ROTC medical discharge process

I am prior service infantry, currently in ROTC and under contract. I have had back pain for a while now and finally went to the doctor about it because my legs keep going numb. Turns out, I have 3 bulging discs in my lower back. My question is, does anyone know the process of getting medically discharged from ROTC? I know it's not the same as it is in the regular army. Any knowledge is appreciated.

1. Send an email (not private message) to Larry Mullen. Include all details and your social security number. He is the one person who can help you. Larry's contact information is as follows:

Larry Mullen
Deputy Director, DoDMERB
Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil

2. Make sure that you immediately initiate a claim with the Veteran's Administration, even if you don't remember having the pain while on active duty. This can change your life in terms of benefits, insurance, etc. The VA will determine whether this injury is service-connected or not. Do NOT make this decision on your own because you may not remember having the pain while on active duty. Let the VA make that call. If you need help with this process, contact the local DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and they can explain the procedure. The DAV is an organization that helps service members who have been injured to secure VA benefits. They have physicians on staff who are free and can fight for you if it comes down to that. The process of filing a VA claim is basically filling out a form, visiting your local VA hospital for an examination, and then waiting for a decision. The law is clear that any doubts about service connection MUST be resolved in favor of the service member. The DAV has its own staff of lawyers who will represent you if it comes down to that.

Ok will do, I am not necessarily looking for disability though. I am just wondering about the actual process of getting medically discharged and released from my ROTC contract. I heard it was as simple as sending some paperwork to cadet command and that's it.

22infantry said:

I am not necessarily looking for disability though.

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A lot of vets say that, because their decision to serve our country is overwhelmingly NOT about the money. But having an injury ruled "service connected" is not about collecting a disability check. It is a legal determination on the cause of your injury that could materially affect your access to medical care and other VA programs 40 years from now. Your family will thank you.

As for your other point about procedures, Larry is terrific and likely has more experience in this area than any other (most of the ROTC cadre volunteering here on SAF deal with medical problems for students experienced on the way in, not the way out).

Good luck. Thanks for your service. Charlie Mike!

Just because you have this doesn't mean you will necessarily be discharged. The standards for staying in the military are considerably different than those for getting into the military.

You need to work with your ROTC detachment. Mr. Mullen likely won't have much information for you as he deals with accession standards, not retention standards and DoDMERB has absolutely nothing to do with the Medical Evaluation Board process for deciding if someone is fit for duty or not.

The first thing you need to do is get yourself fixed by the treatment plan created between you and your physicians.

Yeah I am going to start physical therapy and everything. I am just trying to find out what the procedure is, because I know it's different than regular army. I'm not saying that I just found out and want out now or something.

First off...Larry Mullen doesn't have anything to do with the medical discharges. This is no longer a DODMERB issue.

Second of all...the process surely isn't to ask the question on a discussion board.

Have you spoken to your ROTC cadre? Have you run this by your PMS? The process is that they will submit your information to the Cadet Command Surgeon who will make a medical determination regarding your ability to meet medical standards for retention. If you don't meet the standards you will be disenrolled. If you meet the standards for retention you will be expected to pass PT tests and do everything that is required of a Cadet. There are no profiles in ROTC land.

Hope that helps. Sorry for the harsh tone, but bad news doesn't get better with age.

That's all i needed to know, thanks for the info. I am purely trying to gain knowledge not implement it. I haven't been able to find out how it works in ROTC by just searching the internet. As far as asking my cadre I didn't want to bring it up with them because I don't want people to start blowing this out of proportion. Like I said I'm not trying to get out now, just wanted to know more about it.