5-17 or MEB?

jdhunter

Member
Registered Member
Hey I was hoping that someone would be able to give me some straight forward answers.

I was deployed overseas in an imminent danger pay area when I started suffering from some pretty severe depression and anxiety. I was seeking help at the behavioral health clinic in country, but my condition kept getting worse. my doctor had diagnosed me with adjustment disorder with depression and anxiety. I started having suicidal ideation. my doctor then told me that I had exhausted all treatment options and had me medevac'd back to the states. when I got back to the states, I was assigned to the rear detachment and the commander had me take a mental evaluation where I was then re-diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depression and anxiety, but was also diagnosed with a personality disorder. I also received a profile that says " referral for possible MEB." upon getting the diagnosis, the commander started a chapter 5-17 on me. I know that I can get a MEB for chronic adjustment disorder, but that would require the symptoms to persist for over 6 months and I will be out of the army by then from the 5-17. it feels to me like the commander wants me to get kicked out before then just so that I cant get a MEB. I am so confused right now. I have already talked to patient advocacy, JAG, and IG and they just have me running in circles. can anyone make sense of my situation?
 
Hey I was hoping that someone would be able to give me some straight forward answers.

I was deployed overseas in an imminent danger pay area when I started suffering from some pretty severe depression and anxiety. I was seeking help at the behavioral health clinic in country, but my condition kept getting worse. my doctor had diagnosed me with adjustment disorder with depression and anxiety. I started having suicidal ideation. my doctor then told me that I had exhausted all treatment options and had me medevac'd back to the states. when I got back to the states, I was assigned to the rear detachment and the commander had me take a mental evaluation where I was then re-diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depression and anxiety, but was also diagnosed with a personality disorder. I also received a profile that says " referral for possible MEB." upon getting the diagnosis, the commander started a chapter 5-17 on me. I know that I can get a MEB for chronic adjustment disorder, but that would require the symptoms to persist for over 6 months and I will be out of the army by then from the 5-17. it feels to me like the commander wants me to get kicked out before then just so that I cant get a MEB. I am so confused right now. I have already talked to patient advocacy, JAG, and IG and they just have me running in circles. can anyone make sense of my situation?

Welcome to the PEB Forum! :)

I am saddened to hear about your current medical conditions and situation. :(

If I may ask, how many years do you have in the military while on Active Duty?

Moreover, what responses did you actually receive from JAG? To that extent, what responses from patient advocacy, JAG, and IG are causing the "running in circles" dilemma?

Thus, I quite often comment that "possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer."

Best Wishes!
 
I have 2 and a half years on active duty. When I tried talking to JAG they said that there was nothing that they could do, and they told me to talk to IG. I called IG and they told me to talk to Patient Advocacy. When I went to Patient Advocacy, they said that all they could do was repeat what I have been saying to the doctors, then referred me back to JAG. Since my original post, they have pushed the 5-17 and I talked to Trial Defense Services (TDS) and I managed to get my lawyer to listen to me and he agreed that my chapter should be stopped. However, he also told me that it was only a recommendation, and that my chain of command could just continue on with the chapter anyway. Also, the doctors have found a tumor on my thyroid. They don't know if it's cancer or not, but they suspect it is. But that could be a contributing factor to my anxiety and depression.
 
I have 2 and a half years on active duty. When I tried talking to JAG they said that there was nothing that they could do, and they told me to talk to IG. I called IG and they told me to talk to Patient Advocacy. When I went to Patient Advocacy, they said that all they could do was repeat what I have been saying to the doctors, then referred me back to JAG. Since my original post, they have pushed the 5-17 and I talked to Trial Defense Services (TDS) and I managed to get my lawyer to listen to me and he agreed that my chapter should be stopped. However, he also told me that it was only a recommendation, and that my chain of command could just continue on with the chapter anyway. Also, the doctors have found a tumor on my thyroid. They don't know if it's cancer or not, but they suspect it is. But that could be a contributing factor to my anxiety and depression.

Wow! Yes, indeed; it seems that the "advisory committee" is potentially "passing the buck" for greener pastures; as the saying goes. :(

Unfortunately, my legacy experience with these types of situations will not provide any potential current creditable insight. But, other PEB Forum members with specific knowledge and/or pinpointed experiences shall hopefully provide feedback soon.

In the interim, I would offer that you read a near similar situation to potentially obtain additional advice and/or insight via the below PEB Forum thread:

http://www.pebforum.com/site/threads/chapter-5-17-during-an-meb.15979/

Thus, I quite often comment that "possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer."

Best Wishes!
 
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