IPEB RECONSIDERATION REQUESTS UPDATE- JULY 2023

Since most of you know that I am a big fan of using IPEB Reconsideration Requests to attempt to obtain a favorable decision for my clients without a formal hearing, I am writing to provide the latest update as of July 2023 regarding each service’s practice concerning such decisions.

If you are an Army service member- AD, Guard, or Reserve- the ECHO team at the Army PEB will automatically review any IPEB Reconsideration request that you submit with a formal hearing request- thus, it is well worth doing.

For Air Force FPEBs, your attorney can always request a summary decision based upon the brief and supporting evidence that he or she provides along with the formal hearing request- however, fewer summary decisions are being granted nowadays by the Air Force, and those that are granted are usually just before the formal hearing.

The Navy has no formal reconsideration process at present but is trying to implement one. Your attorney can always request an IPEB Recon from the PEB President, but these are rarely granted nowadays.  Out of my last 6 Navy IPEB recon requests, only 1 was granted. However, four of the remaining cases went as a stipulated decision- on the record decision- the night before or the day of the hearing.

The Coast Guard is still transiting from a legacy to an IDES process, but for any Coasties reading this thread, the good news is that the Coast Guard PEB is very open to IPEB recon requests.  In fact, out of my last 12 Coast Guard clients, none had to go to a formal hearing because their goals were all met through IPEB recons.