The Department of Defense (DoD) compensates soldiers who are retired for physical disability (Title 10 USC Ch. 61). The Secretary of the Army (SA) may retire a regular component soldier who is deemed physically unfit to perform their duties as the result of an injury incurred in the line of duty. To qualify for disability retirement, the soldier must have completed at least 20 years of creditable service, in accordance with 10 USC 1208, or have service-connected disabilities that caused the soldier to be unfit for duty and amount to a combined disability rating of 30% or more. The 20-year threshold established by 10 USC 1208 includes Reserve "equivalent duty service" (the product of the soldier's membership and Inactive Duty Training (IDT) points divided by 360). This service is applicable to Regular soldiers with former Reserve Service.
- Regular Army: Active Duty
- Regular Army: Retired
- Army National Guard: Active Duty Under Title 10 USC or Title 32 USC (Full-Time National Guard Duty)
- Army National Guard: State Active Duty
- Army National Guard: Drilling
- Army National Guard: Retired
- Army Reserve: Active Duty
- Army Reserve: Drilling
- Army Reserve: Retired
The return home from combat can often leave servicemembers feeling out of place with the most important people in their lives - their families.
"In deployment, Soldiers grow accustomed to a new lifestyle and a new 'family' - those buddies that bond together to defend each other," said Maj. Ken Williams, 14th Military Police Brigade chaplain. "This lifestyle change is prolonged and becomes familiar, i.e., the new normal."
The families also change while the Soldier is deployed.
"The family is a system," Williams said. "When one family member is absent, the whole system changes. All members of the family adapt to a new 'normal' way of life."
When the servicemember returns, the family may feel uncomfortable with each other, and the servicemember may withdraw from the family.