Airmen need to be aware of medical screening for PCS

by Air Force Staff Sgt. Sheila deVera
JBER Public Affairs

9/4/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Getting notified of a permanent change of station can be daunting for any Airman. There are steps, suspense dates and appointments, which need to be done to get orders.

Before receiving PCS orders, Airmen and their families must accomplish these steps and one of them is the medical clearance. Medical screening and clearance are requirements for all PCS processing.

"PCS orders cannot be submitted to Air Force Personnel Center until the member and dependents have been medically cleared for assignment," said Suzanne Crossen, 673d Force Support Squadron outbound assignments chief.

Airman 1st Class Victoria Adewusi, 673d Medical Support Squadron admissions, stressed the importance of accomplishing the overseas medical clearance.

"It's an important step to ensure that the medical, mental, and educational needs of the dependents are met whenever they PCS stateside or overseas," said the Lagos, Nigeria, native. "Without accomplishing this, the sponsor wouldn't receive his or her orders in a timely manner."

When the task is not completed on time, it creates significant delays for the service members and families, which can make the PCS [overseas or CONUS] process more frustrating that it needs to be.

If an issue arises during the process or an assignment gets cancelled, the sponsor would have enough time to redo the process before his or her date eligible for return from overseas.

The admissions office, which handles up to 50 clearances a month during PCS season, can take up to two months to process a request. They recommend members be proactive with their medical clearance. In order to get medically cleared, dependents need to have a DD Form 2792 [Family Member Medical Summary] completed by their primary care manager, Form DD 1466D [Dental Health Summary] completed by their dentist for individuals age two and up and DD Form 2792-1 [Special Education/Early Intervention Summary] completed by the school for school-aged children.

The sponsor must also fill out the AF Form 1466 [Request for Family Member's Medical and Education Clearance for Travel].

"Once all the forms are completed, they need to be brought to us," Adewusi said. "An appointment will be made for the dependents to speak with a medical review officer and a special needs coordinator."

In some cases, dependents going stateside also have to be medically cleared if they are enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program.

When a sponsor is coded with a "Q," the sponsor has dependent(s) who need to be medically cleared whenever they are due to PCS, stateside or overseas.

"These are people who have been identified as needing to see a specialist or have chronic medical, mental or educational conditions," Adewusi said. "That way, they are assured that their needs will be met at their next base."

Adewusi added, "If there are issues identified, the medical clearance forms will need to be sent to the gaining military treatment facility for approval."

People are usually leery about completing the medical clearance because of the possibility of having their assignment denied.

"Dependents are usually denied if there are limited or no resources in the MTF or in the local area that the dependents need," Adewusi said. "Although the service might be available in the area, it may not be TRICARE approved, or exceed the travel area TRICARE would reimburse or cover."

"If the member has not been cleared, we will work with AFPC to load the member with a new assignment," Crossen said. "If the dependents have not been cleared, the sponsor will need to request an EFMP re-assignment through the virtual military personnel flight."

EFMP assignments can take six weeks or more to process, according to Crossen. However, if a sponsor receives a new EFMP assignment, they no longer need to do another medical clearance.

Another option, besides requesting an EFMP reassignment, is filing an appeal to the admissions office by providing documentation that the needs of the dependent can be met at the gaining base. Once the appeal paperwork has been received, the admissions office will send it to the gaining base, which will make the final determination.

In an effort to better accommodate and assist service members and their dependents, the Air Force wants to ensure all personal and professional needs are fulfilled during the PCS process. By doing so, the Air Force can alleviate stress and concern on the parts of service members and their families, Adewusi said.