UNFIT OR FIT?

I am an E-3 builder in the Seabees...i have been diagnosed with Spondylosis, Lumbargo, and Lumbar Radiculopathy. I just sent out my MEB to the PEB today, Fit or Unfit? what do you think they will find me at?
 
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Its effecting everything i do, from lifting our tool boxes, to running the PRT, i did go in one time for anxiety. Even if its just an admin sep, i just wanna get out and go to school. Ive also been Light Duty since March of 2008
 
Did the doctors recommend you for seperation or state your injuries would be aggravated by service?

Did the CO do a non-medical assessment stating you could not perform your duties?

Those are the questions you need to think about, and how and when the injuries occurred. Being you are an E-3 it is doubtful you have more than 8 years, so if your injury was prior to service, you should know the service will not give you any compensation.
 
Medical Hold did my non medical assessment because my battallion is on deployment. If they do find me prior to service would i still get my GI Bill?
 
Zman024 said:
I am an E-3 builder in the Seabees...i have been diagnosed with Spondylosis, Lumbargo, and Lumbar Radiculopathy. I just sent out my MEB to the PEB today, Fit or Unfit? what do you think they will find me at?
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Fitness determination will be based on your ability to reasonably perform the duties of your grade, rank, rating or office. It sounds like you will be unfit.

You should look in the conditions and ratings forum for the criteria. The back condition will likely be rated on the basis of limitation of Range of Motion or on Incapacitating Episodes. Need more info to judge the Radiculopathy, but 10-20% is a common outcome.

As to EPTS (Existed Prior to Service) the law presumes that your EPTS conditions are service aggravated. To overcome the presumption, they need to cite generally accepted medical principles to show that your condition is natural progression of the EPTS condition. It is hard for them to do so, if they get this wrong, you can appeal. I have very rarely seen cases such as yours to be found to be EPTS. It does not strike me that this should be an issue in your case, unless perhaps your entrance physical documented these conditions.

I hope all works out well for you, please post any questions.
 
In the copy of my Medical Record that i sent in. It does say that i injured my back my sophomore year in high school, but in my medical record its never said that i have been diagnosed with slipped discs or anything like that because the pain went away during high school.
 
Zman024, Just wondering-Do you have a line of duty? Any injury that led directly to your condition now....or did the radiculopathy come on gradually...just more and more pain and you could do less and less.

I'm sure this will all work out just fine so you can still use your GI Bill. Just keep going to your appts and do what you can....stay on top of things.
 
Yes, in my NARSUM, it says that i hurt my back lifting weights on deployment in October of 2007, which is tru. I came back got an MRI and found my diagnosis.
 
If your job description requires you to lift heavy weight, which it does, a lot of physical activity, which it does, and you have been told by the doc to not lift, or have physical activity that will aggravate your back, you will probably be found unfit. Every body is a little different when it comes to these injuries. Some people are severely hampered and some have little to no pain. If your injury kept you from deployment, then probably unfit.

The PEB may try to link your back trouble before enlistment to your current condition. I was trying to give you a heads up because they do that often with people who have not been in long.

You have some time before you get the results so research your options, know what your rights are, and do not sign anything that makes you uncomfortable without getting some advice. The PEB counselor may tell you that you have no options, but you do so know what they are.

They tried to tell me I could not use earned leave. Wrong, you can. In fact take your leave as it gives you more money than selling it back. You get TDY for job hunting and house hunting. You can file a claim with the VA as soon as you have a seperation date. You can request the seperation date, they do not get to tell you when it is. You sunmit a rewuest chit to PERS seperation department, and then they send a message back authorizing your date of Seperation. You may get severance pay if it is a service connected condition, which is what it should be since you hurt your back doing PT. But if you do you will have to pay the VA back before getting VA compensation.

Know your rights and let the PEB counselor know you do.
 
So let me get this straight, if i get severance pay and a VA rating %, the VA percentage will automatically go to pay off the severance pay, then once thats paid off i will start getting the VA money?
 
you got it. so say you walk away w/40k and your rating get up through the VA and your getting $1000.00 a month. it would take you 40 months to pay it off.
you can just hand over the severance to the VA and then you would start getting your entitlements. everybody's situation is so unique so there's no right or wrong on what to do w/the money. it all depends on you position. i think they also tax you on the ammount and you get that portion back. there are plenty of threads here w/the exact info.. me personnaly, if i was to get rated less then 30% and got a severance, i would rather just pay it back. although it would pay for a new cadillac escalade for me:D......just kidding....no way would i do that, but people do it.
 
I question the leave? How is it that you can take leave if you are found unfit? You can take it before your out. I have 70 days and just started the MEB. I was told I could take leave but since I have never sold any back when the retirement date is cut I would be forced to pay back up to 60 then the rest would be added to the 40 days for permissive and outprocessing? Was I also given bad information from the retirement section? I recieved it from the person who cuts the orders.
 
Texan,

Your understanding is correct.

Generally, you have to sell back up to 60 days of leave (however, if you have sold some before, this would be subtracted from the 60). This is DoD wide. However, the local command has some flexibility in how they outprocess you, in how much PTDY you get, and how much leave you can take. Some of this flexibility lies in interpretation and execution of the regulations. Like most things in the military, if you want to do something and the command is behind you, you are much more likely to be successful.
 
About the leave, Does anyone know if they have to buy back 30 days at a time up to 60 or do they buy all no matter what the amount? For example if I have 50 would the prorate or would they purchase 30 and add the 20 to my PTDY?
 
With the caveat that at the unit/installation level, the rules may not always be strictly followed, the rules say they should take anything less than 60, unless you have previously sold leave back. In your case, they would take the 50. The PTDY would be the part that may have some flexibility in it.
 
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