LESSON 5
MEDICAL EVALUATION AND PHYSICAL DISABILITY PROCESSING
Section I. PHYSICAL PROFILING
5-1.
OVERVIEW
Most service members go about their duties without considering what they would do
if they should become physically or mentally disabled. Although a member of the uniformed
services on active duty or active duty for training is authorized to receive complete medical
care, the Army Medical Department cannot provide prolonged definitive medical care to a
military patient who is unlikely to return to duty. Army regulations governing the disposition
of patients are intended primarily to guarantee a vital and fit military organization and to
maximize available manpower. For this reason, military members who become, in some
way, mentally or physically unable to perform their duties, are given a physical profile that
reflects their limitations. If military patients are not expected to recover sufficiently to return
to duty within twelve to fifteen months after optimum hospital improvement, they are
processed for disposition. The matter of disability separation is individually determined
and is based on the best interests of the patient and the Government. In making these
determinations, the Army Medical Department uses AR 40-501 (Standards of Medical
Fitness) and AR 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation).
5-2.
PURPOSE
The physical profile serial system provides information about the physical and
mental status of members of the uniformed services through the use of serial numbers and
serial modifiers. In this system, the overall functional capacity of a particular organization
or system of the body is related to military duties. Since this functional grading is central to
the member's welfare and the welfare of the Army, it must be executed carefully and
accurately to reflect mental and physical deviations from normal. This information assists
the unit commander and personnel officer in determining individual assignments and in
making reclassification.
5-3.
APPLICABILITY
The physical profile system applies to the following categories of personnel:
a. Registrants who undergo an induction or preinduction medical examination
related to Selective Service processing.
MD0755
5-4