misnomer, given that 20% is better than 30% for only very specific situations. Situations as I am about to articulate below.
If a SM is separated, not retired (10-20% DoD disability rated), and has a 100% VA rating, and enough ratings that they still reach 100% without the DoD ratings (conditions), they should get both their severance from the DoD, and their 100% VA check monthly because there is no double-dipping (i.e. a condition for which one is receiving both DoD and VA pay). There has been a lot of chatter about this on this thread lately:
Severance pay recommended, now what?
Ron's postings, the VA citation, and also my attorney all seem to corroborate this.
However, if I read the CRDP rules/regulations correctly, for SM's whose injuries did not occur while in battle, OR do not have 20+ years, they cannot receive BOTH DoD and VA pay, regardless if they are for similar conditions or not. So, take my example above; SM gets 20% DoD and 100% VA (and has extra conditions) they will get severance with 100% VA disability pay. BUT...
If they have a more serious condition, say 30% on the DoD side, (again, no 20+ years and not combat related) they will be considered retired (not separated) but will not get severance, only VA disability (assuming that it is not more advantageous to take DoD pay). Even IF they have enough VA-rated conditions that they are 100%
without their DoD conditions.
This seems so backwards to me. Can anyone confirm? I confirmed as much with my attorney today (he did concede that indeed, this is a very rare situation). This is kinda important to me because this is my exact situation. If it is all accurate then not only would it not be doing me any good requesting a formal PEB but it would actually really hurt me.