PTSD

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brooke0227

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
Hi,
My husband has combat related PTSD and is in the National guard full time. He is currrently receiving VA disability of 80% for his PTSD (60%), hearing loss (10%) and TBI (10%). He has been reciving this for almost a year now. His PTSD unfortuanley has gotten worse. He was involuntary committed for PTSD psychosis in April and is now on 2 different medications. He sees not only a VA psychiatrist but also a civilian psychiatrist because the VA kept cancelling and rescheduling his appointments so we went and found our own Psych dr. His civilian psychiatrist did not allow him to attend is two week AT and a couple of his weekly drills due to his PTSD at that time. He is now wanting to try and get military retired due to the fact that he is due to re-enlist in about 6 months and he has been told that due to his PTSD that they will more than likely not re-enlist him. We just dont know where to go from here! Our VA is a nightmare, he has told his commander that he would like a fit for duty exam (2 months ago) and nothing has been done to get the process started. He does not cope with stress well and will fly off in anger easily. He cant sleep, has no interest in anything anymore and the medications are just making him a zombie. What is the first step we should take at this point?, Do you think that military retirement is even obtainable?, Do you have an suggestions for us on the process or things we should do? This is all new to us. My husband loves the military and his country, so this is killing him knowing that his PTSD is at a point where he cant serve anymore. I just want whats best for him and I belive getting military retired is it.
 
See chapter 3 of AR 40-501. If your husband does not meet the retention standards for this condition he is required to have a MEB.

Mike
 
Your husband is likely required to report his hospitalization/commitment to his military physician. Psychosis, by definition, should be an unfitting condition. Medics are required to start an MEB on any unfitting condition.
 
Have your husband request an MEB threw email to his commander and have him send also to his readiness NCO, it would also help if the VA doc or private one wrote a letter recomending one, Also if you could document him missing AT and drills due to his PTSD then they are obligated to start the MEB
 
to reverse what mike parker said, he has to be allowed to reenlist. The one and only way to prevent a reenlistment due to a medical condition is through a MEB. Someone saying he likely can't reenlist is absolutely wrong. Not for a medical condition anyway. By not starting an MEB they are saying he can serve as long as he desires while he continues to work through this issue. If he thinks he can get better and wants to get better he does not need to pursue the MEB.

Now, if he does want out I agree there sounds like sufficient evidence to warrant medical retirement at this point. His first step is to see a profiling officer and explain his limitations he needs on the profile. Then the profiling officer needs to consider his limitations permanent. I don't know who writes profiles for the NG, but he should, some PA or something.
 
scoutCC said:
to reverse what mike parker said, he has to be allowed to reenlist. The one and only way to prevent a reenlistment due to a medical condition is through a MEB. Someone saying he likely can't reenlist is absolutely wrong. Not for a medical condition anyway. By not starting an MEB they are saying he can serve as long as he desires while he continues to work through this issue. If he thinks he can get better and wants to get better he does not need to pursue the MEB.

Now, if he does want out I agree there sounds like sufficient evidence to warrant medical retirement at this point. His first step is to see a profiling officer and explain his limitations he needs on the profile. Then the profiling officer needs to consider his limitations permanent. I don't know who writes profiles for the NG, but he should, some PA or something.
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I may have this mixed up, but.....

It is my understanding that if an NG or RC Servicemember is in receipt of VA compensation equal to or greater than 30%, this information needs to be passed to his NG Chain of Command as well.

For how can the NG retain and have a NG SM come in for drills and NG pay when they are being compensated every month with/from the VA - compensation being awarded for service-connected disabilities?

Hubby needs a Med board as per the Regs stated by maparker.

Also, it might be possible the VA could come back and say your hubby is "double dipping"? Collecting drill pay and VA compensation? This I am not too sure about, but I do know the VA can and does audit Vets when it is discovered too much money has been paid out above certain limits by both agencies at the same time.

A Med Board ought to be initiated immediately. And I sure hope there has been no overpayments so you don't have to reimburse the VA.

nwlivewire
 
This happend to my friend and he had to forfeit his compensation until the he payed back what was owed.
 
Thank you to everyone that has commented. My husband sent an email to his commander last week requesting MEB. Hopefully something will be done. As far as his drill and Va compensation goes. He chooses to forfeit his drill pay because the VA is a much larger amount. I willl keep everyone updated as I know we will probably have many questions as we go through this process. Thanks again!
 
Well its been almost a month and still nothing. He emailed his commander on Sept. 8th requesting MEB/fit for duty but we have heard nothing. What is our next step? He sees civilian doctors because the VA is so backed up that they kept cancelling his appointments so we obtained a civilian psych dr and he started going to our family doc. Can he call or send an email to anyone else? Will a letter from his civilan doctors sent to his commander or someone else work? His civilian psychiatrist is recommending him not to attend drill this weekend. I wish this process was more clear because I feel like we are running in circles and it is putting more stress on him.
 
brooke0227 said:
Well its been almost a month and still nothing. He emailed his commander on Sept. 8th requesting MEB/fit for duty but we have heard nothing. What is our next step? He sees civilian doctors because the VA is so backed up that they kept cancelling his appointments so we obtained a civilian psych dr and he started going to our family doc. Can he call or send an email to anyone else? Will a letter from his civilan doctors sent to his commander or someone else work? His civilian psychiatrist is recommending him not to attend drill this weekend. I wish this process was more clear because I feel like we are running in circles and it is putting more stress on him.
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Oh. I just remembered something that may be very important to your hubby IF he finally gets an MEB/PEB and is found 30% or greater disabled by the military and is retired for disability....

You may want to do this now to verify ALL his time spent in military service is CORRECT.

Have your hubby get a copy of his RPAS - his Retirement Points Statement. This printout is computer generated. It shows every year he has been in military service - to include Active Duty time, Reserve time, NG time, branch of service - everything.

Make sure it is correct and NOT missing time spent in any branch of service or missing any time spent anywhere.

The RPAS, in many cases, drives the base calculations of how much retirement pay will be.

I almost got screwed out of my 20-year, NG retirement when I was found disabled and separated from Active Duty because my RPAS was missing time and had other incorrect stuff on it.

RPAS said I had 18 + years when I actually was only 6 months away from having 20 years in. So I had to get that fixed - and I got it fixed just six weeks prior to PDRL retirement.

So have hubby get ahold of his RPAS to make sure it's correct. Supposedly, you can get it through your Unit Clerk - I'd send an email to that person and keep a paper trail.

If it is wrong, it can take several months to fix it and you need it to be correct ASAP - and prior to discharge.

nwlivewire
 
brooke0227 said:
Well its been almost a month and still nothing. He emailed his commander on Sept. 8th requesting MEB/fit for duty but we have heard nothing. What is our next step? He sees civilian doctors because the VA is so backed up that they kept cancelling his appointments so we obtained a civilian psych dr and he started going to our family doc. Can he call or send an email to anyone else? Will a letter from his civilan doctors sent to his commander or someone else work? His civilian psychiatrist is recommending him not to attend drill this weekend. I wish this process was more clear because I feel like we are running in circles and it is putting more stress on him.
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Welcome to the PEB Forum! :)

Hmm, I would give the Commander another week to respond. If still no response, then I would strongly suggest that you, "the spouse" directly contact the Commander's boss and explain the urgency of your husband's medical situation as validated by behavioral healthcare provider(s)!

As such, it seems that the NGB has their "own" internal procedures of initially processing referrals into the DoD IDES MEB/PEB process albeit the impact of the medical condition(s) upon the military service member ability to perform duties appropriate to his or her rank and job skill is important since the DoD IDES process is a performance-based system.

Indeed, I would definitely request that your husband's civilian behavioral healthcare provider generate a memorandum for record explaining the urgency nature of the problem/concern and his recommendation(s) for an immediate start of any potential resolution.

With that all said, please take care and never default acceptance to any injustices; fight then continue to fight some more until receipt of your desired expectations supportive via medical evidence and/or medical documentation!

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

Best Wishes!
 
Ok I was a t Training NCO in the guard for 10 years I think I can give you a step by step.
First have you husband request a MRP. that will get his PULES changed and a permanent profile started. that will get the process started. He need to come clean with his medical issues. he need to let his chain of command know everything that is wrong with him. Back up with ALL his medical records.

Second He needs to get a Line Of Duty started. More thane likely it will be a Formal LOD it will take time. That's your first BIG FIGHT that you have to win. The LOD will stop them from ETS and they will have to give him a 6 month extetion. once you start down this path there is no returner.

Third you probably should get an appointment to see his commander by yourself and explain your husbands conditions.
You are a civilian you can explain thing with out having any repercussions.

This should get things started. I don't know what state you are from some state are better at this than other. All NG states have to report the National Guar Bureau. PM me and I can go into mere detail with you.
 
ebateman said:
Ok I was a t Training NCO in the guard for 10 years I think I can give you a step by step.
First have you husband request a MRP. that will get his PULES changed and a permanent profile started. that will get the process started. He need to come clean with his medical issues. he need to let his chain of command know everything that is wrong with him. Back up with ALL his medical records.

Second He needs to get a Line Of Duty started. More thane likely it will be a Formal LOD it will take time. That's your first BIG FIGHT that you have to win. The LOD will stop them from ETS and they will have to give him a 6 month extetion. once you start down this path there is no returner.

Third you probably should get an appointment to see his commander by yourself and explain your husbands conditions.
You are a civilian you can explain thing with out having any repercussions.

This should get things started. I don't know what state you are from some state are better at this than other. All NG states have to report the National Guar Bureau. PM me and I can go into mere detail with you.
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In my opinion, this is simply outstanding feedback! Good job and appreciate the future lending of additional assistance if requested! :)

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

Best Wishes!
 
Thank you all for your feedback. It is helping us get in the right direction. Unfortunately we have not had the best response from my husbands unit. The doctor has wrote a letter to the commander taking him out of drill for the 2nd month in a row. We got a response back from the training NCO last night that stated that he wanted a copy of all of my husbands medical records, medications and all his doctor appts. The last sentence of the email stated "if you are unable to perform drill duties but are able to wear a uniform to work Monday thru Friday, it raises concern." This of course set my husband off and we did not have a good evening. I emailed the commander and copied in the training NCO to let them know what my husband is going through and that the psychiatrist will not release medical records to anyone but a medical professional or the commander himself (he will not even release them to my husband). I didn't think his unit would be so disrespectful towards my husband and just brush his PTSD off like they are. We still have not gotten a response about the fit for duty physical that we have requested and I have not received a response to my request for a meeting with the commander. My husbands anxiety at this point is so elevated that he's just wanting to give up but as his wife, I WILL NOT let him. What would be my next step? Should I just leave his unit alone and go above them? I don't want to cross any lines or cause them to take it out on my husband. I was going to take everything I have medical record wise and drop a copy of them to the commanders office next week and hope that I get a response. I only have the records from his involuntary commitment for his ptsd psychosis, a calendar with his appts, and his medication record from the pharmacy.
 
I do have a question.....I just received an email from the commander stating that even though we have a letter stating that attending drill would be detrimental to his treatment for PTSD that he can not miss anymore drills. What do we do at this point? I do not want any set backs in his treatment process but the commander is not willing to work with us.
 
I suggest you speak to counsel.
 
Can you get your husband's psychiatrist to call a medical provider in your husband's guard unit? You need to get military medicine on your husband's side. Your husband needs to be on a medical profile issued by a military provider. A note or call from the psychiatrist could result in your husband receiving an appropriate profile. Getting a profile will likely involve him at least showing up to see a guard doc.

I'm sure you understand the military takes a dim view of just not showing up. If the process is short circuited, the unit may react and their reaction could result in actions that could be very deleterious to your husband's health.

Who is he connected to in his guard unit that will help advocate his case? Have you talked to/meet with your husband's supervisor? Unit chaplain? Anyone in the unit that will help translate your concerns to leadership?
 
hi
Thank you for your response. I have just had email contact with his commander but no face to face meetings. I did request one but he has not responded to that request. Each time he has missed drill he has gotten a new note for the pysch dr. and personally turned it into either the commander himself or his 1st. Sgt. He had been seeing a VA pyschiatrist and VA doc but after months of them cancelling his appointments we decided on a civilian pyschiatrist that would watch him more closely. I will ask my husband who to contact in his unit that is a guard medical provider and then have his pyschiatrist contact them. He has been 80% through the VA for his PTSD for 2 years and the unit has known this. We have been asking for help from them since his psych hospitalization in April. I have kept all emails to and from the unit. Its like they are brushing this off! Has anyone had any luck with the DAV (disabled american veterans)? Someone at my work had suggested contacting them for help. I just dont want my husband to give up and throw his hands up. It will only make his PTSD worse. Being the soldier that he is, he will just do as they say and not stand up for himself.
 
brooke0227 said:
hi
...I just dont want my husband to give up and throw his hands up. It will only make his PTSD worse. Being the soldier that he is, he will just do as they say and not stand up for himself.
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Oh, no! This is definitely not a course of action which can potentially yield favorable results for you and your family!

Again, my stance for continued support to you and your husband...never default acceptance to any injustices; fight then continue to fight some more until receipt of your desired expectations supportive via medical evidence and/or medical documentation!

As such, that's the bottom line in my direct opinion! Take care, please get well and enjoy life to the fullest extent feasible!

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

Best Wishes!
 
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