Got recommended for a BH MEB about 1.5 weeks ago. It has a profiling provider & date approved but does not have a “approving authority.” Im an Officer and lm not sure how/when to know if it’s approved or denied. What am l waiting on next?
Permanent Profile / MEB process
- Thread starter Jumper9012
- Start date
Are you active duty and Army?
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Yes, active duty and army. l just was fold out it got kicked back from IDES so lm not sure what’s next now.
I would assume that's just a paperwork issue. Not your problem.
Step 1 was your BH provider recommending your for an MEB...they should be putting you on a P3 profile simultaneously if you aren't already on one.
Step 2 will be waiting for a meeting that is held monthly...sometimes bimonthly...all the providers who need to present new medboard cases go to this meeting and present and 99/100 times you will officially be in the MEB after this meeting. For BH cases the only reason you wouldn't be accepted is if there is not enough treatment history. Therapy...medication whatever.
Step 3 you will be contacted by a PEBLO (DOD case worker) and MSC (VA case worker). They will work simultaneously to guide you through two separate processes that occur at the same time. The PEBLO will help you create your initial claim...which the MSC will tweak and submit to the VA to get your compensation exams set up.
Step 4 will be your exams...I had several...BH, hearing, General Health and a separate appointment for TBI.
Step 5 is waiting on your exam paperwork (Called DBQ's) to be uploaded to the online system so your MSC can submit them for ratings.
Step 6...around the time your MSC submits your exams for ratings the medical providers wherever you are stationed are creating a document called a NARSUM. It contains all relevant medical history and a decision will be made to send you on to the PEB (Physical evaluation board). Your PEBLO will get your NARSUM and if you concur with it your packet will be sent to the PEB...its a centralized board in TX.
Step 7 Is just waiting on the PEB to decide if you should get out or stay in (Fit or Unfit). If you are UNFIT they will use your VA ratings to create your DOD compensation package. 20% or less you get severance...30% or more you get retired (It is only in increments of 10). You will get a form called a 199 which will tell you your percentages and if you are fit or unfit. You can appeal it or concur. If you sign it you will get your orders and get out.
This is a very broad overview. If you have specific questions about a certain part please ask. I am at the end of a BH Medboard right now. 13 year Army SFC. I was referred into the Medboard in January and should be out by the end of January 2025. I had zero appeals during the process. The process is extremely backlogged right now. I was supposed to be out in September or October.
I’m worried that I just got stopped at Step 2 due to not enough treatment interventions on paper. Ive been in 5 years, been seeing BH for 3 months with appointments once every 1-2 weeks, have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder & have been on anxiety medication for 2 months. My BHO knows there’s not much more she can do for me being in the Army since it’s all my triggers.
Not going to lie to you. Its possible. My BH condition has been up and down since 2015 so I didn't have to worry about that. I do know that for BH MEB purposes the term "Chronic" is important. Chronic doesn't mean serious to the Army...it means persisted longer than 6 months and isn't expected to improve. It is a key term for MEB purposes. If it doesn't work out for you this time... you NEED to keep going to therapy and keep getting your prescriptions filled. Once you cross that "Chronic" threshold I don't think the President could stop a BH Medboard. (Thats a joke for all the people on here that take everything so serious...obviously the President could stop it).
That sounds like the case. From my experience (in going through it and talking to providers), 3 months is not nearly a sufficient enough time for them to make a determination that your MH condition has stabilized and will not improve in the next 12 months, hence meeting your Medical Retention Determination Point (MRDP). While it doesn't have to be a year to go to the MEB, it seems that's the baseline they use when making the determination unless it's really really bad. When speaking to my providers and them referring me to the MEB they were looking at the 1-year mark of being on profile for BH, being in therapy for over a year, and making comments about me taking almost every medication that could be prescribed with limited success.
Even if it did go to the MEB, the MEB may not find that you've met the MRDP and that your conditions fail to meet medical retention standards. This is what they stated in my NARSUM to give you an idea of what they look at:
The Soldier, due to behavioral health conditions, will not be capable of returning to duty within one year. The Soldier's progress appears to have medically stabilized, the course of further recovery is relatively predictable, the Soldier appears to fail retention standards, and it can be reasonably determined that the Soldier is most likely not capable of performing all required Soldier duties; therefore, MRDP has been reached. More information is not necessary to substantiate the existence or severity of these conditions
So my question is since they require at least a year, am l supposed to be in a leadership position with high generalized anxiety/ on medication & have suicidal ideations ?
Depends on the restrictions on your profile. My BH profile at the time MEB was initiated had restrictions like no weapon or ammo access and no field/ austere environment. So for me as an 11B SFC I obviously can't be a platoon sergeant with those restrictions.
"Leadership position" is kind of vague. Like michaels said, you probably couldn't/shouldn't be a company commander, but you could likely be an Assistant S3 or some other staff position.