HPSP after VA disability

[vamedrnr]

I am an MS2, preping materials for a 3-year HPSP contract (realized it was the best option after my previous post). I have 6 years prior service as an Army Infantry officer, including company command time. I was rated at 40% disabled by the VA (NOT Army) when I left. Two are basic medical conditions that I am certain are waiverable. The other one is seemingly "standard" 30% PTSD for combat veterans. I have searched previous threads and after reading those responses I am wondering 1) has anyone on here ever actually sat on one of those boards or have significant experience with the AMEDD med waiver process and 2) how much weight will they give the argument (which is the truth) "I had all of these 'issues' well before I was a company commander and as you can see from my history of strong OERs they had no effect on my performance as the leader of an infantry organization."

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[DrMetal]

I am an MS2, preping materials for a 3-year HPSP contract (realized it was the best option after my previous post). I have 6 years prior service as an Army Infantry officer, including company command time. I was rated at 40% disabled by the VA (NOT Army) when I left. Two are basic medical conditions that I am certain are waiverable. The other one is seemingly "standard" 30% PTSD for combat veterans. I have searched previous threads and after reading those responses I am wondering 1) has anyone on here ever actually sat on one of those boards or have significant experience with the AMEDD med waiver process and 2) how much weight will they give the argument (which is the truth) "I had all of these 'issues' well before I was a company commander and as you can see from my history of strong OERs they had no effect on my performance as the leader of an infantry organization."

What do you mean by 30% ptsd disability? Were you diagnosed with ptsd?

 

[vamedrnr]

yes -during the VA rating process. And the reason I wrote "seemingly standard" is because it seems that everyone I served with who got out received the same rating.

 

[DrMetal]

yes -during the VA rating process. And the reason I wrote "seemingly standard" is because it seems that everyone I served with who got out received the same rating.

Of course, we dont know the details of your medical history, but it is a little concerning that youre 40% disabled; that's not an insignificant number. I know at a certain rating youre precluded from any further military service, but Im not sure what that rating is (I think its >60%). In any case, you could always just apply and see what happens.

 

[vamedrnr]

In case anyone has this same search in the future, the answer after a couple days of intense searching is this: once again, everything is waiverable. It just takes finding the right person and having the right documentation.

Ironically, I did discover something else that is not waiverable: Army HPSP no longer back-dates contracts. So whereas even 2 years ago an MS1 could sign up for a 4 year contract in Sept/Oct, the contract is now considered a 3 year contract after school started. As an MS2, that means I would be seeking a 2 year contract. I called 3 different AMEDD Co CDRs and all verified that there were no 2 year contracts awarded for FY14, nor are there any for FY15.

 

[DrMetal]

In case anyone has this same search in the future, the answer after a couple days of intense searching is this: once again, everything is waiverable.

Not quite. True that everything is waiverable, but that doesn't mean everything actually gets waived. And it doesn't matter what 3 commanders told you over the phone. You're prior service, you know that most verbal confirmation doesn't mean anything, we live and die by written instructions and guidance. With respect to waiverable medical conditions, I doubt the instructions clearly spell what's waiverable and what's not with respect to every medical condition. They probably leave things purposely vague, so that an application committee can review and make decisions on a more case by case basis. Again, never hurts to apply and just see what happens. Your application would give me some pause, but probably not much.

 

[Dodger79]

I am an MS2, preping materials for a 3-year HPSP contract (realized it was the best option after my previous post). I have 6 years prior service as an Army Infantry officer, including company command time. I was rated at 40% disabled by the VA (NOT Army) when I left. Two are basic medical conditions that I am certain are waiverable. The other one is seemingly "standard" 30% PTSD for combat veterans. I have searched previous threads and after reading those responses I am wondering 1) has anyone on here ever actually sat on one of those boards or have significant experience with the AMEDD med waiver process and 2) how much weight will they give the argument (which is the truth) "I had all of these 'issues' well before I was a company commander and as you can see from my history of strong OERs they had no effect on my performance as the leader of an infantry organization."

The issue would be if you received 40% from the VA depending on what it was for. What would be the deciding factor is the condition one that would made you medically not ready. If you fall in this category you will have a hard time since this occurred on active-duty they would be required to send you to a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB). The VA rating is based on any condition that occurred or was made worse by your military service. So generally there is a huge difference between a rating from the VA vs. your branch. If you were MEB at 40% you would have been medically retired which would mean you would be ineligible to return to active duty without a waiver to stay. Also at 40% you should look at Voc Rehab from the VA. Hope that helps if not PM me. I worked MEB/PEB issues when I was active duty Army Medical Service Corp.