FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A team charged with establishing an Army-wide
standardized disability evaluation system has been meeting this week here at
the headquarters of U.S. Army Forces Command.
"Right now there's no standardization of the process," said Army Brig. Gen.
Brian C. Lein, the U.S. Army Forces Command, or FORSCOM, command surgeon.
"There are more than 75 different policies, regulations and MEDCOM (Medical
Command) orders, often with very confusing and very different interpretations
of what the standards are."
Members of the team developing the Army's streamlined disability evaluation
process include representatives from FORSCOM, the Department of the Army G-1
(Personnel) Department, the U.S. Army Reserve Command, the National Guard
Bureau, the Army Physical Disability Agency, the Army Physical Disability
Evaluation Board and several specific providers that are conducting
disability evaluations.
The result of their efforts will improve the Army's portion of the Department
of Defense's Integrated Disability Evaluation System, through which it is
determined whether or not service members are fit for continued service.
Those found unfit are turned over to the Veterans Administration to determine
the veterans' disability rankings.
"Standardizing the process will help the people responsible for carrying it
out and provide a lot of predictability for the Soldiers going through the
process," Lein noted.