My health is affecting military duty
Understand DES, IDES, MEB/PEB roles, fitness, and where military disability decisions come from.
Medical disability pathway →MDN FREE KNOWLEDGE HUB — FOUNDING PUBLIC BETA
The military-to-Veteran benefits map.
You should not have to know which agency owns your question before you can find the answer. Start with the situation you are dealing with, learn what systems connect to it, and use the official source when a deadline, election, payment, eligibility decision, legal right, or medical determination matters.
Use this as orientation—not as the final authority.
MDN connects the systems and highlights the questions that matter. It does not replace an official notice, your military department, VA, DFAS, TRICARE, a PEBLO, legal counsel, an accredited representative, or a clinician.
Knowledge hub reviewed: August 27, 2026. Each section below identifies its primary official sources.
CHOOSE A STARTING POINT
What is happening right now?
These are connected systems. A medical-disability case can affect transition, VA benefits, retired pay, health coverage, and family decisions at the same time.
I am separating or retiring
Check VA filing timing, records, health coverage, family status, and the difference between separation and retirement.
Transition pathway →I filed or received a VA claim decision
Orient to claim stage, evidence, exams, decision letters, and when accredited help may be useful.
VA claims pathway →I was medically retired or receive retired pay
Understand the separate military disability rating, Chapter 61 retired pay, CRDP, CRSC, and VA-pay interactions.
Retirement & pay pathway →I am already a Veteran and want the wider benefits picture
Use categories instead of trying to memorize every program across VA, federal, state, and family systems.
Post-service benefits map →I still do not know where I fit
Use the Free Navigator first. Your selection stays in the browser and does not require an account.
Start with my situation →01 — MEDICAL DISABILITY
When a health condition may affect continued military service
The Department of Defense Disability Evaluation System (DES) is the mechanism used to determine whether a service member will return to duty, medically separate, or medically retire because of disability. Health.mil states that a treating physician may refer a service member into DES when a long-lasting or permanent condition may affect the ability to return to full military duties.
What IDES connects
In the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), DoD determines fitness for duty. If a service member is found medically unfit, the process can provide a proposed VA disability rating before separation. PEBLOs guide service members through the process, VA Military Service Coordinators help with the VA claim, and the services provide legal counsel at no cost during IDES.
What the PEB decides
Health.mil describes the Physical Evaluation Board as the administrative board that determines fitness or unfitness, disability codes and percentage, case disposition, eligibility for disability compensation, and whether an injury or illness is combat-related.
What to identify firstYour actual current stage, the official document or notice that moved the case to that stage, who your PEBLO or service point of contact is if formally referred, and any response or appeal deadline shown in official correspondence.
Primary sourceHealth.mil — Disability Evaluation System
DoD overview of DES and its major components.
Open Health.mil DES ↗Primary sourceHealth.mil — Integrated Disability Evaluation System
Official overview of how DoD and VA functions connect in IDES.
Open IDES overview ↗Controlling policyDoDI 1332.18
Department of Defense policy for the Disability Evaluation System.
Open DoDI 1332.18 ↗02 — SEPARATION & RETIREMENT
Transition has multiple clocks running at once.
VA filing timing, military medical records, separation health requirements, TRICARE eligibility, retirement status, family enrollment, and other benefits do not all use the same rules. Start with your expected separation or retirement date and whether you are separating or retiring.
VA Benefits Delivery at Discharge
VA's current pre-discharge guidance says service members with 180 to 90 days left on active duty may apply through Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD). A BDD claim requires a completed Separation Health Assessment Part A, and the service member must be available for VA exams. With fewer than 90 days remaining, VA directs service members to the standard claim process instead.
Health coverage: separation and retirement are different
TRICARE states that active-duty retirement is a qualifying life event and retirees generally have 90 days after retirement to enroll in an eligible retiree health plan. For service members who separate before retirement, TRICARE generally ends at 11:59 p.m. on the last duty day unless temporary coverage such as TAMP applies; CHCBP may be available after TAMP or other qualifying coverage ends.
Transition checkConfirm your separation/retirement date, whether BDD applies, what records you need before leaving service, what your official health-coverage path is, and whether DEERS or family status needs to be updated.
VAPre-discharge disability claim
BDD timing, requirements, and the standard-claim handoff when fewer than 90 days remain.
Open VA pre-discharge guidance ↗TRICARERetiring from active duty
Retiree health-plan enrollment and the 90-day post-retirement window.
Open TRICARE retirement guidance ↗TRICARESeparating from active duty
What generally happens to active-duty TRICARE eligibility and temporary coverage pathways.
Open TRICARE separation guidance ↗03 — VA DISABILITY CLAIMS
Start with the claim stage—not the percentage.
VA currently describes the disability-claim process as claim received, initial review, evidence gathering, evidence review, rating, preparing the decision letter, final review, and claim decided. Evidence gathering is often the longest part of the process and a claim can move backward if more evidence is needed or submitted.
Evidence is broader than one medical record
VA lists VA medical records, private medical records, hospital reports, and supporting statements among evidence that can support a disability claim. VA also reviews separation documents and service treatment records. The evidence needed depends on the type of claim and the facts of the case.
If VA schedules an exam
VA advises claimants not to miss scheduled claim exams. For multiple claimed conditions, more than one C&P examination may be necessary.
After a decision
The decision letter—not an app estimate—controls the rating, payment amount, effective date, and reasons for the decision. If individualized assistance is needed, VA provides a pathway to accredited attorneys, claims agents, and Veterans Service Organization representatives.
VAHow to file a disability claim
Current evidence and filing guidance from VA.
Open VA filing guidance ↗VAAfter you file
Current claim stages, evidence gathering, decision letters, and review information.
Open VA claim-process guidance ↗VADisability compensation hub
Ratings, effective dates, claim exams, benefit rates, and accredited-help links.
Open VA disability compensation ↗04 — MEDICAL RETIREMENT & PAY
Military disability, VA disability, and retired pay are connected—but they are not the same thing.
Defense retirement-pay guidance refers to disability retirement as Chapter 61 retirement. It states that a member found unfit with a military disability rating of 30% or greater may be eligible for disability retirement. An unstable condition may result in placement on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL); a stabilized condition rated 30% or higher may result in placement on the Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL).
Do not infer the pay result from the VA rating alone
Military disability retired pay has its own statutory formulas and interacts with VA disability compensation under separate rules. Chapter 61 retirees also have special rules for concurrent retired pay.
CRDP and CRSC are different programs
DFAS states that eligible retirees cannot receive CRDP and CRSC at the same time. CRSC is tied to qualifying combat-related disabilities and requires an application to the retiree's branch of service. CRDP is a restoration of retired pay for eligible retirees with service-connected disabilities and generally does not require a separate application. If a retiree qualifies for both, DFAS explains how elections and open season work.
Verify before making a money decisionUse your retirement orders, service computation, military disability disposition, VA award information, and DFAS records. Chapter 61, Reserve/Guard, CRDP, CRSC, VA waiver, taxes, and survivor elections can interact differently.
Defense retirement payDisability retirement
Official overview of Chapter 61 disability-retirement status and basic retired-pay formulas.
Open Defense disability-retirement guidance ↗DFASCRDP eligibility
Concurrent retired pay rules, including special Chapter 61 provisions.
Open DFAS CRDP guidance ↗DFASCompare CRSC and CRDP
Program differences and election rules when a retiree qualifies for both.
Open DFAS comparison ↗05 — POST-SERVICE BENEFITS MAP
Do not stop at the disability rating.
A Veteran's wider benefits picture can involve health care, disability compensation, education, Veteran Readiness and Employment, housing, insurance, employment support, records, dependents, caregivers, survivors, and state benefits. Eligibility varies by service history, discharge characterization, disability status, location, family status, and the specific program.
MDN's goal is to build this as a connected eligibility map rather than a giant list. Until that registry is complete, use the official VA service-member and disability hubs as the federal starting point and verify state benefits with the responsible state agency.
VASeparating or retiring from service
Official VA entry point for benefits and services during transition.
Open VA service-member benefits ↗VADisability compensation
Official disability-compensation information and related benefit-management links.
Open VA disability hub ↗Next MDN buildBenefits & Services Registry
MDN will connect federal, state, family, survivor, and lifecycle benefits by eligibility dimension instead of assuming one rating tells the whole story.
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