December Formal PEB

gunmate1

PEB Forum Regular Member
PEB Forum Veteran
Has anyone gone through a Navy Formal PEB October, November, or December 2010? Just trying to figure out the best timeline for a response from the board. I am hopeful they will find me unfit because of the disabilities that i have, and not find me fit then kick me out later. Thank you i hope someone can answer this.
 
Was he found fit or unfit? Just curious if you can tell me what he went up for, mine is for my back.
 
Thanks, was that what he wanted? I am just trying to gauge how the board is viewing my package. I had to explain my Non Medical Assessment that my XO wrote for me. He said alot of things that weren't true and i had to explain why he wrote what he wrote on there, but i am hoping that my medical record speaks for itself.
 
Originally no, he just wanted to get fixed and return to duty. But he realized that wasn't going to happen and accepted the fact he needed to go through the MEB-PEB process. It's been a long journey and hopefully his health issues will be resolved post service. I hope you get what you need through the PEB. Will keep everything crossed for you!!!
 
How was your son notified? I am just curious cause right now i am entering week 7 of waiting which really sucks and is so nerve racking.
 
Sorry it's taking so long...the wait is so hard. He was actually told by his attorney. He received his formal notification 4 weeks later.
 
Finally got my results, the Navy has found me fit to continue. Not sure how they did that, i am hoping there is an accurate reason in my paperwork as to why they found me fit to continue. I think its messed up if there is a preponderance of evidence that i am not medically fit that i am found fit. My question i guess now is, how can the FPEB know there is a billet for me with out checking with BUPERS.... Hmmmmm
 
Finally got my results, the Navy has found me fit to continue. Not sure how they did that, i am hoping there is an accurate reason in my paperwork as to why they found me fit to continue. I think its messed up if there is a preponderance of evidence that i am not medically fit that i am found fit. My question i guess now is, how can the FPEB know there is a billet for me with out checking with BUPERS.... Hmmmmm
Hi gunmate,I am not sure if this is the outcome that you want,but if it is congratulations!i hope ur wife is doing much better with this news.I just hope the same goes for my husband's case with his MEB that will be starting in March.
 
Yeah this is not what we were expecting, Medical says i shouldn't be in, my coworkers were shocked that i was kept in, my family was shocked too. My wife, i think right now we are still kind of in limbo since i have to try to choose orders, and not sure if the detailor will work with me or not. I think the big thing with my wife is she is a little confused at the difference between Navy money and VA money. So i am working on getting her to understand the difference. But No this is not what we were expecting, My PEBLO basically said the Boards don't care about someones back anymore. Which i can agree with since, medical said there is no surgery they could do to fix me, but found me fit to continue. Oh yeah i forgot to mention that since i am on shore duty now they figure since i sit behind a desk, or so they think, that i should be ok. One of the things i know that i will do if i get kicked out or if i finish the 5 years i have left, i plan on becoming some sort of advocate for the sailors who are getting screwed. It is unfair to the service member, there needs to be a moral code put in place, to keep a disgruntled chain of command from saying that they know you, or lying on your NMA. there needs to be a check process in place.
 
Yeah, I'm not sure what to tell you. I would have taken a finding of fit any day, had it allowed me to stay in. So, even though it's not what you were expecting I hope that you can see the blessing in being able to do so. For every one of you that wanted out and got to stay in, there are probably quite a few of us who wanted to stay in very badly and were forced out.

At any rate, regardless of what you wanted, I hope that this doesn't truly compromise the health of your back.
 
It's not as simple as that, when i first started this, i just wanted to be fixed. Have some sort of surgery or something that would make me better, I was told that there was nothing that the Navy could do to fix me and i wasn't a candidate for surgery. I have 15 years in do you think i wanted to just get out when this started? The problem that i am facing now is now that i am fit to continue, i will prbably not screen for sea and be Admin Seperated. So that is not the way i wanted it but i gotta deal with reality here, If i am processed out because of that then i am good to go with a good job and will be good to go. But if i stay in i don't know if they will let me renlist at my 17yr mark. So please don't think of me wanting to do this jsut to get out. I fought this because the Navy let me down and couldn't fix me. And then from the findinngs it looks like they say my job and my commuting is why they found me fit. So i hope someday someone someplace can fix my back. But all i want is my back fixed so i can lead a normal life.
 
Well i have now gone through the IPEB: Found Fit to Continue, FPEB: Found Fit to Continue, and now the PFR:Found Fit to Continue. Makes me wonder how you can be found unfit, I'm told my medical condition doesn't warrent that, I was told that my inability to deply and take the past 7 PRT's doesn't warrent it, and that combined with all that it doesn't warrent my medical discharge, Lets ignore the fact that the Navy already said they can't fix me. In any case now what in the world gets you medically discharged from the navy? That is my ultimate question.
 
i just had a similar experience happen to me, gunmate. i was the first person out of tens of thousands that have been through my medboard office that was found unfit by the MEB at the local hospital for asthma, but found FIT by PEB. apparently the PEB only cared about two factors: PFT (pulmonary functions test) results and daily required meds. so according to them a soldier who has persevered enough to not pass their little test is not considered disabled. it's completely ridiculous. that's like saying if a person with a bad back doesn't want to pop opiate pills all day and decides to persevere through the pain on their own, then they are not disabled. so you punish those who try to better themselves?

the system is quite messed up. if they want to oversimplify things they should just leave it at: if the service member is unable to perform at work despite medicine and/or surgeries, they have a disability. i have to go through an FPEB now because there's a high likelihood that if they send me into a combat situation either myself or others around me may get killed as a result of my illness. they simply don't take this seriously enough....
 
BreatheEasy, I agree with you completely. I coudl understand if someone was faking. Like thier command and Medical both said they didn't have any condition. But if the Command is saying something that is clearly biased, and your MTF, PCM, and Neurosurgeon all say you are broke, and they can't fix you , you should be either retired or medically seperated. The System is truly flawed!!!!! The leaders in all the branches need to take not just the 4 stars, but the Secretaries need to truly look at this, they are truly hurting service members.
 
Gunmate,
I feel your pain and know where you're coming from. I was a CTI1 with 12 and a half years in and eligible for Chief. I was sent to a medboard at Ft Gordon in Augusta, GA because I couldn't do all three parts of the PRT for three consecutive cycles; my knees were giving out during the runs and the situps were killing me. This was back in 2005. They found that I had degenerative joint disease in both knees and degenerative disc disease in my back, three herniated discs and nerve damage. The Army spine surgeons at Fort Gordon also told me that my back was a mess and that I wasn't a candidate for surgery. They recommended pain management and anti-inflammatories until someone came up with a better procedure for back surgery.
I'm currently rated at 60% from the VA and have another claim in. I'm also doing an appeal of med sep through the PDBR and trying to get medically retired.
Before I got out, they disqualified me from deploying and said there was no way I could do my job which consisted of sitting in front of a computer terminal for 12-14 hours a day. I really had no choice but to accept the findings and get out. The thing that really sucks is that I loved my job in the Navy and, with the medical issues I have, I can't do it in the civilian world either.
Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, any advice I can give you.

Sean S CTI1 (Arabic) USN 1992-2005
 
CTI1, Thats very interesting that you mention the sitting behind a computer, they used my hour commute and said that i sit behind a computer as an excuse that my injuries would warrent me to stay in. Did you get medically seperated? Or just kicked out cause you were Fit but unsutiable? I am looking for any proof now that the Navy has medicaly discharged personnel for less that what i have got. You would think not taking a PRT in 3.5 years, and injuries getting worse, ROM first roughly 45% then next one was worse at 20%, showed degeneration. They didn't even take into account that i am supposed to go to sea in 3-6 months as my next tour. The thing is, i know i won't clear for sea duty with my injuries. I can barely work out now as it is without being in alot of pain. I love the Navy like you, and becuase i am honest with myself, maybe thats what hurt me. I explained that i truly don't feel a future in the Navy for me because of my injuries, i can't do the PRT, i can barely walk, what kind of an example am i to junior folks? But for some reason they still find me fit, my co workers are stumped, my Senior Chief is stumped, and also my dept head is stumped as well. But since my XO said in his NMA that he wanted to see me finish my contract, that is all the board saw. How could that be true? Since the NMA was smaller than my medical record i think they were just lazy and took the easy route since i am so close to my PRD. I know the VA will rate me high because of my injuries and my sleep apnea, but i think it's a matter of principal. I truly think that maybe all of us who have been screwed by the farce of the PEB should annonomously contact the IG, if there are alot of complaints someone would have to investigate. I am going on 15 years next month, I would love to retire but I am truly afraid that they wont even let me get close. So those are some of my concerns about this whole process.
 
gunmate1,
I'm sorry to hear about the way they're treating you. Although I wanted to stay in, I knew I wasn't going to make it to retirement. I was sent to a medboard because I couldn't complete all three phases of the PRT due to medical issues. The best advice I ever got, I can't remember who told me, was to get your doctor, specialist, etc. (in my case, it was the spine surgeon who evaluated me and found that I was not a good candidate for back surgery) to write a letter or put in his diagnosis that he does not recommend continued active duty service. That may not be the exact wording, but it was something to that effect. I was told that, in many cases, that can hold alot of weight when it comes to decision time whether to retain a member or separate them.
I was med sep'd with 20%. I didn't find out until later, after reading forums such as this, that the VA rating they used on the PEB was for "back strain" when it was documented that I had degenerative disc disease, at least one herniated disc and spinal stenosis.
I'm currently at 60% with the VA but have a claim in for an increase for all my conditions. I'm now using a TENS unit daily for my back and will be seeing a doctor in July about starting biofeedback treatment, my knees have gotten worse. I'll also be submitting another claim shortly. I was referred to a pain psychologist, then a social worker and then a psychiatrist. I was diagnosed with mood disorder and depression directly related to chronic pain due to service connected medical conditions.
Claims in South Carolina are taking forever now, so I'll update this when I hear something back. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

Sean
 
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