Just referred for MEB, any advice?

The first question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to say in the Army and how badly. Every single person I have seen initiated for an MEB who did NOT fight it, ended up on the street***. Not a single one was retained through the normal review process. Of those who fought, only a couple were retained, and those fought like hell***. If you want to stay in, be prepared for a LOT of hurry up and wait, a LOT of wrong or misleading info that you will have to research (this isn't intentional - people provide answers based on what they have seen or the way it has been done, rather than on reg - it is natural that if you haven't seen anyone successfully do something, you assume it can't be done, even if reg allows it) and a LOT of paperwork. And probably STILL be separated.

If you are not going to fight it, starting looking at SFL-TAP NOW and figuring out when the earliest you can get going on that is. Work with a VSO to get your VA claim going, and look at the VA's Voc Rehab program.

Once you start the transition process, be greedy. Spend maximum effort on setting yourself up for your future. If possible, apply for jobs or schools. Take passes, leave, or even PTDY to go do interviews or tour campuses (obviously this has to be worked with CoC).

Next, NEVER SELL YOUR LEAVE. While on leave, you get all of your benefits, to include BAH, BAS, and accruing MORE leave! Selling it back gets you ONLY base pay. You CAN be on terminal leave and starting your new job or be back in school. I officially retired on November 30. I started terminal leave in August, and for the entire months of September, October, and November, I was drawing two paychecks. (After that I was drawing one paycheck, a retirement check, and a disability check.)

Finally, I am guessing that as a SGT you don't have TOO much of your time and identity invested into being a Soldier, but that also doesn't mean you have NO time or identity invested. The Army is basically saying they no longer want you to be a Soldier - that you are no longer capable of doing what you want to do, and have built your life around. This can be VERY difficult emotionally and/or mentally for some folks. There is absolutely NO shame in admitting you are struggling and getting help. Do NOT "tough it out" or "suck it up." Get help, get your head back on straight, and get ready to move into the next phase of your life with your head held high, and your best foot forward.

***This is only based on what I have seen/witnessed. I do not have any numbers or stats to back me up.

I was going to wait for you to meet your PEBLO who would give you the MEB brief and answer everything, but I want to combat the misinformation out there.

First, your MEB is initiated by your P3 Permanent Profile. On your profile your provider has to state "Refer to MEB" or "Refer to MAR2". The MAR2 is a medical reclass, and once you are referred to MEB there is no medical reclass available after that. You'll be assigned a PEBLO who will direct your appointments and build your file for the PEB to determine your ratings. Your PEBLO has absolutely no impact on your ratings. Everything they do is governed by a timeline that is dictated by law. At some point you will have to go to legal, if legal tells you something other than what the PEBLO said, your legal person is an idiot or it's their first MEB. When your PEBLO gives you a document to sign and a timeline, adhere to that or the PEBLO is required to proceed without you picking an option. When the PEBLO asks which process you want, never elect the Legacy process. As for what SFC O'Malley said, you can fight the board to prove you are fit for duty. You definitely should not. That fight needs to happen with the PCM before they put in the P3 profile. They can even pull that profile back from the MEB prior to you starting it. There is a medical provider there who reviews the profiles to ensure they meet the MEB standards. If your PCM gives them a call and tells them they are going to go with a medical reclass instead, that is an easy fix. If you fake it through the medical evaluations to prove that you are capable, they will simply rate you as capable and separate you very little disability rating. You can review that later with the VA and increase your percentage, but you will never again have the opportunity to receive a medical retirement through the Army.

The PEBLO will direct you for appointments and to begin SFLTAP immediately. Start immediately because the process will be complete in less than six months. If you have issues with your command allowing you to go to your appointments, contact the PEBLO. If that doesn't work, then contact the Ombudsman at your hospital - they work directly for the Surgeon General and can make things happen faster than a Senator. If you need an extension on your ETS while you are in the board, your PEBLO will handle that, it will not be done by your Career Counselor.

At the end of all this your case will go to the Physical Evaluation Board who will determine your Army disability rating. At the same time it will go to the VA who will determine your VA disability rating. VA always takes the longest. The PEB will only rate you for service connected injuries. For instance, you break your ankle on a jump and it was logged by sick call. That's an injury and they will evaluate that and rate your for it. If it was injured during combat simulation training, such as a jump or JRTC rotation, it will be rated as tax free as well. If it was incurred prior to service, such as mental illness that is hereditary (schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder) then the board will give zero rating for.

If the PEB comes back with a rating of 30% or higher you will be medically retired. If it's less than 30% you will receive a medical separation with separation pay and receive disability from the VA at whatever rate they rated you at. If you are medically retired you will be placed on the temporary or permanent retired list. If you are placed on the temporary list, you are required to continue seeking treatment and will be reevaluated in five years. If you haven't been going to your VA appointments for treatment, you will be removed from the retired list and lose your disability. A person can be separated with zero percent if the issue was found to be pre-existing.

Once you receive your ratings you can accept them or appeal them. Once you accept them, or the appeals are complete you will be pushed over to transitions for your outprocessing. You can take all the leave you earned, but it still requires your commander consent, so stay on good terms with them. Once your ratings have returned the PEBLO is done and if you need to extend for any reason, or any other help, they can no longer help you. So, have your ducks in a row and a solid transition plan in place.

There is definitely more to it, but this is an overview of the whole process.

It can be a very long process, make sure you have all your I s dotted and t s crossed. Make sure you make all your appointments and do your research on all the regs concerning what medical issues you can be separated for or what you can stay in for. Best of Luck Sgt.