A former Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldier who was discharged from the army after being diagnosed with two medical conditions says he has been burned by the entity’s policy which stipulates that employees have to serve 18 years and over in order to qualify for a pension.

According to the website of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) of the JDF, in respect of pension and gratuity, individuals are eligible after 18 years and over for a pension. Qualifying for a disability allowance, however, is subject to a report from the Medical Board, a final medical and injury report.

The ex-soldier, who was contracted to the JDF from 2006 and was diagnosed with an illness in 2015, said he continued to work up to 2022 when he was discharged on medical grounds, landing just shy of the 18-year mark and any pension from his former employers.

“The fact of the matter is that because we have not reached 18 years’ worth of service with the JDF, we are not considered pensionable. And soldiers who get ill and their contract terminated, if the ailment isn’t job related they are not considered for what is called disability pensions so soldiers who are considered veterans must find other means of surviving,” the former army man told the Jamaica Observer.

“I was diagnosed from 2015 with kidney issues; I didn’t start dialysis until 2020. And then in 2022 I did an interview and it was told to me that my contract wouldn’t be renewed. As it is, I did close to 16 years but I hadn’t reached their stipulated years of service for pension and my sickness was not job related. Currently I am a renal patient doing dialysis because of renal failure so they are saying my sickness is not job related, that’s why they can’t compensate me at all,” he said.

He, however, pointed out that during the time he remained in the army after being diagnosed he was provided medical assistance.

“They were covering my expenses because while doing dialysis I was working, [as] being sick did not take away from me working. However, they have a fitness exam that you have to do twice a year and when I did the exam I wasn’t able to pass one aspect — and this was for running a given distance and I was over by close to two minutes, and it was considered failure,” he disclosed.

In noting the stringent fitness requirements, he said, “In order to get promotions and stuff you have to be actually fit, you have to pass the fitness exams, so if you don’t you can kiss promotions, and going on courses and that sort of stuff goodbye.”

The former soldier, who said he has sought legal advice, said he was told that he would be hard-pressed to trump the JDF’s policy. He, however, has one request of the decades-old institution.

“They should review the conditions under which persons are discharged for medical reasons. In terms of the kinds of sickness, you would need to have the spectrum a little bit broader under which individuals would be able to access benefits once they find out that they are sick. I would definitely want to see a review of the policies they now have in place,” he stated.

According to the ex-army man, he had reasonable grounds on which to believe there was room for flexibility.

“I had a commanding officer who had made recommendation that I get a percentage of a disability pension, however, when it went forward it was denied. So, I know that there is capacity of the policy to be reviewed for persons like myself — or others who have sicknesses that may not be job-related — to get some benefit.

“It is sickness; I have renal issues, and somebody else might have heart issues but they are saying [the policy stands] once it is not job-related. In our field job-related would like ]be] being in a vehicle that met in an accident or getting a gunshot wound, but what happens to the other persons who may have cancer or so?” he questioned.

Asked how he is coping presently, the former army man who is just under 40 years of age said, “I’m still doing dialysis twice a week and actively trying to get a transplant; other than that, I am doing some poultry, I work at a hardware, and generally doing other things.” Admitting that he has no private health insurance of any sort, as he did not see the need to get an additional health policy while in the JDF because the army covered all medical costs, he said he is now taking steps to apply for the money deducted under the Government of Jamaica’s National Insurance Scheme, NIS.

Attorney-at-law Mark-Paul Cowan, a partner at one of the Caribbean’s largest and oldest law firms, commenting on the former army man’s plight at the behest of the Observer said while the JDF might have acted in accordance with its policy, it could have made some concessions from a humanitarian perspective.

“I certainly wouldn’t want to say JDF did anything wrong; maybe they were moved by his particular circumstances but had to be mindful of opening the floodgates,” the attorney opined. He, however said, “Because he was so close to the 18 years the company, out of compassion, could have found a creative solution to allow him to get to the 18 years to allow him to get the pension — which would not serve as a precedent because that’s really what they don’t want. They don’t want to set a precedent, and everybody has their own unique situation to say, ‘Okay, why not me,’ ” Cowan said further.

“So, it’s just a matter of trying to tailor something very specific — considering that he had made it so far — just to allow him to get to the 18 years so that he could get the pension. It was service to the country. I think there should be some consideration for that, certainly,” the attorney reasoned.

“I do know that the administration may be conscious of setting a precedent, and there’s really no guideline because everybody is going to have their unique situation and, ‘Why not make an exception for me?’ so that is one of the main concerns.

“But if he was a good soldier and he gave 16 years of valuable service I think they should have tried to find a way, something palatable, something that makes sense, but not necessarily something that serves as this broad precedent for other persons to come under,” he added.

In late July the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), which is responsible for helping former Jamaica Defence Force members transition to civilian life, came under fire from a group of veterans who had questioned its efficiency, alleging financial embarrassment as a result of late pension and retroactive payments.

“I have served for over 25 years. We as the veterans are suffering because the Veterans Affairs office is not doing what they are supposed to do. They are not representing the veterans as it relates to pension payments and retroactive payments. In the JDF you are not supposed to have any other job and whenever persons retire they are expected to get their pension at a particular time,” a spokesperson for the veterans told the Observer recently.

The Observer is yet to receive any response from the JDF in relation to those grouses, despite numerous attempts.