Army Soldiers on the TDRL Just Lost Their Right to Free Government Legal Counsel — Including at Formal PEB Hearings

If you are an Army Soldier on the Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL), you need to read this carefully.

The Army’s Office of Soldiers’ Counsel (OSC) has eliminated legal services for TDRL Soldiers — including at formal Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) hearings. This change took effect on July 1, 2026, and is fully in force now.

A TDRL reevaluation is not a routine check-in. It is an adversarial proceeding that determines whether you will be permanently retired, returned to active duty, or separated from the Army. Now, for the first time, you will face that proceeding without any free government attorney at your side.

What Is the TDRL — and What Is at Stake at a Reevaluation?

The TDRL is a temporary status for Soldiers whose disability conditions are not yet stable enough to receive a permanent disability rating at the time of their medical separation. Soldiers on TDRL receive temporary disability retirement pay while their conditions are monitored and periodically reevaluated — typically every 18 months, for a maximum of five years.

At each TDRL reevaluation, the PEB evaluates the current severity of your conditions and makes one of three findings:

• Permanent retirement — if your conditions have stabilized at 30% or higher
• Separation with severance pay — if your conditions have improved and your combined rating falls below 30%
• Return to active duty — if your conditions have resolved sufficiently

The difference between permanent retirement and separation with severance is not a minor administrative distinction. It means the difference between a lifetime retirement income, access to TRICARE, base privileges, and commissary access — versus a one-time payment and separation from the Army.

That decision is now being made without free legal counsel available to you.

The Formal Hearing Dimension

TDRL Soldiers who disagree with the Informal PEB’s proposed findings have the right to request a Formal PEB hearing — a proceeding before a panel of officers at which you can present evidence, call witnesses, and argue your case.

A formal hearing is a genuine legal proceeding. It requires preparation: understanding the applicable rating criteria under the VASRD, presenting medical evidence effectively, knowing which arguments the PEB can and cannot properly consider, and understanding how to frame your conditions to meet the legal standards for permanent retirement.

OSC attorneys previously provided that preparation and appeared alongside Soldiers at formal hearings. As of the 2026 policy change, they no longer do.

What the Loss of OSC Means for TDRL Soldiers Specifically

• You will attend your TDRL periodic examination without legal advice on how to document your current symptoms accurately and completely
• You will receive the Informal PEB’s proposed findings — permanent retirement, separation, or return to duty — without a government attorney to explain your rights and options
• If you elect a formal hearing, you will walk into that hearing room without counsel unless you have retained a private attorney
• The stakes — a lifetime retirement income versus separation — are too high to navigate without legal guidance

Private Representation Is Your Only Option Now

Nothing about the OSC policy change affects your right to retain a private, accredited military disability attorney to represent you at your TDRL reevaluation and formal hearing. That right is guaranteed by federal regulation.

What has changed is that the free government option no longer exists. If you want an attorney in your corner at your TDRL reevaluation — and you should — you will need to retain one privately.

Gately Law Firm represents TDRL Soldiers at reevaluations, IPEB, and FPEB formal PEB hearings nationwide. We know the standards the PEB applies, we know what the medical record needs to show, and we know how to fight for the permanent retirement outcome you have earned.