Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 9/20/2010

Question
I joined the National Guard a few months ago and have been drilling in the local Recruit Sustainment Program for the past two months.  I am scheduled to go to BCT in January.

About 3 weeks ago, I injured my ankle while running at home.  The pain has subsided a bit - maybe a 3 or 4 on a scale of 10 - but I feel pain around the inside of my ankle that sometimes will radiate up to my knee and/or down through my arch.

In addition, I've been having pain in my lower left back - about a 7 on the scale.  It seems to be unrelated to the pain in my ankle.  The pain is especially pronouned if I stand for 30 minutes or so or sit for the same amount of time.  I have to constantly readjust when I stand or sit to deal with the pain.  It feels like I'm sitting right on my tailbone.  The pain sometimes will radiate down my butt and into my thigh/knee.  When I'm sitting on a chair, I cannot lift my left leg (when its held out straight) beyond 45-60 degrees without pain, especially when I pull my toes back toward me.

I am going to a civilian doctor tomorrow and my RSP staff said they would wait and see the results before deciding what to do.  But I'm impatient and hate surprises :-)

What am I looking at here?  Are they likely to refer me to an MEB and discharge me?  If so, what is the process involved?  Or, since I haven't been to basic training, will they just separate me with an entry-level separation?  Or will they profile me & take a wait-and-see approach and give me time to heal?

Thank you for any assistance/insight you can provide.

Answer
Kevin,
You've done your homework.  The choices you've described are spot-on accurate.  No, you will not face an MEB.  That's only for folks that have been in for a few years.  The most often-used approach is to profile you and take a wait-and-see approach and give you time to heal.  They've already invested some time and money in you, so they'll hesitate to discharge you.

Because you've been in for less than six months, if they were to discharge you it would indeed be an Entry Level Separation.(ELS).  It would also be an "Unclassified Discharge" meaning they simply did not have sufficient time to evaluate you, so it's neither good nor bad.

I understand your uneasiness about your future, but wouldn't it be better to find out what's wrong and fix it?
Please don't dwell on the negative side of your situation.
By the time you receive my answer you'll probably already have a definitive answer.  I hope all goes well for you.

Colonel H