VARIABLES AFFECTING ARMY PHYSICAL-DISABILITY PROCESSING

This research identifies variables affecting the length of time to pro cess a soldier through the U.S. Army Physical Disability Evaluation Sy stem (PDES), The subjects are 8,301 soldiers whose disability records were processed in fiscal year 1996, The dependent variable examined wa s the average number of days a soldier remains in the disability proce ssing system. Independent variables included age, component, compensat ion award, Congressional involvement, gender, grade, retirement eligib ility, race, length of service, formal Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) , and regional FEB. Statistical analysis using linear regression and S PSS yielded an average length of stay (ALOS) of 155 days and a range o f 1 to 2,052 days, The research shows that the most significant variab les affecting ALOS are Congressional involvement, component, compensat ion, formal FEB, and regional FEB. The authors recommend a program of disability case management and increasing emphasis on transition assis tance programs to reduce ALOS in the PDES.