RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-03911
            INDEX CODE:  108.07
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  Not Indicated

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His service-connected medical condition, back pain, 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:

His back pain began when he was  loading  weapons  on  an  aircraft  when  a
weapon slipped out of its cradle.   He  reached  for  it  to  keep  it  from
hitting the ground and strained his back.

His complete submission is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force  on  17
Sep 56.  He was  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  senior  master
sergeant, having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank  of  1
Jan 77.  He served as a Munitions Systems  Specialist  for  1  year,  as  an
Aircraft  Maintenance  Technician,  and  as  a  Maintenance   Analyst.    He
voluntarily retired from the Air Force on 1 Oct 80.  He served 24 years  and
14 days on active duty.

Current Department of Veterans Affairs  (DVA)  records  reflect  a  combined
compensable disability rating of 60% percent for his  unfitting  conditions.


His CRSC application was disapproved on 22 Oct  03  based  on  the  evidence
submitted  with  the  application  as  not  supporting   approval   of   the
disabilities claimed as combat related under the established guidelines  for
CRSC.  The portion of his application in which he claimed dermatitis  as  an
eligible condition was subsequently approved with an  effective  date  of  1
Jan 04 and a percentage of 30%.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPD recommends  denial.   DPPD  states  his  records  reflect  he  was
treated  for  back  pain  and  muscle  spasms  dating  back  to  1959.   His
disability is not the result of combat related acts, instrumentality of  war
or due to hazardous service.  He provided different scenarios  in  reference
to how he injured his back.  One is that  he  injured  his  back  loading  a
missile aboard an aircraft.  Another shows he was lifting a motor part of  a
missile for assembly, another he claimed he was lifting ammunitions when  he
hurt his back.  After a thorough  review  of  his  medical  records  it  was
revealed that he suffered a fall on a  wet  hangar  floor,  landing  on  his
right hand and started having back pain on the right  side  in  April  1964.
He complained of muscle spasms and back pain in August  1966  and  again  in
August 1974 when he fell on an  outstretched  arm.   In  November  1978,  he
reinjured his back fixing his car and in March 1979 he twisted at  the  hips
while on the job and noted a  sharp  pain.   Injuries  sustained  by  either
falling/slipping off or working on a military device where  the  injury  was
not caused by the device itself,  but  instead,  error/misjudgment  are  not
considered to be eligible for CRSC.  A review of his record failed  to  show
a combat-related connection/hazardous service or due to  an  instrumentality
of war for his back injury.

The DPPD evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states  the  only  scenario  that  should  have  been  considered,
occurred in the period from 15 Oct  65  through  21  Feb  67  while  he  was
assigned at Kadena AB, Japan.  A review of his  medical  records  failed  to
show that his back injury was sustained on 12  Nov  65  as  a  result  of  a
missile motor slipping its cradle  during  assembly  in  support  of  combat
training missions.  None of the prior or subsequent injuries  cited  in  the
advisory have  any  bearing  on  his  request  for  CRSC.   They  were  only
manifestations of the injury sustained in 12 Nov 65.

His complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit E.

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ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The BCMR Medical  Consultant  recommends  denial.   The  Medical  Consultant
states a single medical record entry indicates he presented for  lumbosacral
back pain on 12 Nov 65 but no mechanism of injury is  documented  and  there
are no work-site accident or injury reports present in the records that  may
provide  additional  information.   His  records  document  recurrent   back
strains in  August  1966  and  October  1972  without  further  details.   A
physical therapy entry dated 2 Aug 74,  indicates  onset  of  back  pain  in
September 1964  pre-dating  the  November  1965  back  strain,  however,  no
service medical record entries for  back  pain  are  present  for  September
1964, and this may be referring to the November 1965  episode.   He  injured
his back again in November 1978 working on his car and in March  1979  while
at work twisting his hips.  The recurrent  strains  subsequent  to  November
1965 are considered contributors to the subsequent  development  of  chronic
pain.  The November 1965 strain does not appear to have been of  a  severity
sufficient to view as the single cause for subsequent back pain.

Although his duties involved maintenance work on instrumentalities  of  war,
the occurrence of his reported  back  strain  does  not  differ  from  those
incurred  under  similar  circumstances   in   similar   civilian   pursuits
(commercial aircraft and equipment repair and maintenance) and there  is  no
evidence  of  a  direct  causal  relationship.   Injuries   incurred   while
performing routine maintenance and repair on an instrumentality of  war  are
not considered as an injury directly caused by the instrumentality  of  war.
The preponderance of the evidence does not support the applicant’s  request.


The Medical Consultant Evaluation is at Exhibit F.

ODUSD(MPP)/Comp reviewed  the  applicant's  request  and  concurs  with  the
findings and recommendation of  the  BCMR  Medical  Consultant.   The  ODUSD
evaluation is at Exhibit G.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the  additional  Air  Force  evaluations  were  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 2 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
condition the applicant believes is combat-related was 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, does  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-
03911 in Executive Session on 6 Oct 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 18 Nov 03.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPD, dated 3 Mar 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 Mar 04.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 5 Apr 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 17 May 04.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, ODUSD(MPP)/Comp, not dated.
    Exhibit H.  Letter, SAF/MRBC, dated 2 Sep 04.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair