Question

[jim2025]

Greetings Team,

I'm looking for some advice and thoughts from the community on the best way forward for my situation.

I am an O5 with 16 years of service.

I was recently diagnosed with a heart condition (apparently congenital) and will require a heart valve replacement surgery in the near future.

Obviously, I would prefer to make it to 20 years so I can pull retirement and disability for a number of other issues I have accumulated over my career.

However, after reading over DoDI 6130.03-V2 Par 5.11 it appears there is no wiggle room to fight a medboard.

- "Any valve replacement. This condition is not compatible with retention and the Service should initiate appropriate medical and personnel actions after post-operative recovery (or a period of Limited Duty). Paragraph 5.11.a does not apply."

So here are my questions/thoughts.

1. Has anyone had any success in fighting the black and white language in DoDI 6130.03-V2?
2. If not, should I go all in on the medboard and highlight some of the other medical issues I have only been doing maintenance on "to stay in the fight" over the last decade?
3. I feel confident I can influence my boss's impact statement to support staying or going.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Provis]

Greetings Team,

I'm looking for some advice and thoughts from the community on the best way forward for my situation.

I am an O5 with 16 years of service.

I was recently diagnosed with a heart condition (apparently congenital) and will require a heart valve replacement surgery in the near future.

Obviously, I would prefer to make it to 20 years so I can pull retirement and disability for a number of other issues I have accumulated over my career.

However, after reading over DoDI 6130.03-V2 Par 5.11 it appears there is no wiggle room to fight a medboard.

- "Any valve replacement. This condition is not compatible with retention and the Service should initiate appropriate medical and personnel actions after post-operative recovery (or a period of Limited Duty). Paragraph 5.11.a does not apply."

So here are my questions/thoughts.

1. Has anyone had any success in fighting the black and white language in DoDI 6130.03-V2?
2. If not, should I go all in on the medboard and highlight some of the other medical issues I have only been doing maintenance on "to stay in the fight" over the last decade?
3. I feel confident I can influence my boss's impact statement to support staying or going.

Thanks in advance!

What branch are you in? There is an exception to allow you to work until. you reach 20 AFS but its not a guarantee.

 

[jim2025]

What branch are you in? There is an exception to allow you to work until. you reach 20 AFS but its not a guarantee.

Provis,

Thanks for the quick response.

I fall under the Department of the Air Force guidelines. I would obviously prefer to be approved for Limited Assignment Status (LAS), but it seems like a bit of a gamble.

(1) If I have a commander letter advocating retention coupled with me not pushing my other medical conditions I risk a lot if not approved for LAS.
(2) Have you seen any cases where LAS is approved for medical issues that are so explicit in DoDI 6130.03-V2?
(3) Added context... I am in a low density career field that rarely deploys and have had assignment limitation codes for a couple of years for some of my other medical issues. Despite that, I have pushed through those issues (suffered in silence/minimized reporting to MTF), and still performed well (selected for command etc...)

 

[Provis]

Provis,

Thanks for the quick response.

I fall under the Department of the Air Force guidelines. I would obviously prefer to be approved for Limited Assignment Status (LAS), but it seems like a bit of a gamble.

(1) If I have a commander letter advocating retention coupled with me not pushing my other medical conditions I risk a lot if not approved for LAS.
(2) Have you seen any cases where LAS is approved for medical issues that are so explicit in DoDI 6130.03-V2?
(3) Added context... I am in a low density career field that rarely deploys and have had assignment limitation codes for a couple of years for some of my other medical issues. Despite that, I have pushed through those issues (suffered in silence/minimized reporting to MTF), and still performed well (selected for command etc...)

I would fight for highest rating and hire private attorney. Then apply for LAS. So that way if forced to medically retire you get the best financial result possible for your situation. Though the best financial situation is to finish 20 AFS. The issue is that most Soldier's fight to try to be found fit. They minimize their symptoms and then end up with a lower rating for a condition that they were never going to be found fit. Sometimes that means no pension or tricare and only a severance check which is by far the worst scenario. That's why you want to fight to get the highest DOD % possible and if possible to have 1 or more conditions to be found combat related because then your chapter 61 pension is exempt from taxes.

 

[Provis]

Provis,

Thanks for the quick response.

I fall under the Department of the Air Force guidelines. I would obviously prefer to be approved for Limited Assignment Status (LAS), but it seems like a bit of a gamble.

(1) If I have a commander letter advocating retention coupled with me not pushing my other medical conditions I risk a lot if not approved for LAS.
(2) Have you seen any cases where LAS is approved for medical issues that are so explicit in DoDI 6130.03-V2?
(3) Added context... I am in a low density career field that rarely deploys and have had assignment limitation codes for a couple of years for some of my other medical issues. Despite that, I have pushed through those issues (suffered in silence/minimized reporting to MTF), and still performed well (selected for command etc...)

I will send you a list of qualified and vetted private attorneys. My wife hired one and she was able to max out compensation in her situation. She was at 17AFS and that's a very scary spot! So close and yet you can lose everything you are working for. She too was an officer. She was an O4 though because she started out enlisted so that put her behind on the promotions timeline.

 

[jim2025]

I will send you a list of qualified and vetted private attorneys. My wife hired one and she was able to max out compensation in her situation. She was at 17AFS and that's a very scary spot! So close and yet you can lose everything you are working for. She too was an officer. She was an O4 though because she started out enlisted so that put her behind on the promotions timeline.

Thanks, you're the man!