I've noticed you've given some straight advice to a lot of people here and am hoping you can point me in the right direction: either a thread, your own experience, or an suitable attorney. Or I may be jumping the gun.
I am an active duty chaplain with seven and a half years AD and four years ANG. The "interesting" thing about my service record is I was enlisted 1984-1991, then came back in 2018 after a 27-year gap in service under a special age waiver for chaplains. At 56 I'm the oldest CGO on Kadena AB!
I was just put in for a Med Board. It passed the Airmen Medical Readiness Optimization Board (AMRO) and went to Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC)'s Medical Standards Branch. This step is supposed to be quick, pro-forma, and routine. When it came back a week later saying the request needed an additional three months, my provider said it was most likely because they were investigating some irregularity in my medical records related to a preexisting condition. I suddenly knew exactly what the problem is.
My MEB is for two conditions: mental health and a collapsed middle lobe (Middle Lobe Syndrome--"MLS") following two tough bouts with COVID. The mental health situation is straight forward: MDD, GAD, and PTSD. The last five years have been hum dingers. My provider says it probably qualifies for a medical retirement.
The MLS is less straight forward going back decades. In 1986 the Air Force discovered, in a routine x-ray, I had scar tissue in my lung from an infection called histoplasmosis. At the time I had no symptoms, was running 20-25 miles a week, and I never thought about it again. Fast forward to 2022 when I caught COVID (while pulling a suicidal Airman off her balcony, of all things). After months of breathing issues, I went to the doctor and a CAT scan revealed the collapsed lobe. Doc blamed the scar tissue, which made a lot of sense.
Unfortunately, the AF lost all my records from my previous enlistments. Therefore, I'm sure they're looking at this as a preexisting condition or, worse, a fraudulent appointment. When I tried to tell my recruiter about the histoplasmosis and give him my copies of the records, he assured me they had the records and anything in my military files didn't need to be discussed. Honestly, I just wanted to serve and was happy not to bring it up again.
I have twice tried to put my copies of those records into my files: once with my provider and again with medical records department. They still aren't in the system.
So my questions are: How much do I have to worry about this? Does this feel like a potential fraudulent appointment charge, or that I'll wind up separated without any benefits? Is there a law firm that you think might be especially inclined toward this case if it does get ugly? Thanks in advance for any time or thought you might have on this.
I am an active duty chaplain with seven and a half years AD and four years ANG. The "interesting" thing about my service record is I was enlisted 1984-1991, then came back in 2018 after a 27-year gap in service under a special age waiver for chaplains. At 56 I'm the oldest CGO on Kadena AB!
I was just put in for a Med Board. It passed the Airmen Medical Readiness Optimization Board (AMRO) and went to Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC)'s Medical Standards Branch. This step is supposed to be quick, pro-forma, and routine. When it came back a week later saying the request needed an additional three months, my provider said it was most likely because they were investigating some irregularity in my medical records related to a preexisting condition. I suddenly knew exactly what the problem is.
My MEB is for two conditions: mental health and a collapsed middle lobe (Middle Lobe Syndrome--"MLS") following two tough bouts with COVID. The mental health situation is straight forward: MDD, GAD, and PTSD. The last five years have been hum dingers. My provider says it probably qualifies for a medical retirement.
The MLS is less straight forward going back decades. In 1986 the Air Force discovered, in a routine x-ray, I had scar tissue in my lung from an infection called histoplasmosis. At the time I had no symptoms, was running 20-25 miles a week, and I never thought about it again. Fast forward to 2022 when I caught COVID (while pulling a suicidal Airman off her balcony, of all things). After months of breathing issues, I went to the doctor and a CAT scan revealed the collapsed lobe. Doc blamed the scar tissue, which made a lot of sense.
Unfortunately, the AF lost all my records from my previous enlistments. Therefore, I'm sure they're looking at this as a preexisting condition or, worse, a fraudulent appointment. When I tried to tell my recruiter about the histoplasmosis and give him my copies of the records, he assured me they had the records and anything in my military files didn't need to be discussed. Honestly, I just wanted to serve and was happy not to bring it up again.
I have twice tried to put my copies of those records into my files: once with my provider and again with medical records department. They still aren't in the system.
So my questions are: How much do I have to worry about this? Does this feel like a potential fraudulent appointment charge, or that I'll wind up separated without any benefits? Is there a law firm that you think might be especially inclined toward this case if it does get ugly? Thanks in advance for any time or thought you might have on this.
