Hey Y'all,
I not longer update and monitor my blog here, however some of the information may be useful. Im coming up on my 2- Year anniversary of separation. The DOD and VA have obviously been plagued with short falls and understaffing. While they may have tried to improve the MEB process, I'm sure its still a very painfully slow process and probably only getting longer with the down draw in forces.
Ill say this... Sit there and collect the check while you still can and try to pay off most of your debts such as high interest credit cards, Loans from the Army (AER) they will come after you for that money... it takes about 2 years after you get out but they will hit you with a bill for it... i just got my surprise AER bill here last month and it was well about 750$ and they send it straight to collections without trying to collect from you. Take your guaranteed paycheck from the military and throw money at high interest. I promise in the long run it will help.
The stigma is there for Veterans with disabilities... Jobs don't like hiring us... If you say you are a veteran with a disability they automatically assume its PTSD and your are a raging lunatic. When really it might be a foot injury or a back injury. Keep the numbers to your old 1SG and SSGs and SFCs when they retire they usually have a good network of fellow veterans trying to hire veterans. Civilians don't and never will understand what we went through, and the human norm today is "Be scared and stay way from the unknown". Soldiers run in to the unknown and hope for the best results but plan for the worse.
Hit the civilian life running. Start Job searching as you hit the last half/ three quarters of your MEB. Most hiring processes take weeks if not months to get through. Just the internet application/ resume scrubbing/ first interview you can usually do in those months. Pick a "start date" that is several months out. It will help for a more seamless transition especially the soldiers who were the pro-active had to be doing something kind.
Go to the ACAP and Help Center and take their resume writing... they don't lie when they say that the computer looks for your skills to basically be a "reworded job description". I have tested that by applying with 2 different resumes and yes the reworded job description (while not a lie) the grammar and way it was written got hit every time for the "interview" stage.
Professional email accounts are always good.
mike.smith@gmail.com (fake) looks a lot better than sugar_daddy_love_child6969@gmail.com also its a lot less awkward after an interview when they confirm your email and say "Is sugar daddy love child 6969 your current email"
Also i need to check and see but you usually are not allowed to clear without paying off your AER or setting up a payment plan.
Help each other out post comments and questions and try to answer/ reply to ones that you know the answer too.
2 years ago i could have told you the current wait times down to +/- a month, however now I wouldn't even begin to guess what they are, and its all dependent on your medical situation. Check with similar disabilities. Don't try to compare a knee problem to a spine to a mental health... each one has its own time line.
Take Care
Thanks for serving brothers.
I not longer update and monitor my blog here, however some of the information may be useful. Im coming up on my 2- Year anniversary of separation. The DOD and VA have obviously been plagued with short falls and understaffing. While they may have tried to improve the MEB process, I'm sure its still a very painfully slow process and probably only getting longer with the down draw in forces.
Ill say this... Sit there and collect the check while you still can and try to pay off most of your debts such as high interest credit cards, Loans from the Army (AER) they will come after you for that money... it takes about 2 years after you get out but they will hit you with a bill for it... i just got my surprise AER bill here last month and it was well about 750$ and they send it straight to collections without trying to collect from you. Take your guaranteed paycheck from the military and throw money at high interest. I promise in the long run it will help.
The stigma is there for Veterans with disabilities... Jobs don't like hiring us... If you say you are a veteran with a disability they automatically assume its PTSD and your are a raging lunatic. When really it might be a foot injury or a back injury. Keep the numbers to your old 1SG and SSGs and SFCs when they retire they usually have a good network of fellow veterans trying to hire veterans. Civilians don't and never will understand what we went through, and the human norm today is "Be scared and stay way from the unknown". Soldiers run in to the unknown and hope for the best results but plan for the worse.
Hit the civilian life running. Start Job searching as you hit the last half/ three quarters of your MEB. Most hiring processes take weeks if not months to get through. Just the internet application/ resume scrubbing/ first interview you can usually do in those months. Pick a "start date" that is several months out. It will help for a more seamless transition especially the soldiers who were the pro-active had to be doing something kind.
Go to the ACAP and Help Center and take their resume writing... they don't lie when they say that the computer looks for your skills to basically be a "reworded job description". I have tested that by applying with 2 different resumes and yes the reworded job description (while not a lie) the grammar and way it was written got hit every time for the "interview" stage.
Professional email accounts are always good.
mike.smith@gmail.com (fake) looks a lot better than sugar_daddy_love_child6969@gmail.com also its a lot less awkward after an interview when they confirm your email and say "Is sugar daddy love child 6969 your current email"
Also i need to check and see but you usually are not allowed to clear without paying off your AER or setting up a payment plan.
Help each other out post comments and questions and try to answer/ reply to ones that you know the answer too.
2 years ago i could have told you the current wait times down to +/- a month, however now I wouldn't even begin to guess what they are, and its all dependent on your medical situation. Check with similar disabilities. Don't try to compare a knee problem to a spine to a mental health... each one has its own time line.
Take Care
Thanks for serving brothers.
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