Army Medical Evaluation Board Outcomes

Going through a medical evaluation board (MEB) can be an overwhelming experience. You are dealing with so much of the unknown, and the process can be very confusing.

When my husband went through his, we were only aware of two options – discharge and discharge with a settlement. We did not know any other options existed, but we quickly discovered they did.

If your soldier is going through the MEB process, these are the main outcomes that he could expect:

1. To be found fit for duty. If this happens, he will return to his unit and continue to serve.
2. Assigned a disability rating of 0% to 20%. Just FYI, a 0% rating is considered a disability rating. If this happens, your soldier will be honorably discharged with a settlement. The settlement is based on the time in service and his rank. There is a formula that basically works out to 2 x ‘years of service’ x ‘high three pay rate.’ The high three pay rate is the average of the three highest base pay amounts that your soldier has earned. This severance package is taxable. He can also seek VA compensation if this happens.
3. Assigned a disability rating of 30% or more with a condition that is not rated as stable. He will be assigned to the Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL). On TDRL, he receives full retirement benefits, the same as if he had served twenty years or more. He will have to be reevaluated for up to five years until he can be removed from TDRL, or his condition warrants a permanent rating. He can seek VA compensation as well.
4. Assigned a disability rating of 30% or more with a condition that is rated as stable. In this case, he will be assigned to the Permanent Disability Retirement List (PDRL) and will be permanently retired. He will receive all benefits the same as if he had served for twenty years or more. His retirement compensation will be based on a High 3 x the disability rating he received.  He can seek VA compensation as well.

Again, a great resource is the PEB forum located at www.pebforum.com.