What’s Unique in MEBs, PEBs and IDES for Airmen?
We have decades of experience with Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard cases and we love serving both Reserve, Guard and Active Duty personnel. Indeed, active duty IDES is more straightforward so if you are Reserve Component, you might consider having that experience that our law firm provides, at your side.
Just a brief overview for our Air Force Brothers and Sisters. The Air Force is different and tougher, in our experience, compared to the other branches when reviewing injured personnel. However, we believe that aggressive and zealous advocacy and evidence development will help you overcome the obstacles to an appropriate outcome.
Far too consistently, the so-called health professionals condone discharging their patients and denying them an AF 469 to facilitate a fitness determination and a MEB. This isn’t just the Air Force but is a rampant problem for the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard also. If you disagree with what your health professional does, go up the chain of command in writing and remember that nurses, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants and doctors must maintain a license and swear an oath to serve honestly and ethically. You can complain to a State licensing board by conducting an internet search.
Beyond the flaws in medical treatment, the key difference in the Air Force is the Initial Review In Lieu of (IRILO). This is done by an unaccountable tribunal which does not provide a written review of their analysis when they deny claims. CitizenSoldierLaw has complained to numerous Congressional Offices about this defect.
Air Force’s Personnel Center or AFPC is a problem that we must overcome on a case-by-case basis but also through lobbying legislators.
Make sure you maintain a close relationship with your PEBLO and maintain a paper trail. Have copies of all relevant documents whenever you go to an appointment and an extra copy to share with administrators, leadership and medical staff in uniform and for your VA compensation and pension examination (C & P).
On staff, we have a medical doctor who is a licensed physiatrist or what is also known as Sports Medicine Doctor, a retired Colonel from Army Reserve who was a PEB adjudicator and Line of Duty point of contact for over a decade (LOD), a stable of retired JAG lawyers who have worked as adjudicators and with military personnel for decades and experienced paralegals, one of whom is an Army Human Resources 27D and retired Sergeant First Class.
You can visit CitizenSoldierLaw’s website and our team will review your intake at no charge. Regrettably our lawyers are engaged with numerous clients and we will rarely be able to conduct a detailed review without a paid consultation.
As one respected lawyer describes the realities of the practice of law: free advice is usually not very good and good advice is rarely free.
Reach us at www.CitizenSoldierLaw.com
