A service-connected medical condition incurred or aggravated in the line of duty that prevents the service member from reasonably performing the duties of their office, grade, rank, or rating due to physical disability; and meets the statutory criteria pursuant to Title 10, United States Code for entitlement to disability retired or severance pay.

A person designated to make DES decisions for the service member. This could be a court-appointed guardian or a representative in accordance with DoDM 6025.18.

For service members entering the DES, the MEB conducts the medical evaluation on conditions that potentially affect the service member’s fitness for duty. The MEB documents the service member’s medical condition(s) and history with an MEB narrative summary as part of an MEB packet.

An inquiry used to determine whether a service member incurred an injury or disease while in a qualified military duty status; whether it was aggravated by military duty; and/or whether incurrence or aggravation was due to the service member’s intentional misconduct or willful negligence.

The order of precedence among members of the military services.

The PEB’s record of proceedings, which includes the fitness decision, code, and percentage rating for each unfitting and compensable condition, stability and permanency of the disability, and administrative determinations.

A program that allows a service member on full-time active duty (including members of the National Guard, Reserves, or Coast Guard) with a known separation date in the next 90 to 180 days to apply for disability benefits before separation.

A person who served in the active military and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

Regulations and instructions for the DOD Components based on the CLIA regulations issued by the HHS. CLIA comparable regulations are similar to, but not necessarily identical to, HHS CLIA regulations, modified only as may be required to meet unique aspects of DOD missions, training, and preparations during peace, contingency, and wartime operations which ...

Undebatable information that the condition existed before military service and was not aggravated by military service (i.e., evidence that cannot be misinterpreted and misunderstood). In other words, reasonable minds could only conclude that the condition existed prior to military service from a review of all of the evidence in the record.

A board consisting of at least three medical officers or physicians (including one psychiatrist) convened to determine whether a member is competent (capable of making a rational decision regarding his or her personal and financial affairs).

A vehicle, vessel, or device designed primarily for military service and in use by a military service at the time of the occurrence or injury.

Conditions that were neither incurred nor aggravated while the active component or reserve component member was in a qualified military duty status.

A medical condition that is determined to be unfitting due to disability and that meets the statutory criteria of Chapter 61 of Title 10, U.S.C. for entitlement to disability retired or severance pay

The non-medical case manager who provides information, assistance, and case status updates to the affected Service member throughout the DES process.