RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-02734
            INDEX CODE:  108.07
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His service-connected medical conditions, low back  strain  with  piriformis
syndrome and Post Traumatic  Stress  Disorder  (PTSD)  with  depression,  be
assessed as combat related in order to qualify for  compensation  under  the
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Act.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Based on the CRSC criteria  his  service-connected  conditions  qualify  for
CRSC.  Both are service-connected, Gulf War incurred, and  have  a  combined
rating of 60%.

In support of his request he  provided  documentation  associated  with  his
initial CRSC determination and documentation extracted from  his  Department
of  Veterans  Affairs  (DVA)  records.   His   complete   submission,   with
attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force  on  28
Jul 80.  He was progressively promoted to the grade of  technical  sergeant,
having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank  of  1  Sep  96.
He served as a Medical Material Craftsman.  He voluntary  retired  from  the
Air Force for maximum years of service on 1 Aug 00, having served  20  years
and 3 days on active duty.

Current Department of Veterans Affairs  (DVA)  records  reflect  a  combined
compensable rating of 70% for his unfitting conditions, which  include  PTSD
rated at 70% and low back strain with  piriformis  syndrome  and  trochanter
pain rated at 40%.

His CRSC application was disapproved on 1 Aug 03 based on the fact  that  he
failed to show his PTSD and  low  back  strain  was  the  direct  result  of
hazardous service.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPD recommends denial.  DPPD states applicant states his back  problem
was  caused  while  preparing  to  issue  bulk  biological  warfare/chemical
antidotes to units during Operation DESERT  FOX.   He  claims  that  due  to
inadequate equipment and storage to access  bulk  palletized  materials,  he
was required to offload heavy bulk containers causing his back injury.   The
DVA currently rates this condition at 40% disabling.  The fact that  he  may
have incurred this condition during a period of war or  while  participating
in combat operations is not sufficient evidence to support a  combat-related
determination.  Records must show a  definite  causal  relationship  between
the armed conflict and the medical condition.   The  performance  of  manual
labor, even during a period of war, is clearly not qualified under  criteria
for  hazardous  service,  which  is  assumed  inherently   dangerous.    The
preponderance of evidence does  not  appear  to  fall  under  the  hazardous
service category but, rather, normal duties performed during the  completion
of his military responsibilities.

He claims his PTSD is the result of hazardous  service  and  combat  related
based on a traumatic experience in which he was thrust into  during  a  JP-4
storage tank explosion, which killed approximately  30  Korean  contractors.
He was  called  upon  to  assist  in  the  post  mortem  identification  and
disposition of body bags.  His PTSD is  related  to  a  non-combat  incident
that just happened to occur during an exercise.  Exposure  to  such  a  non-
combat accident is clearly not unique to military service and again, is  not
inherently dangerous.

The DPPD evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on  7  Nov
03 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this office  has
received no response.

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  AFBCMR,  applicant  states  that  during
deployments to Foreign Internal Defense tactical exercises,  acting  in  the
capacity as a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), he  treated  traumatically
injured  individuals  during  personnel  parachute  drops  and   live   fire
exercises.  These actions have contributed significantly to his  PTSD.   His
letter is at Exhibit F.

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ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The BCMR Medical  Consultant  recommends  denial.   The  Medical  Consultant
states the applicant was seriously injured in a motor  vehicle  accident  in
1980 sustaining compression fracture of his thoracic  vertebra  in  addition
to other injuries  and  experienced  recurrent  back  pain  following  that.
While deployed to Saudi Arabia he sought care in  1999  for  low  back  pain
attributed to heavy lifting.  He was diagnosed with PTSD  approximately  two
years following discharge.  Traumatic experiences reported by the  applicant
include discovering his younger brother crushed to death  by  a  tree  trunk
when he was 14 that triggered a period of depression  and  drug  abuse.   He
reported to the DVA that during the fuel tank explosion in Korea, he  was  a
primary on-scene medical responder due to inadequate medical staff  and  was
called upon to assist in post mortem identification, cremation,  disposition
of body bags, cleaning the crematorium,  and  distribution  of  ashes.   The
fuel tank explosion was an accident and not  an  act  of  aggression  by  an
enemy.  A review of his performance reports and citation to accompany  award
of the Air Force Commendation Medal make no reference to  care  of  severely
injured military members while performing as an EMT.

There is no evidence his service-connected disabilities were incurred  as  a
direct result of armed conflict, while engaged in hazardous  service,  while
engaged in performance of duties under conditions simulating war,  or  as  a
result of an instrumentality of war.

The Medical Consultant Evaluation is at Exhibit G.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy  of  the  additional  Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 22 Sep 04 for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of  this
date, this office has received no response.

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THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice.  After a thorough review of  the  available
evidence of record, it is our opinion  that  the  service-connected  medical
conditions the applicant believes are combat-related were  not  incurred  as
the direct result of armed conflict, while engaged in hazardous service,  in
the performance of duty under  conditions  simulating  war,  or  through  an
instrumentality of war, and  therefore,  do  not  qualify  for  compensation
under the CRSC Act.  We agree with the opinions and recommendations  of  the
Air Force offices of primary responsibility and  adopt  their  rationale  as
the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the  victim  of
an error or injustice.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we  find
no compelling  basis  to  recommend  granting  the  relief  sought  in  this
application.

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THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the  application  was
denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only  be
reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant  evidence  not
considered with this application.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2003-
02734 in Executive Session on 14 Dec 04, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

      Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
      Mr. Michael V. Barbino, Member
      Ms. Martha A. Maust, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 13 Aug 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPD, dated 3 Nov 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 7 Nov 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBC, dated 9 Jul 04.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 19 Jul 04.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 13 Sep 04.
    Exhibit H.  Letter, SAF/MRBC, dated 22 Sep 04.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair