My first Cop-out post

I'd love to stay up and watch the draft, then comment on it...but I'm pretty worn out. I'm going to chat with my wife on the phone, clean up, and get to bed. The draft will still be there in the morning. In the meantime, check out my friend Clarence's blog for his pre-draft take, and post-draft analysis (no pressure Clarence).

Enjoy: http://1991skins.blogspot.com

Today was another fairly boring day, but I did learn a good deal about the Army medical system and what goes into getting a release from active duty. For any future IRR callups, here are some tips.

1) Document everything. If you've had a condition for a year or two (like my left rotator cuff strain/tear) and you never sought treatment for it, the Doctors here won't take much pity on you. If you've got a pack of doctors letters and exams, it lends credibility to the injury. Even if your Exemption packing got denied, bring all that stuff with you to Jackson and you'll have a fighting chance.

2) The General system works like such: you see a PA, to whom you reveal your illness/injury/whatever. If he/she is confident that your condition is listed in the relevant Army regulation, she can recommend your release. If she isn't sure, she'll refer you to the appropriate specialist (ortho for your knee, mental health for PTSD, etc.) From there, the specialist will examine you, pronounce yea or nay, and send you on your way. If you get approved to deploy, but there's still something wrong with you--like with my shoulder--they won't treat it here at Jackson. They send you on to your follow on assignment to let them handle it. The records are computerized and linked, now, which is good--so Fort Bragg will be expecting a dashing young Captain in a few weeks that needs to do rehab on his left shoulder.

Once the PA or specialist has recommended you, the dude who runs the hospital (a Colonel), your battalion commander, and your brigade commander all have to sign off. Even if you pull a fast one on the PA or specialist, those other guys don't necessarily want to see you released, so bear that in mind.

3) Watch out for medical delays. This falls under the "be careful what you wish for" category, as a couple of guys have been given 90 day delays to seek treatment for something or other. If they get healed up (not a certainty, by any means) then they still get stuck deploying, just 3 months later. Most of us here are happy to get this entire process started with as quickly as possible, so we can get back to our families and lives. Delaying by 3 months presents interesting tradeoffs that you should consider.

4) Bottom line--don't count on getting a release. PTSD is your best bet, as if you are legitimately suffering from the condition (have been to Iraq, have nightmares, etc.) they won't deploy you again. Other best bets are all conditions that you don't want to have--arthritis, hip replacement, and really debilitating stuff like that. Sore knees, loss of flexibility, hurting hips...none of that is gonna keep you on the bench.