DoDMERB Consultants

rholt

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Joined
Mar 13, 2018
Messages
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Maybe I am paranoid - but this DoDMERB process seems to be fraught with risk of screwing up with big consequences. My son had a few health issues as a young kid. None of them should - I believe - be disqualifying - but I want to make sure we don't inadvertently put something in our survey response that cause headaches or heartaches down the road.

I heard that there some people out there that are paid to provide advice on how to complete these forms. Is that true? Does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks,
 
Probably not too helpful but my advice is don't report anything that was not diagnosed by a doctor.... no self diagnosis here. Make sure a parent reviews this. Kids can get a bit out of hand and don't always understand things and their implications.

Not a health example but I knew a kid once who got a misdemeanor ticket once. She was ready to answer 'Yes I've been arrested'. Thanks goodness I looked at that for her.
 
Maybe I am paranoid - but this DoDMERB process seems to be fraught with risk of screwing up with big consequences.

You're not alone DoDMERB was a nerve racking process for me too, and it will be for many others. For me, i remember that i couldn't sleep because i was overthinking about it so much.
 
Several older threads you can review about using DODMERB consultants. They charge you for something you can get for free and there is no guarantee they will get you any better results regardless of what they may claim. If you read their 'fine print', I am sure it will say 'no guarantees'. Unless you have some very unusual medical issues, save you money and work through the process using the free available support.

As mentioned above don't self-diagnose and guess the applicant has medical conditions never found by any doctors. Answer the medical questions honestly, but don't create needless issues by speculating above things you don't have.
 
Both kinnem and time2 are right on. Answer truthfully but certainly don't self diagnose, there are enough potential speed bumps without that. My son answered a couple of questions and submitted prior to letting me reviewing the answers. None were a big deal but they resulted in remedials and delays that should have been avoided.

That being said, my son had a particularly complicated case (two DQ's) and we utilized DoDMERB Consultants because of which. While we may have been able to navigate the waiver process without them, they provided good advice and pointed us in the right direction on a couple of occasions. I don't recommend using consultants unless they bring a special expertise. In my son's case, they did and I have no regrets in using DoDMERB Consultants. I thank Dr. Merchant for his assistance.
 
No one says you cant use a consultant to answer the questionaire, but I think they get involved ususually after you get DQ. I would assume if you have weird medical condition going on , getting advice beforehand could make sense but it seems like overkill if you dont have any real issues.. As it is, you have to answer honstly, so dont know how talking to a consulant will help with the questions. Either the answer is yes or no. Just remember dont self diagnois. You dont have ezcema just because you have dry skin. If a doctor hasnt told you have it, then you dont have it. On ther other hand they ask about bad headaches, and just because you have never been diagnoses with migranes, doenst mean you dont have bad headaches.
 
Probably not too helpful but my advice is don't report anything that was not diagnosed by a doctor.... no self diagnosis here. Make sure a parent reviews this. Kids can get a bit out of hand and don't always understand things and their implications.

Not a health example but I knew a kid once who got a misdemeanor ticket once. She was ready to answer 'Yes I've been arrested'. Thanks goodness I looked at that for her.

Kinnem.. with all due respect.....misdemeanors are really tricky things. Speaking as a Officer(25 years).... if a subject were simply cited or lodged into a jail facility for a simple misdemeanor for say "driving while license suspended" or "minor in possession of alcohol" an arrest is an arrest, it doesn't matter wheather you were given a paper citation and released or physically lodged into a jail facility. A misdemeanor is a misdemeanor no matter what the outcome. The law provides much leeway on how to handle such cases given the discretion of the officer involved. For example I've recently assisted a rising Sr. on being cited for being in a state park after hours charge. He was cited, and appeared in court payed a small fine and done... however that is a criminal charge showing up on his federal criminal history as a misdemeanor arrest, even though he was never lodged into a jail facility, handcuffed, etc. If this rising youngster would have later put he was never arrested and this simple charge would show up on is criminal history it could be a problem simply because he didn't know what or wasn't a misdemeanor.
 
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