Tag: IDES

So You Want to Get an MEB? The Alphabet Soup Continues (Part 2 of 4)

Nation's oldest medical facility, the Naval Medical Portsmouth, is where naval personnel face MEB/PEB and medical discharges.
The worlds largest and oldest continuously running military medical facility, the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. Its original building was built in 1827.

A common refrain around Warrior Transition Units, Medical Hold Companies, and among Barracks Lawyers anywhere is “you’ll get an MEB for that,” “I’m getting an MEB,” or even “My doctor says I’m going to get an MEB.” These statements ignore a sometimes-harsh reality:  there is no MEB until the proper paperwork is signed. You could have a dozen different doctors tell you you’re going to get an MEB but until the proper paperwork is signed there is no MEB.

Continue reading “So You Want to Get an MEB? The Alphabet Soup Continues (Part 2 of 4)”

MEB, PEB, IDES…and the Alphabet Soup of Medical Discharges (Part 1 of 4)

A view of the Naval Medical Center San Diego aka Bob Wilson Naval Hospital in the Balboa Park in San Diego.

What is the Medical Evaluation Board Process?

Formerly, the Services and the VA Considered Disability Separately

If you are confused with the acronyms IDES, MEB, PEB, DBQs, C&P Exams, VASRD, PEBLOs, MSCs NARSUMs, SMEBCs, and VARRs, you are not alone.  So what is an MEB anyway?   Colloquially, servicemembers refer to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) as an MEB.  That common name comes from the fact that the IDES system was formerly two different systems.  The Army/Navy/Air Force used one disability evaluation system and the Veterans Administration used a different system.  The Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) served, and continues to serve, as the military services’ evaluation system .  But now, the services and the VA work together; though sometimes they work together with the type of inter-service rivalries we know and love as servicemembers. Continue reading “MEB, PEB, IDES…and the Alphabet Soup of Medical Discharges (Part 1 of 4)”