Help! I was primed and ready to retire. Now, I'm suddenly stuck meeting an MEB instead! Does taking the LDES option have any downside in my circumstances? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Here are the details. I'm an Air Force officer in Okinawa with 24+ years on active duty. I was passed over for promotion years ago and accepted continuation to 24 years. My official retirement date at the end of 24 years commissioned service was to have been 1 Feb 18. That aligns with my DEROS of 31 Jan 18, and the corresponding ADSC until 31 Jan 18 that came with the DEROS extension. I was already applying for post-retirement jobs, and I've actually already got 2 offers I was weighing. Then, all of the sudden, I got diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (AHI of 53.2, with CPAP it's an AHI of 5.1). Now, I've been put into the MEB system, and my retirement date has been kicked out by AFPC. I won't mind the extra pay and benefits that the VA disability system may provide on account of this, but I was all set to go on terminal leave at the end November and start a new career as a contractor!
Is my retirement date of 1 Feb 18 truly dead in the water? Am I going to be stuck on active duty against my will indefinitely until this process gets resolved? If I have to go through this mess, is there any downside to taking the LDES option and getting my retirement as early as possible?
Here are the details. I'm an Air Force officer in Okinawa with 24+ years on active duty. I was passed over for promotion years ago and accepted continuation to 24 years. My official retirement date at the end of 24 years commissioned service was to have been 1 Feb 18. That aligns with my DEROS of 31 Jan 18, and the corresponding ADSC until 31 Jan 18 that came with the DEROS extension. I was already applying for post-retirement jobs, and I've actually already got 2 offers I was weighing. Then, all of the sudden, I got diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (AHI of 53.2, with CPAP it's an AHI of 5.1). Now, I've been put into the MEB system, and my retirement date has been kicked out by AFPC. I won't mind the extra pay and benefits that the VA disability system may provide on account of this, but I was all set to go on terminal leave at the end November and start a new career as a contractor!
Is my retirement date of 1 Feb 18 truly dead in the water? Am I going to be stuck on active duty against my will indefinitely until this process gets resolved? If I have to go through this mess, is there any downside to taking the LDES option and getting my retirement as early as possible?