Good afternoon everyone 
My husband was medically discharged from the Marine Corps in Aug 2009 for a L5-S1 herniated disc. He received a 10% rating. He then filed with the VA once he got home & received a rating of 50% - 10% for a finger issue & 40% for his back. He had his severance recouped from his VA compensation for several months until it was re-payed. He later received a revised DD-214 along with revised VA documentation stating that his disability was combat related. He then got the money that was recouped provided back to him & now receives full VA compensation monthly. He received a letter from the VA informing that he was eligible to apply with the PDBR. He would like to proceed with this and I am usually the one to handle all of his documentation - it has obviously been a few years since we have had to do this type of stuff so I'm a little rusty now. The form states that he would need to complete (2) forms: DD-294 (application for the PDBR) and VA-3288 (consent to release information).
I have been reading some confusing posts on here and was hoping to get some stuff clarified. I have read that the rating cannot be decreased, however, another post a gentleman ended up having to owe money back as I am assuming his back pay was not large enough to cover the amount they were recouping? I am a bit nervous about this - his severance was not as large as I have seen others post - $18,000 pretax. We have had taxes deducted, then given back once it was decided combat related, then severance deducted from VA, then given back once it again was decided combat related. With my husband's disability categorized as combated related, would he have the severance deducted from whatever the calculated back pay would equivalent to if he was awarded a higher rating? I am hoping that since it has been 6 years that it would either be a wash or result in a little of $$ given to him but I am nervous about owing being a real possibility.
Also, once the 2 forms are submitted, is there anything that he does on his end? Should he try contacting anyone for follow-ups? Is a lawyer recommended? It seems like there is not a whole lot of information provided for this to allow Veterans the "upper hand".
We understand that obviously given the chance to be considered Retired is a far better option for him & our family, but I want to make sure I fully understand the process & possible outcomes so we are fully prepared for whatever way this could turn out.
Thank you in advance -Melissa
My husband was medically discharged from the Marine Corps in Aug 2009 for a L5-S1 herniated disc. He received a 10% rating. He then filed with the VA once he got home & received a rating of 50% - 10% for a finger issue & 40% for his back. He had his severance recouped from his VA compensation for several months until it was re-payed. He later received a revised DD-214 along with revised VA documentation stating that his disability was combat related. He then got the money that was recouped provided back to him & now receives full VA compensation monthly. He received a letter from the VA informing that he was eligible to apply with the PDBR. He would like to proceed with this and I am usually the one to handle all of his documentation - it has obviously been a few years since we have had to do this type of stuff so I'm a little rusty now. The form states that he would need to complete (2) forms: DD-294 (application for the PDBR) and VA-3288 (consent to release information).I have been reading some confusing posts on here and was hoping to get some stuff clarified. I have read that the rating cannot be decreased, however, another post a gentleman ended up having to owe money back as I am assuming his back pay was not large enough to cover the amount they were recouping? I am a bit nervous about this - his severance was not as large as I have seen others post - $18,000 pretax. We have had taxes deducted, then given back once it was decided combat related, then severance deducted from VA, then given back once it again was decided combat related. With my husband's disability categorized as combated related, would he have the severance deducted from whatever the calculated back pay would equivalent to if he was awarded a higher rating? I am hoping that since it has been 6 years that it would either be a wash or result in a little of $$ given to him but I am nervous about owing being a real possibility.
Also, once the 2 forms are submitted, is there anything that he does on his end? Should he try contacting anyone for follow-ups? Is a lawyer recommended? It seems like there is not a whole lot of information provided for this to allow Veterans the "upper hand".
We understand that obviously given the chance to be considered Retired is a far better option for him & our family, but I want to make sure I fully understand the process & possible outcomes so we are fully prepared for whatever way this could turn out.
Thank you in advance
-Melissa
