Not every service member with conditions
that make them Unfit for Duty must leave the military. Each branch has special
circumstances in place that would allow some disabled service members to continue
on active duty after the Physical Evaluation Board has found them unfit.
For all branches, each case is individually
determined. While there are some individual criteria, the overall idea for all
of them is that they will only keep service members with particular skills,
specialties, or experience that is needed by the branch at that time.
Air
Force: Some disabled service members can remain
on active duty in the Air Force on Limited
Assignment Status (LAS).
To qualify for LAS, there must be a
definite need for your particular skill, specialty, or experience, and your
condition must be stable enough for it to be safely assumed that it won’t
worsen significantly or require excessive medical care. Bluntly, you should be
able to still greatly contribute to the Air Force without it harming you or you
being a burden.
To apply for LAS, you must have served
between 15 and 19 years. I assume that the basic idea for this limited time
period is that service members with at least this many years have had a great
deal of experience and training that could still be very beneficial to the Air
Force, so it is worth it to keep them on longer, even if they aren’t physically
fit. Less than this: not as valuable. More than this: 20 years is already a
full military career.
Marines: Disabled service members in the Marines may be able to stay on
active duty by requesting Expanded Permanent Limited Duty (EPLD).
To be retained on EPLD, you must be able to
still significantly contribute to the Marines. The Marines will only keep
service members in certain MOSs, whatever is specifically needed at the time.
There are no limitations for the amount of time the service member has already
been on active duty.
Navy: Active duty may be retained in the Navy through Permanent Limited
Duty (PLD).
Any service member can apply for PLD,
regardless of how long they have served in the Navy.
You can be retained on active duty if:
- you have skills, specialities, etc., that
are needed by the Navy
- you need to complete Navy-funded training
programs
- you need to (and can) complete a tour of
duty
- your specific medical conditions are
needed for training purposes at medical facilities
- you have 18 years of active duty service
and want to reach fleet reserve eligibility
To qualify for PLD, remaining on duty
cannot possibly be a health risk to yourself or others.
Army: Service members can continue on active duty in the Army by applying
for Continuation on Active Duty (COAD) or Continuation on Active Reserve
(COAR).
All service members can apply for
COAD/COAR, but the Army is most likely to keep members with between 15 and 20
years of active duty, who have an MOS that is in shortage or a critical skill,
and whose disability is the result of combat or terrorism.
To qualify, remaining on active duty cannot
be a health risk to yourself or others.
