Facts
20 years +1 day Active Duty time
2012 Assigned to Arnold AFB, no medical facilities on site
2013-2014 put in medical status and processed for separation
2014 the medical evaluation board process mysteriously was halted and the Tennessee VA ordered to stop
2015 CCA (Commander action group) put in voluntary retirement against my wishes while I was in the medical leave/Hospital. I was also code 37 which was over-ruled by the in"voluntary" retirement.
2015 awarded 100% disabled for VA, and the unfitting condition was awarded 70%
2016/2017 BCMR submitted
Sep 2019 AF BCMR Awarded on my behalf...I was one of 6 for that quarter. I know I am blessed
I know the next steps are to get a DD-214 to reflect the discharge, "The AF" to determine Concurrent disability award and DFAS to calculate the difference.
???The questions
Who will update my DD-214? I little bird told me the AF BCMR process does this.
How long will it take?
I know if the previous base gets involved the process will break down or stop completely as
How long from DD-214 to catch up payments?
My case isn't exactly the same but I can tell you a little about how the process worked for me (and is still going 2 years later):
I flied my AF BCMR in Jan 2016 and was notified in late Dec 2017 that the board found in my favor and granted me an additional 159 days of active duty. The AFBCMR notified DFAS, and in March 2018 I received a letter from DFAS telling me what they would need from me to compute the back pay I was now owed for the 159 days. I sent all of my paperwork to DFAS on Mar 29, 2018, and then heard nothing again until late Aug 2018. At that point I received a letter from DFAS telling me that I needed to submit my 2013 IRS Form 1040. Of course, I sent that back in March (and had the proof) with everything else, but it didn't matter as that meant my case sat there for about 5 months with (apparently) no one even looking at it. I resent the package to DFAS and received a reply (they had an email address for DFAS Debts and Claims, but I believe it's no longer in use) that they now had everything and would begin computing my back pay.
As time went on, I'd call for a follow-up occasionally but all the CSR's could tell me is that my case was being worked. As I previously worked at DFAS, I called in a favor (because I kept getting the same basic/generic information every time I called the customer service number). My contact told me that my case went to the VA for their work on it in late November 2018 (to determine if I'd have to repay them anything, which I knew I would as I collected compensation during the 159 days) and she said it could be there for a year! I literally heard nothing else about my case until late in the spring of 2019 when I got a letter from VA along with a copy of a DD-214 for the period of active duty. It seems the Air Force Personnel Center issued the DD-214, but never sent it to me; they did send a copy to VA and when VA contacted me to repay them, they included the copy of the DD-214 as "proof" that I was on active duty at that time and therefore not eligible to receive both compensation and active duty pay. So that's how I got my "new" DD-214!
As for the rest of the story, I'm still waiting (almost exactly 2 years since DFAS first contacted me)! It turns out VA didn't return my case to DFAS until October 4, 2019 (so 11 months -- my contact was pretty good with her info!). Now my case has been with DFAS and "awaiting approval" is what I'm told when I call the customer service number. I've field "AskDFAS" inquiries (3 of them), but they were never answered (one was from Oct 25, 2019), until I finally called the customer service center and said I wanted to speak to a Supervisor. The CSR I spoke with said she was a "lead" (I assume similar to a supervisor) and could help. I gave her the timeline, explained how VA already billed me for the compensation, and the general crappy way my case was being handled, and she agreed. She took my information and the next day I received an email from an unmonitored DFAS address stating my case was nearly complete and I will be contacted with the information regarding my case in 10 business days. All 3 "AskDFAS" inquiries were then answered by Debt and Claims (same answer to all 3), but they basically said my case was near the end, but that an error had been discovered and that's why the additional time was required, but I would receive written notice about my case shortly.
So, I'm still waiting. It's been 1 week (5 business days) since I got the email from DFAS and the "AskDFAS" inquiries were answered. If I don't hear anything by the middle of this month, I'm going to call back and probably ask my Congressman for assistance. I've built a timeline and have my docs ready to go -- this is ludicrous to have taken so long, especially considering I've paid back all but $100 (of the $2800 owed) to VA. It seems when we owe them money they expect it right away, but when they owe us money, that can take their sweet time... I'll let you know how this plays out. Best of luck to you!
Snag41
