Military Separation and Retirement for Disability
If you serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard and have a physical or mental medical condition that makes it impossible or unsafe for you to perform your duties, you may be separated from the military for disability. The Secretary of each branch of the military has the authority to find a service member unfit for duty due to disability. Here's how the military's Disability Evaluation System (DES) determines if you are fit for continued duty or if you should be given a disability discharge or retirement.
Whether you will be found unfit with or without benefits depends on how your injury your occurred, your disability rating, and your years of service.
If you find yourself referred to the Disability Evaluation System (DES), learn how the process works.
You can choose whether to accept or appeal the PEB findings about issues such as your fitness to serve, your disability rating, and the type of unfitness finding issued.
If you are a veteran with a military rating lower than your VA disability rating, you can request an upgrade from PDBR.
The answer depends on how long you've been in service, your disability rating, and whether you can restore your VA offset.
Nolo's book covers veterans benefits, including VA health care and service-connected disability compensation, as well as Social Security disability and Medicare and Medicaid rules.
Fill out this form to arrange a consultation with a disability lawyer in your area.
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