Hey all,
So here is my quick, post-assignment to TDRL story:
I was assigned to the TDRL for PTSD and Bipolar (which sucks) on the 30th of March 2015. I EAS'd as an E4 but was an E5 from 2010 to 2013 before I got busted down for not passing out party invitations (I'm not kidding)... Anyway, so I received the decision from the PEB that I was to be discharged at 10% for PTSD and Bipolar. It was found by the board that my injuries occurred in combat, while I was entitled to basic pay and not as a result of negligence or misconduct and deemed due to "combat related operations". So that means that the severance pay that I will receive will be tax free, and not subject to recoup by the VA.
I've asked around here a couple of times on the forum, "how is severance pay calculated?" because when you get the decision back from the PEB, it states that Disability Severance Pay is: base pay x 2 x the number of years of service. But you and I know that NOTHING associated with pay in the military is ever that easy to calculate SOOOOO.... my question was (because I had heard) that if I was a Sergeant back in the day, was my pay going to be calculated via "highest grade satisfactorily served" , "high 3" (the average of the 3 highest paid salaries you received) or just the rank at which I was discharged from the TDRL as.
The reason this question came up in the first place is because:
Severance Pay: The percentage of disability awarded has no bearing on the amount of severance pay you are entitled to receive. Severance pay is computed using years of service and base pay--for those who entered service after 8 September 1980, pay is based on the high 3 average. Severance pay is computed in two ways (1) Members being discharged for non-combat related conditions: multiply years of service (minimum of 3 years and not more than 19 years) times twice the amount of monthly base pay (based on the high 3 average). (2) Members being discharged for combat related conditions: multiply years of service (minimum of 6 years and not more than 19 years) times twice the amount of monthly base pay (based on the high 3 average). Count as a whole year service of six months or more; disregard service of less than 6 months. For each computation, if the member has less than the minimum number of years of service (3 or 6) they will be paid as if they have the minimum years of service (3 or 6).
then again...
Disability Severance Pay is a one-time, lump sum payment and is computed as follows:
I've been told that I would be paid via the highest grade by a couple of guys here on the forum but I was also told by my PEB Lawyer that DSP is paid via the grade that I was discharged at. So which is it? We'll find out.
The difference in pay is about $14,000 between E4 and E5 with 13 years of service.
So I'm posting this here, not to prove anyone wrong, but so that in the future, if one of you reading this has the same questions as I do (did), you'll have a better idea of what is up because you'll see how much I got in DSP. I'll also make sure that I post my timeline as best as I can remember it.
I wish anyone reading this all the best luck moving forward. Civilian life isn't all that bad, and the VA has a bunch of different programs that can help. And then there are always us here in this awesome website.
Love you all,
Mario
side note: It turns out that "Highest grade satisfactorily served" is an INCREDIBLY hard expression to define and understand from a military standpoint. And like any wording in the military, it never means what you hope it means, and it's never as simple as it sounds. Or maybe it is. I don't know. But we'll find out.
So here is my quick, post-assignment to TDRL story:
I was assigned to the TDRL for PTSD and Bipolar (which sucks) on the 30th of March 2015. I EAS'd as an E4 but was an E5 from 2010 to 2013 before I got busted down for not passing out party invitations (I'm not kidding)... Anyway, so I received the decision from the PEB that I was to be discharged at 10% for PTSD and Bipolar. It was found by the board that my injuries occurred in combat, while I was entitled to basic pay and not as a result of negligence or misconduct and deemed due to "combat related operations". So that means that the severance pay that I will receive will be tax free, and not subject to recoup by the VA.
I've asked around here a couple of times on the forum, "how is severance pay calculated?" because when you get the decision back from the PEB, it states that Disability Severance Pay is: base pay x 2 x the number of years of service. But you and I know that NOTHING associated with pay in the military is ever that easy to calculate SOOOOO.... my question was (because I had heard) that if I was a Sergeant back in the day, was my pay going to be calculated via "highest grade satisfactorily served" , "high 3" (the average of the 3 highest paid salaries you received) or just the rank at which I was discharged from the TDRL as.
The reason this question came up in the first place is because:
Severance Pay: The percentage of disability awarded has no bearing on the amount of severance pay you are entitled to receive. Severance pay is computed using years of service and base pay--for those who entered service after 8 September 1980, pay is based on the high 3 average. Severance pay is computed in two ways (1) Members being discharged for non-combat related conditions: multiply years of service (minimum of 3 years and not more than 19 years) times twice the amount of monthly base pay (based on the high 3 average). (2) Members being discharged for combat related conditions: multiply years of service (minimum of 6 years and not more than 19 years) times twice the amount of monthly base pay (based on the high 3 average). Count as a whole year service of six months or more; disregard service of less than 6 months. For each computation, if the member has less than the minimum number of years of service (3 or 6) they will be paid as if they have the minimum years of service (3 or 6).
then again...
Disability Severance Pay is a one-time, lump sum payment and is computed as follows:
- 2 x basic pay for applicable grade x years of service (subject to minimum 3 or 6 years) not to exceed 19 years.
- Applicable grade is the highest of the following:
- Current grade.
- Highest grade satisfactorily served.
- Grade to which the Soldier would have been promoted had it not been for the disability for which he is being separated. This is colloquially referred to as, "promotion list grade."
- Soldiers are credited with a minimum of 3 years of service as computed under 10 USC 1208 unless they qualify for the minimum 6 years of service.
- To qualify for the minimum 6 years, the disability must be incurred in line of duty in a combat zone as designated by the Secretary of Defense OR incurred during the performance of duty in combat-related operations as designated by the Secretary of Defense. DoD policy for the "combat related operations" determination is that the disability must be incurred as a result of armed conflict as set forth in DoD Instruction 1332.38, paragraph E3.P5.1.2.
I've been told that I would be paid via the highest grade by a couple of guys here on the forum but I was also told by my PEB Lawyer that DSP is paid via the grade that I was discharged at. So which is it? We'll find out.
The difference in pay is about $14,000 between E4 and E5 with 13 years of service.
So I'm posting this here, not to prove anyone wrong, but so that in the future, if one of you reading this has the same questions as I do (did), you'll have a better idea of what is up because you'll see how much I got in DSP. I'll also make sure that I post my timeline as best as I can remember it.
I wish anyone reading this all the best luck moving forward. Civilian life isn't all that bad, and the VA has a bunch of different programs that can help. And then there are always us here in this awesome website.
Love you all,
Mario
side note: It turns out that "Highest grade satisfactorily served" is an INCREDIBLY hard expression to define and understand from a military standpoint. And like any wording in the military, it never means what you hope it means, and it's never as simple as it sounds. Or maybe it is. I don't know. But we'll find out.