Definitely a theory, buuuut I believe the people who received their BEL notification before the PEB accepted their case are making good time. The PEB had shut down for several weeks and then the government shut down right after that. With that being said, our VA rating is already proposed so once the IPEB opens our case, it's pretty much copy and paste. Versus a case that someone is accepted by the PEB and the VA is still working on percentages that would slow it down.
PEB accepted my case 11/27 (MOL Notification)
PEB started working my case on 1/12.
PEBLO saw this as an indicator that I would have my DOD rating by the end of this week or middle of next.
It's very nerve racking and at times I've got caught up in all of the timeline stuff. Best to just enjoy your final days in the Military the best you can and wait for that sweeet sweet DD-214.