JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO - RANDOLPH, Texas –
Air Force members who face separation from the service due to a medical condition need not stand alone as they navigate the Disability Evaluation System process.
The Office of Airmen’s Counsel, headquartered in building 663 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, provides legal representation from the start of the DES process.
“There’s an office here that’s ready and willing to help them,” said Charles Hasberry Jr., Air Force Legal Operations Agency OAC senior attorney adviser. “Everybody knows somebody who’s gone through it. It’s difficult to go through the process alone and not get the support you need.”
The OAC team consists of 24 attorneys, paralegals and support staff; most are active-duty members, but support is also provided by Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members on occasion. Hasberry, a retired Air Force officer, is the only civilian lawyer on the team.
“The OAC represents Airmen throughout the Air Force who are entered into the Disability Evaluation System,” he said. “The team is available to support members going through this process with various decisions.”
The OAC advises members on selecting whether to elect the Integrated DES or the Legacy Disability Evaluation System and writing letters of exception or rebuttal. The OAC also assists members in the appeals process of their Informal Physical Evaluation Board, all the way to the Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council and/or Veterans Affairs.
“Every member has the right to seek immediate legal guidance from the OAC upon notification from the Medical Treatment Facility that they will be placed into the DES, although an attorney will not be officially assigned to a member until after they have received their IPEB results,” Hasberry said. “Prior to that time, all assistance is on an as-available basis, which is guided by manning and workload.”
In 2016, the Air Force reported nearly 5,000 DES cases, he said. OAC attorneys represented more than 1,700 members and provided counsel at more than 750 FPEB hearings.
The purpose of the DES is to maintain a fit and vital force, so service members are referred to the DES when they develop a medical condition that makes them unable to perform their primary Air Force Specialty Code duties. However, the disability must be due to disease or injury incurred or permanently aggravated while entitled to basic pay and not as a result of misconduct or AWOL.
Steps in the DES process include a referral by a primary care manager or commander, submitting a VA disability claim, a narrative summary from the Medical Evaluation Board, a review by the IPEB and, if service members do not accept the IPEB’s recommendations, a hearing before the Formal PEB. Service members may also appeal their cases to the SAFPC if they do not agree with the FPEB’s decision.
The IPEB is a limited records review, while the FPEB is a hearing in front of a three-member board, Hasberry said. Both boards, which are assigned to Air Force Personnel Center, meet at JBSA-Randolph – the formal board in building 663 and the informal board in building 499.
“After the informal board, we help members interpret the results,” he said. “We have legal representatives to fight for what you want.”
Some of the common medical conditions service members are dealing with when they face separation are back problems, bad knees, asthma, gastrointestinal issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.
How they are separated matters a great deal to members, Hasberry said. A 30 percent disability rating triggers medical retirement while a disability rating below 30 percent results in discharge with severance pay.
“Severance pay helps members transition,” Hasberry said. “However, it represents an advance payment on VA compensation.
Therefore future VA compensation may be reduced in order to recoup the money paid as severance.
“If the injury happened or condition existed prior to service, you can be separated without compensation,” he added.
A policy that will be implemented by the military branches this year could lead to more service members facing separation due to medical conditions, Hasberry said.
As directed by the deputy secretary of defense, service members who have been nondeployable for more than 12 consecutive months, for any reason, will be processed for administrative separation in accordance with one of three Department of Defense Instructions, including DODI 1332.18, which governs the DES.
“By October, the services will be implementing this policy,” Hasberry said. “It means a lot more people will have to undergo disability evaluation and may be separated. The goal, according to the recent guidance, is to provide more ready and lethal forces.”
Hasberry said it’s important that commanders and others in leadership position be aware that the OAC is available to help their troops if they are facing separation.
“We’re available to brief units on the process,” he said. “Members who are facing separation are at the worst point in their career. They’re dealing with their condition and the possible loss of their livelihood. We need to give them the best service we can and guide them through the process.”
For assistance, email the OAC at afloaja.disabilitycounsel@us.af.mil, or call 1-855-MEB-JAGS or DSN 312-665-0739.