Posted on Oct 30, 2020
Can I rejoin the military if I have a VA disability rating at 80%?
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I have had a 5 year break in service and I work for the railroad that is very unstable right now. I’m considering rejoining the military but I’m curious if I would ever qualify. Any feedback would be great thank you!
Posted in these groups: 
Recruiter
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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You cant not join if receiving disability payments. You need to talk to a recruiter and see what they say.
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MSgt (Join to see)
That’s not exactly true. There are individuals serving in the Reserves and Guard receiving disability payments and just drilling for retirement points.
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Waive VA Compensation for Military Pay - VA Form 21-8951
You can serve in the Guard or Reserves if you have a VA disability, but you may have to waive VA Disability Compensation in order to receive military pay.
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Before I came back in I was receiving 60% disability. You would have to see a recruiter and take him your letter with your rating from VA. Based upon your limitations he/she will be able to determine if there’s a chance for you to pass medical because you would have to do the physical. If you pass the physical, you’ll be good.
Once you receive your orders to come back in, you will have to mail a copy of your orders to the VA and ask them to suspend your VA payments (do not cancel), this way once you ETS or retire, your VA payments will restart once you send them a copy of your DD214.
Once you receive your orders to come back in, you will have to mail a copy of your orders to the VA and ask them to suspend your VA payments (do not cancel), this way once you ETS or retire, your VA payments will restart once you send them a copy of your DD214.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
MSgt (Join to see) - In reality, you don't need to do anything. You can just get both through the year, VA will send you a form that asks for the days you served during the year. They will deduct the overpayments from the next years disabilities payments, which means you generally lose the first couple months. The Guard recommends that you just put the offset for your active duty days in an account that will pay you for the months VA stops you check for overpayment.
The SPC with 80%? Have to look at the tax burden, he may be better off drilling for points since Disability isn't taxed.
The SPC with 80%? Have to look at the tax burden, he may be better off drilling for points since Disability isn't taxed.
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Sgt Dale Briggs
Did yiu lose your rating? If your able to continue your service I’d think you’d get rerated and either severely downgraded, or reset to zero. I can’t imagine they would bring you back with a rating unless your MOS was indispensable. How do you pass a physical with a 60% disability? Or pass PT tests? I wish you luck, but our VA system is a real mess.
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SFC (Join to see)
Based upon what I was receiving my rating for, I was able to pass my physical. I didn’t lose my rating, it was suspended, not downgraded and I won’t go into the details on what I was receiving my rating on. I was able to pass my PT test. I have already spoken to the VA on how to resume my rating upon retirement which is coming up within the next year.
Everyone situation is different, which is why I recommended talking with a recruiter because they’ll know your odds of being able to move forward based upon your rating (which you would have to discuss in more detail with him/her). We can all speculate based upon our current knowledge, however we don’t have that expertise a recruiter may have or the expertise of the medical personnel performing the exam. My situation or anyone else who was able to return to duty after receiving a rating is not for everyone to understand, it’s only for the medical personnel who has to make the decision to understand. Sgt Dale Briggs
Everyone situation is different, which is why I recommended talking with a recruiter because they’ll know your odds of being able to move forward based upon your rating (which you would have to discuss in more detail with him/her). We can all speculate based upon our current knowledge, however we don’t have that expertise a recruiter may have or the expertise of the medical personnel performing the exam. My situation or anyone else who was able to return to duty after receiving a rating is not for everyone to understand, it’s only for the medical personnel who has to make the decision to understand. Sgt Dale Briggs
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