National Guard AGR - Medical Retirement / VA Disability Pension?

brokenjoe

Member
Registered Member
I am currently an AGR with 11 years. I have been determined to be unfit in 5 areas and packet has been forwarded to the PEB in Ft Lewis. PEBLO in Ft Riley stated to me that I would receive both Army Medical Retirement as well as a VA pension due to a recent change. However, some tell me that I have to choose?

Next question is that I have been in the MEB process for over a year now and packet is just going to the PEB. I received a letter from the State TAG stating he is going to involuntarily separate me at the end of the fiscal year from the AGR program and keep me on the books as an M-Day Soldier until medical process is completed. Can he do this since I was found unfit during AGR status? Also, if he can does this mean I loose the option for Active Medical Retirment and forced to accept reserve medical retirement?
 
BrokenJoe,
Great questions! I have some similar issues. Have you been able to get answers to these?
 
you have a lot of good questions but a lot of work to do. Compensation is dependent on so many variables. For the PEB if you are rated below 30% you will receive a seperation pay (you will have to look on this site for the formula). If you get the seperation pay you can collect VA Compensation, but you may or may not have to pay back your seperation pay, depending on if your injuries are combat related.

1." PEBLO in Ft Riley stated to me that I would receive both Army Medical Retirement as well as a VA pension due to a recent change. However, some tell me that I have to choose?"

Medical retirement and the other options are CDRP (i believe that you still need to be eligible for regular retirement pay to get this option, and you are not at 11 years), CRSC (combat related special compensation) is the second option to receive concurrently with your medical retirement. Are any of your conditions combat related? if so you may be eligible for this option.

2." I received a letter from the State TAG stating he is going to involuntarily separate me at the end of the fiscal year from the AGR program and keep me on the books as an M-Day Soldier until medical process is completed".

This seems to be nonsense, i do not know any specifics but it seems to be outragous. i am sure someone else will give you better assistance than me on this one.

3. " if he can does this mean I loose the option for Active Medical Retirment and forced to accept reserve medical retirement? "

There is no difference in the retirement if you are retired under chapter 61 the retirement is the same. To simplify things if you are put on the PDRL (Permenant retirement) your rating up to 75% is the % of your high 3 years that you will receive of your base pay. For example if my base pay over the last 3 years (typically your high 3s) is $6,000/ month and i get rated 50% PDRL. My retirement would be $3,000/ month. Some Soldiers are put on the Temporary retirement list (TDRL) i will not go into those specifics this evening.

i wish you luck and remember this is the simplified version, many of the options CDRP and CRSC have somewhat complecated rules.
 
Green594 Can you help me out? My husband has 13yrs in the service. 6 are active duty army and 6 are AGR (1 year he was M-day). For the last 6 years he has been on AGR orders for recruiting and he has developed asthma, high blood pressure and chronic sinusitis, his asthma is awful. His command is sending him to Fort Benning to start the MEB process. My question is since he has been in over 8 years and became sick while on active duty orders is he entitled to active duty retirement? Or would his medical issues have to be service connected LOD for him to receive benefits? I understand how active duty retirement works and that he would need to be rated at 30% or greater to be medically retired. I'm just wondering if he is entitled to these benefits because he is AGR and his injures aren't LOD. Thanks for the help. This is very confusing and his command knows nothing about it.
 
Problem with title 32 soldiers is that they serve at the pleasure of the state. There are few rights or other safeguards. If your husband was title 10, I would say they have to retain him on active duty. This may not be the case with title 32. On a positive note, there is no difference between active and reserve retirements for physical disability. The amount of money your husband will receive would be the same whether he was on active duty or an M-Day soldier.
 
If they decide to release your husband from active duty, make sure he requests incapacitation pay. Thats his full military pay and allowances. Only downside is that the time isn't credited as active duty when calculating retired pay.
 
My question on this is that I was regular army for 3 years, reserve 1.5 years, and currently 7 years AGR on the Reserve side. If my PTSD, and injuries was while I was Active Army Could I be pulled from the AGR program during the MEN, PEN..?
 
No. If your PTSD incurred which you were on a duty status, it does not matter if it was during your current period of active duty.
 
Thanks, also now that I am AGR if I am Medically Retired for the Injuries do I have to wait till I'm 60 to draw DOD?
 
No. If you are placed on the Retired List for physical unfitness you would draw immediate pay and benefits, the same as a Regular Army soldier.
 
Think of your Title 32 tour (3 years) as basically a probationary period. After the first 18 months your supervisor gets a retain/non retain memo from HRO based on his/her observation of your duty performance. I look at this is basically as insurance for the organization to ensure that the state gets what they expected from that hiring process and not a dirt bag. After the first 18 months the AGR soldier is pretty much on cruise control (I have seen one dipstick get the axe after the first 18 mos) but that is pretty rare. I can speak intelligently about ARNG programs, but cant help you much on the IDES side. Their are so many "if this that, then that is this" makes my head hurt......
 
Amen Brother! The whole medical system makes my head hurt. Not saying that its Bad just the mountain of information and the hurdle of it.
 
Just joined the forum and in similar situation.. Been going to doctors off base for roughly 5 years off and on meds for PTSD, anxiety, depression, anger management, asthma, migraines, as well getting treated for insomnia, sleep apnea without official diagnosis for asthma or sleep apnea. I have not talked to the base clinic about my meds or that I have been going to a phycologist for 5 years for treatment. I am back on meds and it seems like it isn't getting any better. Right now I am AGR with a career change from being from maintenance with 6 deployments from Bagram. I have been on two sets of orders and about to start my third set of AGR orders. I will be taking my list of meds down to the clinic as I plan to start the documentation of everything.

My PTSD, sleep apnea and insomnia are from deployments and I believe my asthma is related to the burn pits.

My questions are ...

Will this make me not deployable as well as possibly start an MEB as I am AGR?

How do I go about getting an LOD for my conditions that happened when I was on deployments? I think I have read that if a civilian doctor states that it is tied then that can help as well as would I bring my VA notes from my phycologist that state PTSD since I haven't seen the base MH personnel.

meds Zoloft, Ambien, Symbicort, Imitrex

Thanks for the help
 
Top