I wanted to provide some lessons learned and resources to those going through the IDES process to either make their transition a bit easier or facilitate resolutions to some common issues that arise during the process.
1) Career Readiness: If you don’t know what Operation Warfighter is, you need to educate yourself early in the process. Not only do they provide career and educational coaching and mentorship to help you succeed once you are out but they can also provide full-time internships for the duration of your IDES process. I enrolled the first month I was referred to IDES and have been doing a full time internship with the Department of Justice which has produced a job offer post-separation. Even if you aren’t interested in pursuing government work post-military, it’s an opportunity to gain some experience and just get away from your unit while you’re going through this (Operation Warfighter).
2) VA White House Hotline: For disputes regarding your rating or timeliness issues, I’ve found this to be the most helpful. One call and a few minutes of your time can resolve 95% of your issues with the VA. Through the White House hotline, I was able to get some issues with my C&P exams and proposed rating corrected BEFORE my 199 was issued thus eliminating a lengthy appeals process. They were able to get a new rater on my case within 48 hours of calling them and get a new evaluation to the PEB within a week - allowing me to now be medically retired with 100% VA disability which the new rater personally reviewed with me over the phone (VA.gov | Veterans Affairs).
3) Ombudsman: On the DOD side, if you have a PEBLO who isn’t being very cooperative or not communicating with you very well, this is usually your best first stop. They can help open up that line of communication without burning any bridges like an ICE complaint might do. They can sometimes be difficult to find and might only have a phone number - in Fort Bragg’s case a listed number to a retired Ombudsman - but once you get through they are pretty quick to help you track down info.
4) VR&E (formerly vocational rehab): The VA is now required to assign you a VR&E counselor and provide a mandatory VR&E brief when you are referred to the PEB; however, this rarely happens. VR&E is a comprehensive program that offers several significant benefits to disabled veterans so it’s important you coordinate with your MSC to get this brief if you don’t hear from them. If you are assigned to Fort Bragg, I have their info.
5) Congressional Inquiry: From my experience, there is not much use here so use this approach with caution. It’ll usually burn some bridges without much gain. After the third month of my exams sitting at QTC following my final C&P exam I exercised this option and while it did very quickly get my exams to the VA - there’s very little they can actually do apart from ask questions on your behalf and then forward responses. There is very little understanding from most congressional offices how IDES works and already a lot of miscommunication between DOD, the VA, and QTC in the process so you won’t get much with that approach. An ombudsman or the White House hotline are much better options to handle DOD or VA concerns.
6) IMR: For the MEB, I’d argue you are almost always better off choosing an impartial medical review even if you agree with the findings. I may have been able to avoid some issues with my C&P exams if my MTF had reviewed my records at the MEB stage and identified discrepancies in my NARSUM and/or C&P exams. This IMR would have been included in my PEB packet and would have been available for the VA rater to review prior to the initial proposed rating.
7) IDES Prep: This maybe should have gone first but for those not yet referred to IDES but suspect they may be, start seeing your provider about all your health issues now. Little stuff like waking up a few times a night to pee which may not seem like a big deal can turn into a real problem down the road so the more you document it, the higher chance it’ll be service connected and you may even qualify for some compensation. Even if you want to stay in, DO NOT skim over this process thinking you’ll be able to fight it. Go into it assuming your career is over and meticulously document and claim every ailment you’ve ever had. If you don’t take this seriously and the PEB finds you unfit then it’ll be VERY difficult to prove service connection after you downplayed everything in your C&P exams.
Thats all I can think of right now. If anyone has anything to add based on their own experiences please feel free to share!
1) Career Readiness: If you don’t know what Operation Warfighter is, you need to educate yourself early in the process. Not only do they provide career and educational coaching and mentorship to help you succeed once you are out but they can also provide full-time internships for the duration of your IDES process. I enrolled the first month I was referred to IDES and have been doing a full time internship with the Department of Justice which has produced a job offer post-separation. Even if you aren’t interested in pursuing government work post-military, it’s an opportunity to gain some experience and just get away from your unit while you’re going through this (Operation Warfighter).
2) VA White House Hotline: For disputes regarding your rating or timeliness issues, I’ve found this to be the most helpful. One call and a few minutes of your time can resolve 95% of your issues with the VA. Through the White House hotline, I was able to get some issues with my C&P exams and proposed rating corrected BEFORE my 199 was issued thus eliminating a lengthy appeals process. They were able to get a new rater on my case within 48 hours of calling them and get a new evaluation to the PEB within a week - allowing me to now be medically retired with 100% VA disability which the new rater personally reviewed with me over the phone (VA.gov | Veterans Affairs).
3) Ombudsman: On the DOD side, if you have a PEBLO who isn’t being very cooperative or not communicating with you very well, this is usually your best first stop. They can help open up that line of communication without burning any bridges like an ICE complaint might do. They can sometimes be difficult to find and might only have a phone number - in Fort Bragg’s case a listed number to a retired Ombudsman - but once you get through they are pretty quick to help you track down info.
4) VR&E (formerly vocational rehab): The VA is now required to assign you a VR&E counselor and provide a mandatory VR&E brief when you are referred to the PEB; however, this rarely happens. VR&E is a comprehensive program that offers several significant benefits to disabled veterans so it’s important you coordinate with your MSC to get this brief if you don’t hear from them. If you are assigned to Fort Bragg, I have their info.
5) Congressional Inquiry: From my experience, there is not much use here so use this approach with caution. It’ll usually burn some bridges without much gain. After the third month of my exams sitting at QTC following my final C&P exam I exercised this option and while it did very quickly get my exams to the VA - there’s very little they can actually do apart from ask questions on your behalf and then forward responses. There is very little understanding from most congressional offices how IDES works and already a lot of miscommunication between DOD, the VA, and QTC in the process so you won’t get much with that approach. An ombudsman or the White House hotline are much better options to handle DOD or VA concerns.
6) IMR: For the MEB, I’d argue you are almost always better off choosing an impartial medical review even if you agree with the findings. I may have been able to avoid some issues with my C&P exams if my MTF had reviewed my records at the MEB stage and identified discrepancies in my NARSUM and/or C&P exams. This IMR would have been included in my PEB packet and would have been available for the VA rater to review prior to the initial proposed rating.
7) IDES Prep: This maybe should have gone first but for those not yet referred to IDES but suspect they may be, start seeing your provider about all your health issues now. Little stuff like waking up a few times a night to pee which may not seem like a big deal can turn into a real problem down the road so the more you document it, the higher chance it’ll be service connected and you may even qualify for some compensation. Even if you want to stay in, DO NOT skim over this process thinking you’ll be able to fight it. Go into it assuming your career is over and meticulously document and claim every ailment you’ve ever had. If you don’t take this seriously and the PEB finds you unfit then it’ll be VERY difficult to prove service connection after you downplayed everything in your C&P exams.
Thats all I can think of right now. If anyone has anything to add based on their own experiences please feel free to share!
