**Temporarily Stepping Away from SAF**

M

MullenLE

A GUY WITH "INTRICATE KNOWLEGE" OF DODMERB
10-Year Member
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
7,992
BLUF (BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT): Effective immediately, I will be stepping away from SAF ... until such time that DoDMERB becomes operational again.

DISCUSSION:

The DoDMERB system/website became inoperable on 22 Sep. As of 27 Oct, it remains inoperable.

While there are various COAs (Courses of Action) that are being worked manually (work-arounds), I need to place all of my attentions on the global task at hand, rather than responding to individual SAF inquiries. SAF questions may be sent to dha.ncr.dod-merb.mbx.helpdesk@health.mil .

Pls understand, that our primary focus is getting the system operational as soon as possible. Thanks for your understanding and patience during these very trying times. We understand the anguish on your side of the fence in not getting timely answers and we feel the same anguish in not being able to provide you those same answers. We hope to get back to "normal" very soon.:wiggle:

 
Though I normally restrict myself to posting “musical interludes” in appointment threads, I believe Mr. Mullen deserves one to honor his service here and his current operational deployment battling the challenges in his work life at DoDMERB.

 
For anyone interested in a decent study of medical screening processes for officers and enlisted, check the link at the end of this post.

MEPCOM (enlisted screening) and DODMERB (officer screening) each have had their issues for a while.

Within the RAND study, which dates back to 2019, there is a note of thanks which reads.....
"We are very grateful to Larry Mullen, Deputy Director of DoDMERB, who is a font of knowledge on all things DoDMERB."

This will take time to resolve, but it looks lile there is now a significant well spring of senior attention to overhaul the system and make it user friendly and responsive.

 
Appreciate you and all you do to support the mission of ensuring the medical readiness of our future warriors. Most of us on SAF are merely providing conjecture and opinions - you are giving real-time guidance. See you on the back side of this!
 
Waiting on waiver decision since August. We have no idea who to even contact at this point and will likely have to pull our son from college and ROTC because his scholarship is being held because of the waiver. We can not afford out of state tuition indefinitely- we already paid 3 semesters out of state. Can we do anything to nudge this?
 
EMCJohnson said:
Waiting on waiver decision since August. We have no idea who to even contact at this point and will likely have to pull our son from college and ROTC because his scholarship is being held because of the waiver. We can not afford out of state tuition indefinitely- we already paid 3 semesters out of state. Can we do anything to nudge this?
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As this seems to be a waiver decision, the waiver itself is not a DoDMERB issue. DoDMERB’s role is to coordinate the medical evaluation and make a determination if the pre-comm candidate meets/does not meet the standard. The waiver decision then shifts to the waiver authority resident within the Service that handles a particular pre-comm program.

Is your son working with his chain of command to let them know his challenges and asking for them to check the waiver status with the waiver authority for his service ROTC? At a minimum, your son would want to confirm the waiver authority has everything requested and is not waiting for anything. DoDMERB does serve as the pass-through to relay requests for additional information and update status. It is possible something may be “hung up” inside DoDMERB due to their ongoing tech outage. Mr. Mullen, Deputy Director, DoDMERB, left contact info in his lead post. Your son could try that.

This kind of delay is one of the risks associated with using the scholarship at a school that is difficult to afford without. Medical bumps in the road, any blips in academic, conduct or physical requirements can put the scholarship on ice.

I am sorry this is happening to your son.
 
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@Capt MJ has it covered, as usual. A couple things I thought of, in addition to her advice, were to have a discussion also with his school. Perhaps they would be willing to work with him in some additional way. And to see if @GWU PNS might have some further insight. He pops in from time to time on these kinds of issues.

Also sorry for your sons challenges. Every year we do see students/families, having to make the financial choices you have described at schools they cannot afford without the scholarship. For reasons such as not passing medical, academics, etc. It really is a bummer. And for future readers, something to consider when deciding upon a school!

Hoping this gets worked out ASAP after this holiday week. Fingers crossed 🤞!!
 
Thanks for the responses.
Yes my son has done everything on his end and verified the pieces have been received at Army command. He can only poke so much. We are hoping for a Christmas present - which is an answer, good or bad.
Happy Holidays everyone and thanks for your kindness during this stressful time.
 
Capt MJ said:
Time for another musical interlude, this time to celebrate the tentative emergence of a new and improved DoDMERB website, and, we hope, the eventual return of Mr. Larry Mullen.

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@Capt MJ - I have seen your posts throughout the forum, and they have been incredibly helpful to others. Would you be willing to weigh in on my DS’s situation?
 
momo1512 said:
@Capt MJ - I have seen your posts throughout the forum, and they have been incredibly helpful to others. Would you be willing to weigh in on my DS’s situation?
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I just reviewed your other posts. Regrettably, I have no good insights on your son’s DQ. I’m glad to see a waiver has been requested.

Normally - as in pre-DoDMERB website outage - Mr. Mullen would offer his email to be contacted by your son, and would share insights, even though DoDMERB is not the waiver authority.

Your son’s health should always come first. If a procedure or surgery then closes some doors, there are other ways to serve outside the armed forces.

I know it is difficult, but the process has to work. We can hope Mr. Mullen will return soon. Your son can try to work the phones with Admissions to see if they are willing to provide a medical POC he can ask specific questions of relating to his condition and consequences of any corrective surgery. That’s a flyer of an idea from me. The worst they can do is say no. Govt people are very reluctant to speak with family members on medical issues.
 
@Capt MJ I appreciate your responses to other posts and wondering if you could shed some light on my DS's situation. He was DQ'd and he is competitive for a USMA and USNA nom. With DoDMERB back online, I can see that he was added as an applicant in late August, his exam was received in November, and then it says Application Added on Jan 8 and 9th. What does that mean specifically "Application Added"?

Next, he has only three SA's listed as agencies. Two are missing (USNA and ROTC). I know USMA has requested a waiver and USNA will do so in a few weeks according to his admission rep. Why are USNA and ROTC not showing up as "Agency" while the other SA's are? Is there anything we can do to ensure that those SA's have his DoDMERB? Or, do they have to log in and retrieve it? When they show up in this area, does that mean they retrieved his exam report or they were notified of his DQ status?

Last, if USMA has requested a waiver, will that eventually show up in DoDMERB? We have all of his medical records ready to go and I guess we're not sure if we are just waiting or if he should be doing something more with admissions at the SA's?

Sorry if this is not in your expertise, but I noticed your name here frequently and hoped to get some insight from you.
 
dumpyonion17 said:
@Capt MJ I appreciate your responses to other posts and wondering if you could shed some light on my DS's situation. He was DQ'd and he is competitive for a USMA and USNA nom. With DoDMERB back online, I can see that he was added as an applicant in late August, his exam was received in November, and then it says Application Added on Jan 8 and 9th. What does that mean specifically "Application Added"?

Next, he has only three SA's listed as agencies. Two are missing (USNA and ROTC). I know USMA has requested a waiver and USNA will do so in a few weeks according to his admission rep. Why are USNA and ROTC not showing up as "Agency" while the other SA's are? Is there anything we can do to ensure that those SA's have his DoDMERB? Or, do they have to log in and retrieve it? When they show up in this area, does that mean they retrieved his exam report or they were notified of his DQ status?

Last, if USMA has requested a waiver, will that eventually show up in DoDMERB? We have all of his medical records ready to go and I guess we're not sure if we are just waiting or if he should be doing something more with admissions at the SA's?

Sorry if this is not in your expertise, but I noticed your name here frequently and hoped to get some insight from you.
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I wish I had the magic wand for all your questions.

I can tell you any of DoDMERB’s “client” pre-comm programs can access what they need to see, WHEN they are ready to see it. It’s a little crazy right now because of the DoDMERB outage, but they are doing manual workarounds to get data where it needs to go.

The SAs are busy working through the slates of nominees they have received from elected officials. Hundreds of them. There are not hundreds of Admissions staff members. And the deadline for noms is still a few weeks away. Patience is your watchword here.

I do not believe all data updates have populated yet in DoDMERB.

I am not sure what you mean by “competitive for a USMA and USNA nom.” Do you mean appointment? Or is he still waiting for noms?
Competitiveness is relative. Only the SA, who can see and evaluate the entirety of the candidate’s application, can determine competitiveness. The key is to be the most qualified, and fully qualified (CFA/athletic, DoDMERB/medical, academic/everything else evaluated the candidate brings), within the “nom bucket(s)” they are competing in. A Representative’s slate is a “nom bucket.” If he’s eligible for a Presidential, that’s a bucket.

Best wishes he gets the waiver and appointments come his way. Stay hopeful but realistic. Every year, thousands of fully qualified applicants with noms do not get offered appointments. There is simply not enough room in the class.
 
@Capt MJ Thank you. In regard to your question, I meant to say competitive for an appointment. He is a principal nominee from our district for USMA and a competitive nominee for USNA from our state senator. He is 2Q for both, but the medical DQ is holding everything up of course. The principal nomination is obviously a great asset to have in hand, but again, no guarantees. But, I am very proud of him getting this far with two nominations. We just have to get that DQ out of the way and the doors should open up for him. Thanks again for your reply.
 
Just a quick update since I am sitting in a conference with 78 gray haired Captains and listening to Mr. Mullen give us an update. I am confident that once he gets a chance to stop racing around and briefing generals on the Who What When Where Why and how long....he will speak for himself.

But while DODMERB itself appears to be working while being "load tested", there are several spin off databases that still be tested/verified. That still needs to happen.

And now the real work begins. People have to find where all the various cases were left when the system went down. By that I mean whether a remedial was sent or received or processed, etc.

People should not assume that all will be wrapped up in the next day or two. This will take a while to sort out but so far, the revamped system seems to be working.
 
Capt MJ said:
I just reviewed your other posts. Regrettably, I have no good insights on your son’s DQ. I’m glad to see a waiver has been requested.

Normally - as in pre-DoDMERB website outage - Mr. Mullen would offer his email to be contacted by your son, and would share insights, even though DoDMERB is not the waiver authority.

Your son’s health should always come first. If a procedure or surgery then closes some doors, there are other ways to serve outside the armed forces.

I know it is difficult, but the process has to work. We can hope Mr. Mullen will return soon. Your son can try to work the phones with Admissions to see if they are willing to provide a medical POC he can ask specific questions of relating to his condition and consequences of any corrective surgery. That’s a flyer of an idea from me. The worst they can do is say no. Govt people are very reluctant to speak with family members on medical issues.
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I’m sorry for my delayed response; however, I truly appreciate your advice! We have plans B and C in place - just really hoping his 1st choice works out. Thanks again!
 
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