Epts Discharge Army

[rebago]

Hello! Not sure I am putting this in the right place or even if I am in the right forum. Please forgive. As a mother of a son who wanted to be a soldier, I am here.

Long story short, son joined the Army Reserves. Went off to AIT Aug 14 2008. Week 12 of AIT (of 14 weeks) called and said he had nerve damage in his feet and was put in the Medical Holding unit. Needless to say, no graduation for him. Today he called and said he was being medicially discharged. Injury EPTS. He said that his webbed toes (yes, he has two of them on each foot) and the bone structure of his feet made this an injury that existed prior to service.

Now, excuse me. But he has never been to the Dr ever for his feet. He has never had pain or issues with his feet. Obviously, after reading the rules online about pre-existing conditions this would be one (ie. birth defect) but the Army took him with this being quite obvious by just looking at his feet. I would say this nerve damage that has occurred, at the very least, was aggravated by service.

Anyway, my son said he signed something today to start the discharge. He is 18 years old. Does not know the ways of the world. I am looking out for him and do not want him to sign his life away in case this leads to permanent issues with his feet. Even if it doesn't, it is a matter of principal for me.

What advice do you have to give as to how he should proceed? He is home for Exodus on the 19th but then back again on Jan 1 until at least Feb 09 he said till the discharge.

Thanks for any help or advice you can give.

[MikeR]

I was able to get a certified copy of my medical records by asking for them from the medics, however I was a Sgt so it was a bit easier. He should request them via the chain of command first, and give them no more than a week, and document in a notebook every conversation he has time, date, who, what, where, what was said assuming he is still in a Med Holding company where he has little freedom and is probably bored out of his mind. He should inquire once a day during that period, and record all of this. If nothing comes of it he will need to provide you with the facts he has collected and then you contact the local Congressman. If he gets them after that, he should go to the post office and send a copy of the file priority mail to you. There is no such thing as an unimportant document. Good Luck.

Mike

[rebago]

Thanks for all of your good information! I spoke with him tonight and asked if ever heard the term "aggrevated by service" during his meetings and he said no. I asked him if he got counseling before signing the docs (as I read on the internet was supposed to happen) and he said no. He sat down with a Sargeant who explained what was going on and told him to sign. End of story. I also read on the internet there was supposed to be a 3 day rebuttal period. I told him to just get home for Exodus and we would put together a plan for when he goes back. Interestingly enough, he said that an EPTS discharge had a shorter time frame than a medicial discharge. I thought to myself how convenient, take a poor sick, home sick kid and offer him a shorter time to get home to Mommy.....problem solved for the Army! Don't mean to sound negative but the kid is just 18 years old. Easily taken advantage of.

Thanks so much!

[rebago]

Well I was just reading the rules about Exodus and found this:

The IET Soldier’s parents should be advised not to use their private health insurance to obtain medical, surgical, dental, or mental health care. TRICARE is the IET Soldier’s medical benefit. The IET Soldier’s use of the parent’s private insurance is viewed as fraud by most private health insurance companies.

I guess that takes care of that! What now? Pay cash for the Podiatrist?

[MikeR]

If the podiatrist takes Tricare then use it, just ask him for an IMO. If he cannot do that it might be worth it. They can't make you sign anything without counseling, however once the document is signed then it's his word against the military. This thing has been going on a long time. If it was me and I already was missing school I would ask for the medical board, and ask the military to let me go to the education center daily so he could take CLEP tests. I tested out of 9 hours in three weeks in a Med Holding company once. Drag this out as long as possible, after all they are paying him a salary. As long as he stays out of trouble he would be fine.

[PE1]

You need to call Tricare for your region and get prior authorization to see a Podiatrist.

[rebago]

Update: Per son he cannot take classes like Active duty can, since he is in the Reserves. Also, per Podiatrist they may not be able to take cash if he has medical insurance and per Tri-Care "no way" all care should be on the base. So, basically, I have gotten no where. We shall just wait till he comes home finally and then try to move backward and get it all straightened out. Too bad that......thanks for all of your input and guidance!!!!