I was medically discharged from the USAF in mid/late 2004 as a SSgt with a line for Tech after four months shy of 8 years of AD service. I received a 2Q RE code for a Major Depressive Disorder EPTS.
I was deployed in 2001 and in the space of a week found out my wife at the time had drained the bank, was cheating on me, my unborn kid may have Downs (fortunately didn't BTW), said kid might not have been mine anyway, my grandmother who raised me had a month to live and was forced to testify against a really good friend of mine for a courts-martial. I expressed a desire to commit suicide and was sent home. Over the course of the 1-1.5 years I was medicated and tossed between shrinks. End of 2002 I stopped taking meds, divorced the wife, shrink appointments were down to once a month and I generally got everything back together. Mid 2003 I got into a tiff with the new Top over one of my troops and about a month later was notified I was being MEB based on the recommendation of a doc who had separated about a month after the MEB notice.
Meantime I was back on regular duty, carried 4 of my own troops and was writing on 1-2 others while their supervisors were deployed. I was also running part of a drivers training program and received a 4+ average on my last EPR. IPEB recommended discharge. They offered me $200 a month and I didn't take it and decided to fight. A couple months go by and I went to Lackland for the formal PEB hearing. I never saw the commanders letter until it was read in the hearing and was nothing short of an outright lie written VERY much in the style of the Shirt. This made sense as my commander had been at the unit maybe 5-6 weeks at the time.
Anyway, they held the discharge decision and I was asked politely to leave in mid-'04. 2 months later I was in Afghanistan as a contractor doing the IDENTICAL job and literally 1/2 of my shop were guys from my last two bases. Worked there for 3 years straight carrying a Secret clearance. I followed that with a couple more contracts in the states and then a couple years in Iraq where I was doing security (carrying a TS) for DoS until 2011. I've since come home finished a degree, gotten re-married, started a company, and generally built a pretty good life.
Moral of the story is that 2Q grates on me every day. I don't honestly think I'd ever want to go back in but to me it's pretty obvious the entire thing was a sham and knowing I can't just P***es me off to no end. Is there anything I can do?
I was deployed in 2001 and in the space of a week found out my wife at the time had drained the bank, was cheating on me, my unborn kid may have Downs (fortunately didn't BTW), said kid might not have been mine anyway, my grandmother who raised me had a month to live and was forced to testify against a really good friend of mine for a courts-martial. I expressed a desire to commit suicide and was sent home. Over the course of the 1-1.5 years I was medicated and tossed between shrinks. End of 2002 I stopped taking meds, divorced the wife, shrink appointments were down to once a month and I generally got everything back together. Mid 2003 I got into a tiff with the new Top over one of my troops and about a month later was notified I was being MEB based on the recommendation of a doc who had separated about a month after the MEB notice.
Meantime I was back on regular duty, carried 4 of my own troops and was writing on 1-2 others while their supervisors were deployed. I was also running part of a drivers training program and received a 4+ average on my last EPR. IPEB recommended discharge. They offered me $200 a month and I didn't take it and decided to fight. A couple months go by and I went to Lackland for the formal PEB hearing. I never saw the commanders letter until it was read in the hearing and was nothing short of an outright lie written VERY much in the style of the Shirt. This made sense as my commander had been at the unit maybe 5-6 weeks at the time.
Anyway, they held the discharge decision and I was asked politely to leave in mid-'04. 2 months later I was in Afghanistan as a contractor doing the IDENTICAL job and literally 1/2 of my shop were guys from my last two bases. Worked there for 3 years straight carrying a Secret clearance. I followed that with a couple more contracts in the states and then a couple years in Iraq where I was doing security (carrying a TS) for DoS until 2011. I've since come home finished a degree, gotten re-married, started a company, and generally built a pretty good life.
Moral of the story is that 2Q grates on me every day. I don't honestly think I'd ever want to go back in but to me it's pretty obvious the entire thing was a sham and knowing I can't just P***es me off to no end. Is there anything I can do?