If you have a mental health or psychological condition, the MEB must also include a mental health provider. The Military Evaluation Board is an informal process. The MEB itself does not make any final determinations for you, nor does it solely drive any administrative process.
If your doctor believes your medical condition will not resolve within a year, allowing you to return to full duty, you may become an IDES case.
The PEBLO will also work to ensure the system is working smoothly, and your case is properly evaluated in a timely manner. They will provide you with a referral at a nearby military treatment facility MTF. This is a separate document that simply describes your case history and the severity of your medical condition. Your doctor will also provide his or her assessment about whether your medical issues are service-related incurred in the line of duty or whether they existed prior to service EPTS.
You may include a personal statement in your MEB file. They will evaluate your medical information, and whether any of your medical conditions renders you unfit for retention in the service.
If the MEB determines your military condition does not render you unfit for service, you can be returned to full duty, and the process ends there. However, you may still have a later claim for disability benefits with the VA, after you are discharged, depending on the circumstances. At that point, the Medical Evaluation Board process is normally complete. The MEB does not determine whether you are fit for duty or not.
That is the role of the Physical Examination Board, which is the next step in the process. However, if the MEB decides your medical condition does not meet service-wide medical retention standards, that does not necessarily mean your military career is over. You may still be retained in service if the next board, the Physical Evaluation Board PEB , determines that despite your medical condition, you are still able to perform your military duties.
For example, the loss of a foot may make it impossible to function as an infantryman. You would be considered unfit for duty.
This would be one of a number of unfitting conditions for an infantryman. But if you are an admin or finance NCO and still able to perform your military duties, you may well be retained — especially if the outlook is that you can be returned to full duty within a year of the onset of your condition.
This is where your personal statement can come in to play: If you want to stay in the armed forces, and believe you can be of valuable service -whether in your current or another occupational specialty, make the case in your personal statement. You can also appear in person before the Physical Evaluation Board.
The Physical Evaluation Board will determine the following:. If you are medically retired, you may be entitled to retirement pay. You may find the following articles have helpful information about disability ratings for your psychological or emotional medical condition:. You may find the following articles have helpful information about disability ratings for your physical medical condition. After the PEB reviews your file, an informal finding about your fitness or unfitness will be issued.
If you disagree with this finding, then write a statement to the PEB and include with it any new evidence that supports your case. In some circumstances, the PEB will reconsider its decision based on your submission and change its findings in your favor. If not, then your next step is to have a PEB hearing. At your hearing, you will have the chance to bring witnesses, submit evidence, and ask questions.
You have the right to be represented by a military lawyer at no cost to yourself at a PEB hearing. Or, you can hire a private attorney to represent you. If you know of a veterans service officer who has handled these types of hearings before, you can also ask them for help. For more information about how the hearing is conducted, read Nolo's article What to Expect at a Physical Disability Evaluation Hearing. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.
The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. Learn how to make the military's Disability Evaluation System work for you. If You Want to Continue to Serve or Are Close to 20 Years of Service It is in your best interest, if possible, to reach 20 years of service before being medically retired.
If You Want a Disability Discharge or Medical Retirement If you are pleased that you have been referred to the Disability Evaluation System and you would like to leave the service, then you will want to get statements from your supervisors about how your disability significantly impedes your ability to perform your duties and copies of any performance evaluations that document your inability to perform adequately. Advocacy at the Physical Evaluation Board PEB If your case gets referred to the PEB, you will want to make yourself knowledgeable about disability ratings for your specific disability or disabilities.
Information About Mental Disabilities You may find the following articles have helpful information about disability ratings for your psychological or emotional medical condition: depression post-traumatic stress disorder military sexual trauma , or mental illness other than depression or PTSD.
Information About Common Physical Disabilities You may find the following articles have helpful information about disability ratings for your physical medical condition.
You can find the full equation on our DoD Disability page. This system allows for veteran to start receiving benefits from the both the DoD and the VA as soon after discharge as possible. The MEB's purpose is to review all of the service member's evidence to determine which of their medical conditions make them unfit for duty.
If there is not enough evidence to decide, it is the MEB's job to request more. Username or Email Address. Remember Me. Get Full Access. No products in the cart. The MEB Process. What is the MEB Process? How long does the MEB Process take? From the date of referral, the process takes roughly 2 months to complete. How do I apply? If I qualify for DoD disability, what benefits will I receive?
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