Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/reenlising after a medical discharge

Advertisement

Expert: Rod Powers - 5/9/2007


Question
I served in the army for almost 12 years, 6 years active and the rest national guard. I was medically discharged for a back injusry in July, 2006. The army rated me at 10% and the VA rated me at 60% disabled. I received a severence pay upon discharge. I really miss the army and want to reenlist. I was an E5 upon discharge, and given E6 status after discharge. How can I go about reenlisting? As the severence pay is being paid back, how much will be taken from each pay. Is this possible?

Answer
Hi Jason,

I wish I had better news for you, but your chances of coming back into the Military (Army) are small -- really small. Really, really small.

First of all, you were medically discharged from the Army, with a ten percent disability. The VA then rated your back problem at 60 percent. Even to have a chance, you would have to show medical proof that your medical problem is completely resolved (not to mention, you would have to give up your VA disability compensation).

I'm sorry, but I've never seen *anyone* with more than a 30 percent VA disability be able to make that happen.

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Rod Powers

Expertise

Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.

Experience

Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.

Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.