DD-214 for Medical Renewal?

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I am scheduling my renewal for 3rd class medical and asked when making the appointment what I needed to bring. He gave me the price as $100 and I said,
"You earlier told me $90!"
He asked, "Are you military? That's the military price."
"I am former military."
"Do you have a Champus card?"
'I didn't retire. I served my contract term and discharged.'
"Do you have documents stating that?"
"I didn't have to answer any questions about that for my last medical" (I don't think)
...(conversation went on about DD-214)

I don't know what I did with my DD-214. I took off my uniform over 10 years ago and when my final DD-214 was issued was a couple years after that due to corrections, back and forth, etc. I looked it over for accuracy and then put it somewhere:)dunno:). I have doubts I can dig it up by Monday (my appointment date), as I am in an action cycle of cleaning up documentation anyhow.

Is this true???
 
That is purely the individual AME choosing on his own to give a military discount. It has no basis in FAA regulations or other Federal law. AME fees are entirely at the discretion of the individual AME.
 
If I cannot find it, I won't squabble over $10 - however he seemed insistent that the document was required for anyone having prior military service.

Is this the case?
 
Required by him to get the discount, I guess. I have never had to come up with mine since I got it in '85, except once... to get a military discount (and not from my AME).
 
Didn't you heed all the repeated admonitions at Separations to put your DD214 in a safe place? Some bases even recommended sending a copy to the county courthouse for safekeeping. If nothing else send a copy to the local funeral home so they will put a flag on your casket...

FWIW, in Texas now you can take your DD214 to the DPS and they will put "Veteran" on your drivers license.

And politely let the doc know the term Champus has been out of use for nearly 20 yrs now.
 
I thought I recalled reading somewhere about a website coming up for quick verification of military service, but can't find that right now. However, here's a start to getting a copy of your DD-214, should you need to.

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

http://answers.usa.gov/system/templ...le/3792/Get-Military-Discharge-Records-DD-214

http://servingtogetherproject.org/r...ate-of-release-or-discharge-from-active-duty/

https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenef....async=false&_pageLabel=ManageMyDocumentsMain
 
The DD-214 does include information about service-related disabilities or severance payments for same in box 18 (or at least mine does), and the long form DD-214 lists the narrative reason for separation in box 28. Perhaps the AME believes that this makes it relevant with regard to box 18r "Military medical discharge" on the FAA Form 8500-8.

Speaking of DD-214s, you really should get a copy of yours, and then make some copies of the copy and store them away safely. Any time you first apply for any sort of benefit, service, or whatever from the VA (or any other agency that needs to verify your service for whatever reason), they will want a copy of your DD-214: And they have to receive that copy from you. Even though it's the VA that provides the copy to you, the VA is not allowed to provide a copy to itself. Trust me on this one.

In other words, the VA can't just pull a copy of your DD-214 and internally attach it to your application for benefits, services, or whatever. You have to make a request for a copy and have the VA sent that copy to you; and when you receive it, you have to send a copy of that copy back to the VA with the application for whatever you're seeking.

I'm not trying to poke fun at the VA, by the way. They're actually one of my most-liked government agencies. Yes, it's a ponderous bureaucracy. But once you crack through its armor and get to a real person, they usually bend over backwards to help you.

But they do have their policies, and one of them is that they can't issue a copy of your DD-214 to themselves. So if you can't find yours, I suggest that you get a copy now, before you need it for some reason.

-Rich
 
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