PHYSICAL EVALUATION BOARD PEB

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PHYSICAL EVALUATION BOARD (PEB)

• Texas Veterans Commission
• FALL CONFERENCE 2008

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Overview

• Mission of the PEB
• Provide full and fair hearing to determine
  service members physical fitness for continued
  military service,
• Determine level and type of compensation, and
• Take action to separate or retire service member
  when his/her military career is interrupted by
  reason of physical disability.

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Overview (Cont.)

• Objectives of the PEB
• Maintain effective and fit military organization
  with maximum use of available manpower.
• Provide benefits for eligible service members
  whose military service is terminated because of a
  service-connected disability.
• Provide prompt disability processing while
  ensuring that the rights and interests of the
  Government and the Service Member are protected.

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Overview (Cont.)

• Board Compositions
• Differs among the Services
• If service member is Reserve Component (RC), one
  of the Line Officers must be of the Reserve
  Component

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Overview (Cont.)

• Numbers of Boards
• USN/USMC One combined Informal/Formal Board,
  located at Washington Navy Yard, DC
• USAF One Informal Board, located at Randolph
  AFB, TX One Formal Board located at Lackland,
  AFB, TX
• USA Three combined Informal/Formal Boards at
  three locations Walter Reed Campus, DC Fort
  Sam Houston, TX and Fort Lewis, WA

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References

• 10 USC, Chapter 61 (Retirement or Separation for
  Physical Disability)
• DoD Directive 1332.18 (Separation or Retirement
  for Physical Disability)
• DoD Instruction (DODI) 1332.38 (Physical
  Disability Evaluation)
• DoDI 1332.39 (Application of the VA Rating
  Schedule currently undergoing revision due to
  National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2008)
• DVA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD)
• Service Regulations/Instructions

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Eligibility for Referral Into the PEB System

• Incurred or aggravated while on AD
• Standards of medical fitness AD/RC Any
  condition that appears to significantly interfere
  with performance of duties appropriate to a
  service members office, grade, rank or rating
  (DoDI 1332.38)
• PEB is appropriate vice Administrative
  Separation.
• Not due to service members misconduct or willful
  neglect.
• Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) is conducted to
  determine if condition meets retention
  standards/unfitting and if not, forwarding to the
  PEB is warranted.

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PEB is Performance-Based System (Cont.)

• Must look at duties of service members military
  occupation and
• How his/her condition impacts the service
  members ability to perform these duties and
• Consider that the duties are commensurate with
  the service members office, grade, rank or
  rating and
• After all of the above, the board must base its
  findings on the preponderance (superiority) of
  the evidence.

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PEB is Performance-Based System

• Informal PEB medical records reviewed by three
  board members resulting in a finding of FIT or
  UNFIT.
• If UNFIT, service member may demand a formal PEB.
• If FIT, service member may be granted a formal
  PEB. Decision rests with President, Formal PEB.
• Formal PEB Actual formal hearing with board
  members and service member present/not present
  and with counsel.

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Compensability Criteria

• Incurred while entitled to basic pay
• Relates to the duty status of the service member
  when the medical impairment originatednot when
  the impairment became unfitting.
• And just because a service member has been
  diagnosed with a medical condition does not mean
  that condition is unfitting.

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Compensability Criteria (Cont.)

• Aggravation of Medical Condition
• Refers to worsening of a pre-existing medical
  impairment due to military service.
• Natural progression
• Natural course of a medical condition.
• Term usually refers to a medical impairment
  incurred in a civilian status that was not
  aggravated by military service.

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Compensability Criteria (Cont.)

• Existed Prior to Service (EPTS)
• Refers to a medical impairment that originated in
  a civilian status.
• For RC, it includes an impairment that originated
  between duty periods or aggravation that occurred
  between duty periods which caused the impairment
  to progress to unfitness.
• Note Medical impairments originating during
  previous enlistments are not EPTS conditions.

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Compensability Criteria (Cont.)

• EPTS Cont.
• Eight-Year Rule
• To overcome EPTS EPTS condition aggravated by
  military service beyond natural progression

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PEB Dispositions

• FIT
• Presumed FIT
• UNFIT with Severance Pay, meaning disability
  rating is
• 0, or
• 10 , or
• 20
• All of the above equate to the same amount of
  Severance Pay (2 months basic pay X Years of
  Service (YOS) not to exceed 19 years if injured
  in a combat zone or combat operations, min. 6
  years applied if not combat zone/operations min.
  3 years if YOS less than 3NDAA 08 refers).

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Dispositions Cont.

• UNFIT 30 or Greater
• Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL)
  disability not stable, may be permanent
• On TDRL for maximum of five years.
• Service member is re-evaluated every 18 months
  maximum.
• Must get re-evaluated as directed or risk losing
  TDRL status and compensation.
• During, or at end of 5-year period, service
  member is either found UNFIT--Permanent
  Disability Retirement (PDR), UNFIT w/ Severance
  Pay, or FIT--return to duty (return is optional
  for AD).

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Dispositions Cont.

• UNFIT 30 or Greater
• Permanent Disability Retirement (PDR)
• Disability is permanent and stable.
• Disability rating will not change once determined
  PDR
• Note Retirement pay while on TDRL will be a
  minimum 50 of basic pay.
• Retirement pay on PDR is based on of
  basic pay, the percentage determined by using
  either that based on length of service (LOS) or
  the disability rating, whichever is greater.
• UNFIT Misconduct (no )
• UNFIT Noncompliant (no )
• EPTS No

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Appeals

• Informal Board Findings
• Service member can demand/request a Formal PEB.
• Formal PEB can overturn Informal PEB findings
• Usually based on new/additional medical evidence
  and/or
• Commanders/Chain of Command statements

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Appeals Cont.

• Formal PEB Findings
• Appeal to respective Service entity (e.g., for
  Army Physical Disability Agency),
• Not in any specific order
• Respective Services Board of Correction of
  Military Records
• Service Secretary
• Congress/President
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• U.S. District Courts

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Combat/Combat-Related Injuries

• Determined by the Informal/Formal PEB.
• Different definitions apply regarding the
  members situation
• Injured in a combat zone or combat operations
  Apply to Severance Pay and the YOS used to
  compute.
• Combat-related injuries Applies to federal
  income tax exemptions

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Summary

• PEB is a performance-based system.
• PEB utilized when a medical condition
  significantly impacts a service members ability
  to perform his/her military occupational duties.
• Disability must be incurred or aggravated while
  on AD, not due to misconduct or willful neglect.
• The Informal/Formal PEB determines fitness for
  continued military duty and subsequent disability
  rating, if appropriate.
• The disability rating determines either
  Severance Pay or Retirement Disability pension.
• Service members can appeal his/her PEB findings.