Department Service Office Business Hours:  The Department Service Office will be open each Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM.  Appointments are not necessary for visits. You may contact the Department Service Office by calling (603) 222-5784, faxing (603) 222-5787; or by using the following e-mail address:

 Gary.Wayman@VA.GOV.

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Military Disability (Medical) Separations and Retirements: When a military member has a medical condition (including mental health conditions) which renders them unfit to perform their required duties, they may be separated (or retired) from the military for medical reasons. The process to determine medical fitness for continued duty involves two boards -- One is called the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB), and the other is called the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB).

 

Title 10, U.S.C., chapter 61, provides the Secretaries of the Military Departments with authority to retire or separate members when the Secretary finds that they are unfit to perform their military duties because of physical disability.

• SEPARATION OR RETIREMENT FOR PHYSICAL DISABILITY (DoD Directive 1332.181);
• PHYSICAL DISABILITY EVALUATION (DoD Instruction 1332.382); and
• APPLICATION OF THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES (DoD Instruction 1332.393 );

set forth the policies and procedures implementing the statute.

 

While most MEB/PEB actions occur when a military member voluntarily presents him/herself at the Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) for medical care, commanders may, at any time, refer military members to the MTF for a mandatory medical examination, when they believe the member is unable to perform his/her military duties due to a medical condition. This examination may cause conduct of a MEB, which will be forwarded to the PEB when it finds that the member's medical condition falls below medical retention standards.

 

Physical or mental health problems that are incompatible with military duty or that result in disqualification from world-wide deployment for more than 12 months precipitate an Medical Evaluation Board (MEB). Medical boards are initiated by the Medical Treatment Facility (base medical facility), not the individual or the command. The medical board consists of active duty physicians (not involved in the care of the military member) who review the clinical case file and decide whether the individual should be returned to duty, or should be separated, using the published medical standards for continued military service.

 

If the MEB determines that the member has a medical condition which is incompatible with continued military service, they refer the case to a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). The PEB is a formal fitness-for-duty and disability determination that may recommend one of the following:

 

·         Return the member to duty (with or without assignment limitations, and or medical re-training) ;

• Place the member on the temporary disabled/retired list (TDRL) ;
• Separate the member from active duty, or ;
• Medically retire the member;

 

The standard used by the PEB for determining fitness is whether the medical condition precludes the member from reasonably performing the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating. Per DoD Instruction 1332.38, inability to perform the duties of office, grade, rank or rating in every geographic location and under every conceivable circumstance will not be the sole basis for a finding of unfitness. Deployability, however, may be used as a consideration in determining fitness.

 

These recommendations are forwarded to a central medical board and can be appealed by the member, who is permitted to have legal counsel at these hearings.

 

Disposition: Four factors determine whether disposition is fit for duty, separation, permanent retirement, or temporary retirement: whether the member can perform in their MOS/AFSC/Rating (job); the rating percentage; the stability of the disabling condition; and years of Active Service (active duty days) in the case of pre-existing conditions.

 

Fit for Duty: The member is judged to be fit when he can reasonably perform the duties of his grade and military job. If the member is medically unfit to perform the duties of his/her current job, the PEB can recommend medical re-training into a job he/she will be medically qualified to perform.

 

Disability Rating Percentage: Once a determination of physical unfitness is made, the PEB is required by law to rate the disability using the Department of Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities. DoD Instruction 1332.39 modifies those provisions of the rating schedule inapplicable to the military and clarify rating guidance for specific conditions. Ratings can range from 0 to 100 percent rising in increments of 10.

 

• Separation without benefits: Separation without benefits occurs if the unfitting disability existed prior to service, was not permanently aggravated by military service, and the member has less than 8 years of Active Service (active duty days); or the disability was incurred while the member was absent without leave or while engaging in an act of misconduct or willful negligence. If the member has more than 8 years of Active Service, he/she may be medically retired (if eligible) or medically separated with severance pay, even if the condition was pre-existing or hereditary.

 

• Separation with severance pay: Separation with disability severance pay occurs if the member is found unfit, has less than 20 years of service, and has a disability rating of less than 30%. Disability severance pay equals 2 months basic pay for each year of service not to exceed 12 years (a maximum of 24 months basic pay). The member may also be eligible to apply for monthly disability compensation from the Veterans Administration (VA), if the VA determines the disability is "service-connected."

 

• Permanent disability retirement: Permanent disability retirement occurs if the member is found unfit, the disability is determined permanent and stable and rated at a minimum of 30%, or the member has 20 years of military service (For Reserve Component members, this means at least 7200 retirement points).

 

• Temporary disability retirement: Temporary disability retirement occurs if the member is found unfit and entitled to permanent disability retirement except that the disability is not stable for rating purposes. "Stable for rating purposes" refers to whether the condition will change within the next five years so as to warrant a different disability rating. However, stability does not include latent impairment--what might happen in the future. When placed on the Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL), the law requires the member to undergo a periodic medical reexamination within 18 months at a minimum followed by PEB evaluation. The member may be retained on the TDRL or a final determination may be made. While the law provides for a maximum tenure of 5 years on the TDRL, there is no entitlement to be retained for the entire period.

 

Retirement pay computation: For permanent retirement or placement on the TDRL, compensation is based on the higher of two computations: Disability rating times retired pay base; or 2.5 x years of service x retired pay base. Soldiers on the TDRL receive no less than 50% of their retired pay base. The computation of retired pay base depends upon when the member entered the service, and for Reserve members, the law under which they were retired. For those members who entered prior to 8 September 1980, retired pay base is the highest basic pay received. For those who entered after 7 September 1980, it is the average of the high 36 months of basic pay. For reserve members retired under 10 USC 1201 or 10 USC 1202 (on ordered duty of plus 30 days), the last 36 months of active duty days and the associated basic pay is used to determine the average. If retired under 10 USC 1204 or 1205, the average is calculated as if the member had been on active duty the last 36 months.

 

Differences Between Military Disability Ratings and VA Disability Ratings:  While both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) use the Department of Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities, not all the general policy provisions set forth in the Rating Schedule apply to the military. Consequently, disability ratings may vary between the two. The military rates only conditions determined to be physically unfitting, compensating for loss of a military career. The VA may rate any service-connected impairment, thus compensating for loss of civilian employability. Another difference is the term of the rating. The military's ratings are permanent upon final disposition. VA ratings may fluctuate with time, depending upon the progress of the condition. Further, the military's disability compensation is affected by years of service and basic pay; while VA compensation is a flat amount based upon the percentage rating received.

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VA Makes the right call on the new gi bill:  Washington, DC (October 13,  2008) –  The nation’s largest veterans organization applauds VA Secretary Dr. James Peake’s decision to retain control of the new GI Bill rather than outsourcing services.

Last month National Commander David K. Rehbein expressed concerns about VA’s earlier decision to contract out certain delivery aspects of the educational benefit during testimony before a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees.

On Oct. 10, VA announced that it will rely upon its own workforce to develop the information technology programs necessary to implement the educational benefits necessary to administer the Post-911 GI Bill.

Rehbein said the Legion’s opposition to VA’s earlier plan to outsource is based on practicality. "The VA employs IT personnel with intimate knowledge of how to best serve the veterans’ community. VA should be provided with the additional resources needed to get the job done by the August 2009 implementation date.

“The new GI Bill is an earned benefit that the newest generation of wartime veterans richly deserves,” Rehbein said. “The ultimate goal is to assure timely delivery of these enhanced benefits. The American Legion will continue to work with VA to achieve this goal.”

With a current membership of 2.6-million wartime veterans, The American Legion, www.legion.org, was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans’ affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.
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presumption of service connection for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published an interim final rule, effective September 23, 2008, establishing presumption of service connection for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, for any veteran with at least 90 continuous days of active duty service who develops the disease any time after separation from service. Prior to this new regulation, ALS, like other organic diseases of the nervous system, was subject to a one year presumption.

 

ALS is a rare and fatal neurological degenerative disease with no known cause or cure. The median survival period for people with ALS is three years from onset of symptoms and most people with ALS die from respiratory failure within five years. In November 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report entitled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Veterans: Review of the Scientific Literature. The IOM concluded that there was limited and suggestive evidence of an association between the development of ALS and military service. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs subsequently determined that there is sufficient evidence establishing a correlation between ALS and activities in military service that supports a presumption of service connection for ALS for any veteran with that diagnosis. Accordingly, this interim final rule establishes section 3.318 (title 38 Code of Federal Regulations) to provide that the development of ALS at any time after discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service is sufficient to establish service connection for that disease. Paragraph (b) of this new section provides that this presumption of service connection of ALS does not apply if there is “affirmative evidence that ALS was not incurred during or aggravated by such service or affirmative evidence that ALS was caused by the veteran’s own willful misconduct.”

 

VA comments published in the interim final rule concede that there is little likelihood that either of those standards will be met with regard to any particular claim. Presumption of service connection for ALS does not apply if the veteran did not have active, continuous service of 90 days or more.

 

The provisions of this interim final rule apply to all claims pertaining to service connection for ALS received by VA on or after September 23, 2008. The regulation also applies to claims or appeals pending before VA, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the effective date of the interim final rule. Finally denied ALS claims will not be automatically reopened. Veterans and eligible survivors (in the case dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) claims) whose claims were finally denied prior to the effective date of this new rule will have to file to reopen their claims. VA, however, has informed The American Legion that due to the relatively small number of cases involved, it will take steps to locate those whose claims were previously denied in order to inform them of the new regulation and the opportunity to file new claims. Regardless of VA’s outreach efforts, accredited American Legion representatives are strongly encouraged to review their old files in order to identify previously denied ALS claims for the purpose of filing claims under the new regulation. A DIC claim should be pursued if the veteran died since the original service connection claim was denied and there is an eligible survivor to pursue such a claim.

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