What is the average timeline for an ANG (Air National Guard) MEB?

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coll912

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New here and I'm very confused about MEB timelines based on other forums I'm reading.

The flight doc managing my case referred my case 2-3 months ago and this past drill the NGB (National Guard Bureau) requested more documents after receiving my initial package. My flight doc says I could be med boarded out within the next 60 days, which sounds very wrong compared to all of the research I've done. Am I correct in my understanding that for ANG members, your case gets reviewed by NGB, and THEN it gets forwarded to the regular Air Force to proceed with the actual med board process? Am I currently in the race for the timeline or have I not even reached the starting line yet? I would love to get medically discharged sooner rather than later, but a full MEB/PEB/Discharge in a 4 month time period sounds a bit far fetched.

I am a flyer who has been diagnosed with Bipolar I and I had my commander reccomend not to retain me because I just want to get out. I literaly cannot do my job with this diagnosis and the medications I'm on, so I'm just looking to seperate rather than cross train because my contract ends within a year.

What is the average timeline for this entire proces for a Air National Guard memeber?
 
coll912 said:
New here and I'm very confused about MEB timelines based on other forums I'm reading.

The flight doc managing my case referred my case 2-3 months ago and this past drill the NGB (National Guard Bureau) requested more documents after receiving my initial package. My flight doc says I could be med boarded out within the next 60 days, which sounds very wrong compared to all of the research I've done. Am I correct in my understanding that for ANG members, your case gets reviewed by NGB, and THEN it gets forwarded to the regular Air Force to proceed with the actual med board process? Am I currently in the race for the timeline or have I not even reached the starting line yet? I would love to get medically discharged sooner rather than later, but a full MEB/PEB/Discharge in a 4 month time period sounds a bit far fetched.

I am a flyer who has been diagnosed with Bipolar I and I had my commander reccomend not to retain me because I just want to get out. I literaly cannot do my job with this diagnosis and the medications I'm on, so I'm just looking to seperate rather than cross train because my contract ends within a year.

What is the average timeline for this entire proces for a Air National Guard memeber?
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Typically a Soldier who is Reserve/Guard diagnosed with Bipolar is medically separated without severance or medical retirement as your branch will claim the condition isn't duty related. That is why the process would go quick.
 
Provis said:
Typically a Soldier who is Reserve/Guard diagnosed with Bipolar is medically separated without severance or medical retirement as your branch will claim the condition isn't duty related. That is why the process would go quick.
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Would it even go through a PEBLO? No one has mentioned anything of the sort to me. None the less a C&P exam. I'm being reviewed for something else too that physical disqualifies me from doing my flying job, the bipolar is just an add-on to it. My situation is I can no longer do my flying job, but I get out within a year, and I have no desire to continue serving between that diagnosis and my mental health issues
 
coll912 said:
Would it even go through a PEBLO? No one has mentioned anything of the sort to me. None the less a C&P exam. I'm being reviewed for something else too that physical disqualifies me from doing my flying job, the bipolar is just an add-on to it. My situation is I can no longer do my flying job, but I get out within a year, and I have no desire to continue serving between that diagnosis and my mental health issues
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Everything is done in the background without you if non duty related. Most of the time its all in the dark and you don't know until you are processed out. If that situation is yours just make sure to get a copy of your DD214 once they have kicked you out.
 
Provis said:
Everything is done in the background without you if non duty related. Most of the time its all in the dark and you don't know until you are processed out. If that situation is yours just make sure to get a copy of your DD214 once they have kicked you out.
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Thank you for all of your help, one of the things I'm being checked out for was duty related as it happened on deployment orders and it was documented that I was being treated at a clinic overseas for it. Could they still argue it's not duty related? And can you still get medical disability for mental health if they determine the bipolar was service aggravated?
 
coll912 said:
Thank you for all of your help, one of the things I'm being checked out for was duty related as it happened on deployment orders and it was documented that I was being treated at a clinic overseas for it. Could they still argue it's not duty related? And can you still get medical disability for mental health if they determine the bipolar was service aggravated?
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BiPolar is always a preexisting condition. They will argue that you always had it. The only time the military will own conditions like that (other examples are genetic disorders) is with the 8 year rule. That is for people that have been on active duty for 8 or more years. Then the own it regardless of whether or not it was preexisting.
 
coll912 said:
Thank you for all of your help, one of the things I'm being checked out for was duty related as it happened on deployment orders and it was documented that I was being treated at a clinic overseas for it. Could they still argue it's not duty related? And can you still get medical disability for mental health if they determine the bipolar was service aggravated?
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To answer your other question. Its very likely the VA will service connect it. The VA's standards are much lower than your branches standards for service connection. So there is a very good chance you will be compensated for it by the VA as either service connected or aggravated which will create a service connection.
 
Yeah, the timeline can be tricky. Typically, the NGB reviews your case first, then it goes to the regular Air Force for the med board. Four months is pretty fast, so it might take longer.
 
Provis said:
BiPolar is always a preexisting condition. They will argue that you always had it. The only time the military will own conditions like that (other examples are genetic disorders) is with the 8 year rule. That is for people that have been on active duty for 8 or more years. Then the own it regardless of whether or not it was preexisting.
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They didn't determine my Bipolar Disorder as pre-exisiting. Even if they did, the 8 year rule is *not* the only way the military will "own" the condition. For example, if the pre-existing condition has been worsened or exacerbated by one's military service, then the military will "own" it.
 
One of your few posts states personality disorder with dual processing for admin separation. So I am confused about your statement.

I didn't mention service aggravation for the poster's situation because they were already referred to non duty related IDES. Service Aggravation would still need a documented event that aggravated the condition while at BA or on federal orders 30 days or longer. BiPolar is typically a pre-existing condition. Same for Personality Disorder. Other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety have a much better chance to be duty related and or permanently aggravated to make the condition duty related.
 
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Provis said:
One of your few posts states personality disorder with dual processing for admin separation. So I am confused about your statement.

I didn't mention service aggravation for the poster's situation because they were already referred to non duty related IDES. Service Aggravation would still need a documented event that aggravated the condition while at BA or on federal orders 30 days or longer. BiPolar is typically a pre-existing condition. Same for Personality Disorder. Other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety have a much better chance to be duty related and or permanently aggravated to make the condition duty related.
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The flight doc working my case told me that NGB is most likely going to establish that my bipolar was service aggravated. They're claiming that I struggled with these issues before I enlisted and therefore cannot be service connected. But I don't know how true that can be when I wasn't diagnosed until after my deployment orders ended. I didn't start having issues with mental health until well after I was in; though I've only been in for 5 years now.

The only link I have is that I was seen for mental health while I was at tech school for an unrelated issue and it prevented me from going to SERE initially; I can't find any of that documentation on Tricare Online in my records though.
 
You will not find mental health records in Online portals. Try to contact mental health at the base hosting your medical records for the steps required to request your mental health records.
 
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