Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 1/12/2010

Question
Grandson has 5 weeks of boot, breaks knee cap on obstacle course. Had surgery yesterday and Sgt. says he will be medically discharged.  What benefits does he have?  Can he re-enlist? Will they pay to send him home and pay for his rehab?

Answer
Generally speaking, he will be discharged and get no entitlements other than pay for time served and healthcare for the single issue that sparked the discharge. Re-enlisting may be an option but it all depends on his ability to heal and show no after-effects of the injury.  He would have to talk to a recruiter down the road should he want to pursue that option.  As far as paying for his rehab the Army generally makes a person as medically fit prior to their departure as they can so as not to pay for their rehab when they are back home.  They may tell him to make a few visits to your nearest VA hospital, but it usually isn't a full blown event at a local hospital or such as you'd expect from a civilian injury. A lot of this depends on the paperwork they have your grandson sign when he's discharged. There is a possibility of them offering him some sort of compensation for a limited time, but that is usually as a waiver of future claims against the government. Tell him to look at what he signs carefully prior to doing so.