Autoimmune Condition - Not Sure of My Odds

[aem413]

Apologies if this is the wrong place for this!

Title may be misleading, but I WANT a medical separation or retirement from the Air Force at the end of this. I’m 25 years old had chronic pain in the left flank (ranges from a 3 to 8 out of 10) with whole body stiffness and ultra high C-reactive protein levels since September 2024. I’ve been diagnosed by a rheumatologist with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (UCTD), and I’m finally taking hydroxychloroquine. It seems to be working now at the 4wk mark, which solidifies that there’s something autoimmune going on.

I’ll give the medication another 2wks to eliminate any doubt, but this is the best I’ve felt in months even with minor, scattered flare ups still. I would happily take a retirement/separation because my career field is kind of sinking right now, and I doubt I could remain in my aircrew position with an autoimmune condition anyways. I don’t really care to re-class either, and I know it’s super rare to re-class from rated to non-rated career fields regardless.

Not to mention, my fiance is in the Space Force, and different timelines and restrictive careers will make join spouse assignments extremely difficult as we’re not currently stationed together.

My question is, what can I do to advocate for my ideal outcome without making enemies? The aircrew world can get pretty upset with folks that want to leave that world. OR, is there a chance this is fairly straightforward to be seen as unfit for duty and pushed to medical separation or retirement?

Not really sure what to expect when I discuss with my PCM and want to be armed with all the right info to fight my case! Thank yall in advance

 

[S3Mi]

If you are stable (and in this case improving) on the medication and it is not impacting your daily work, then I think it is unlikely they would offer you a Med Board. If you have tried many different types of medication and getting treatment for a year with no positive results, then that would be an instance where a Med Board might be recommended. Being career stagnant, away from your spouse, not wanting to reclass is nothing pertaining to a medical reason that would justify you getting out.

There is no magic formula anyone can give you. Be honest with your PCM about your issues, and symptoms. If they meet the threshold for a Med Board to be considered, then that is what will happen. Your post reads as someone that just wants out of the military and you are looking to find ways to do so. The medication is working, your personal life doesn't seem to match with the Air Force... that isn't a Med Board.

 

[Provis]

Apologies if this is the wrong place for this!

Title may be misleading, but I WANT a medical separation or retirement from the Air Force at the end of this. I’m 25 years old had chronic pain in the left flank (ranges from a 3 to 8 out of 10) with whole body stiffness and ultra high C-reactive protein levels since September 2024. I’ve been diagnosed by a rheumatologist with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (UCTD), and I’m finally taking hydroxychloroquine. It seems to be working now at the 4wk mark, which solidifies that there’s something autoimmune going on.

I’ll give the medication another 2wks to eliminate any doubt, but this is the best I’ve felt in months even with minor, scattered flare ups still. I would happily take a retirement/separation because my career field is kind of sinking right now, and I doubt I could remain in my aircrew position with an autoimmune condition anyways. I don’t really care to re-class either, and I know it’s super rare to re-class from rated to non-rated career fields regardless.

Not to mention, my fiance is in the Space Force, and different timelines and restrictive careers will make join spouse assignments extremely difficult as we’re not currently stationed together.

My question is, what can I do to advocate for my ideal outcome without making enemies? The aircrew world can get pretty upset with folks that want to leave that world. OR, is there a chance this is fairly straightforward to be seen as unfit for duty and pushed to medical separation or retirement?

Not really sure what to expect when I discuss with my PCM and want to be armed with all the right info to fight my case! Thank yall in advance

So that's not how this works. You really don't have a say in it. You keep focusing on your health and taking care of yourself. If your PCM believes you are no longer fit for duty or have a condition that disqualifies you for service they will refer you to IDES. When you get out you will be taken care of by the VA with compensation. Those who medically retire typically only get VA pay anyways. The big difference is having tricare as a retiree instead of just VA healthcare.

I just just say to your PCM what are the next steps in my treatment? At what point do think we throw in the towel and refer me via code 31? PCM's are constantly badgered by SM for something. Whether that's a profile to not have to do certain work or seeking referrals off base or MEB's. So focusing on your health is the best way to go. If you get better good! If not, your PCM will refer you to Code 31. From there they may have you in a limited duty assignment or change you to a Code 37 which is full IDES where you may be medically separated or retired.

 

[aem413]

If you are stable (and in this case improving) on the medication and it is not impacting your daily work, then I think it is unlikely they would offer you a Med Board. If you have tried many different types of medication and getting treatment for a year with no positive results, then that would be an instance where a Med Board might be recommended. Being career stagnant, away from your spouse, not wanting to reclass is nothing pertaining to a medical reason that would justify you getting out.

There is no magic formula anyone can give you. Be honest with your PCM about your issues, and symptoms. If they meet the threshold for a Med Board to be considered, then that is what will happen. Your post reads as someone that just wants out of the military and you are looking to find ways to do so. The medication is working, your personal life doesn't seem to match with the Air Force... that isn't a Med Board.

I appreciate the advice and brutal honesty here. I’ve been active for 3yrs and in a stagnant student pipeline for my career field, so my extreme burn-out has absolutely contributed to me wanting out. To clarify, the medical issues have not held me up any further in my training pipeline at this point. Love this job - just haven’t been able to do it.

I definitely need to re-evaluate how I approach this and focus on the limitations of my condition rather my personal considerations.

 

[aem413]

So that's not how this works. You really don't have a say in it. You keep focusing on your health and taking care of yourself. If your PCM believes you are no longer fit for duty or have a condition that disqualifies you for service they will refer you to IDES. When you get out you will be taken care of by the VA with compensation. Those who medically retire typically only get VA pay anyways. The big difference is having tricare as a retiree instead of just VA healthcare.

I just just say to your PCM what are the next steps in my treatment? At what point do think we throw in the towel and refer me via code 31? PCM's are constantly badgered by SM for something. Whether that's a profile to not have to do certain work or seeking referrals off base or MEB's. So focusing on your health is the best way to go. If you get better good! If not, your PCM will refer you to Code 31. From there they may have you in a limited duty assignment or change you to a Code 37 which is full IDES where you may be medically separated or retired.

Gotcha. I appreciate the clarification on how it all works. I’ve been trying to read up but wasn’t sure how anything actually gets initiated. My PCM hasn’t even communicated with me since I started seeing a rheumatologist except to say he doesn’t believe my condition is autoimmune when I requested a profile before even seeing the rheumatologist the first time.

 

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