Soldier with pacemaker

First time post thank y'all for any support. Here is my situation been on active duty with Army for 10 years now and have 35 years combined National Guard service and now have a pacemaker, while on active duty so the next step is. MEB then a PEB to determine if I am fit for duty I am 52 years old so any ideas what the out come will be.

3 Comments

Thanks

by mytrose43 - 2013-11-26 07:11:21

First of thank you so much for your service.I am not a proffesional or anything but my thinking isyou shouldbe fine for active duty since you have a pacemaker and as i understand that has fixed the medical issue that caused you to need it in the first place that being said then again you are dealing with the government and they could see things differently .Good luck you are a wonderful person for giving so much of yourself to the military .Valerie

Thank you...

by Grateful Heart - 2013-11-26 08:11:21

for your service.

Donr was Army. He should be along later. I'm sure there are others here too.

You can also private message him if you like.

Grateful Heart

Not too optimistic...

by donr - 2013-11-26 10:11:57

...I'm afraid.

Generally speaking the Army cannot support medically a PM host - they just do not have the resources w/ the capability.

We had a Sgt Maj here in the club who last Jan had one implanted while on duty in Korea; Had to be done in a Korean hosp. Was sent back to the States & faces the same two boards you face - he will be retired. He had enough yrs to be retirement eligible, anyway. His screen name is Jay4. Pvt Msg him for the straight scoop on how it went for him. The3re is a Marine, PaceMaker4747, who got one last July, you can Pvt Msg him ,also for the latest skinny.

I know of only ONE person who was allowed to stay on active duty & he was a very special case. He had over 25 yrs active, so was eligible for retirement. He was a colonel in an extremely short MOS - a comptroller type - that the Army was really hard up to keep. The Army had a bunch of slots in CONUS for him to fill. No one w/ a PM is deployable because the Army in the field can barely support medically all the other medical problems normal humans have.

You may be medically retired at your stage, not having 20 yrs of active service. Besides, right now Uncle Sam's Army is trying to divest itself of people because of the drawdown coming because the Afghanistan fracas is ending.

I STRONGLY (Say again, STRONGLY) recommend that you contact an organization like the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) for advice on what you should do & what your rights are. Up front, I will say that to the three piece suits in DoD, you are absolutely expendable & they will screw you over to the best of their ability. If they can save DoD a dollar by screwing you, they will. Especially, do not trust the military personnel weenies - check out w/ an outside Vet's assistance agency anything they tell you & do NOT sign anything till you can get it verified to be in your best interest.

Now, then, that does NOT sound very positive coming from a lifer, who retired after 28+ yrs. I loved the Army; 3 of our 4 kids are in it or retired from it. We have a granddaughter who just joined up. Collectively, our families have over 150 yrs of active service from 4 generations. We all still serve in many ways - because we BELIEVE in it. Unfortunately, when you get into the "Managers," & away from the "Leaders," people are just another asset, just like a tank or HUMVEE, to be acquired, kept, maintained & disposed of as cheaply as possible. I heard essentially this for the first time at an Army career school from a retired Lt/Gen. He was president of the Army's highest MEB for retirement disabilities. It is a harsh reality of truth.

Any questions you nay have, feel free to Pvt Msg me. Glad to answer anything. GO ARMY!

Don

You know you're wired when...

Your ICD has a better memory than you.

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