RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-01541
            INDEX CODE:  108.07
            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  16 Jul 07

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His records be corrected to reflect the true nature  of  his  duties  at
the time he was injured.

2.  His  service-connected  medical  conditions,  traumatic  brain  disease,
dementia due to head trauma, loss of  field  of  vision,  loss  of  part  of
skull, and seizure disorder, be assessed  as  combat  related  in  order  to
qualify for compensation  under  the  Combat  Related  Special  Compensation
(CRSC) Act.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His service medical records apparently do not reflect the proper context  of
his service at Taegu AB,  Korea.   On  6  Oct  86,  he  suffered  total  and
permanently disabling injuries in the line of duty  while  participating  in
RED HORSE contingency exercises during an Operational  Readiness  Inspection
(ORI).  While his medical records accurately describe his injuries, they  do
not describe the circumstances and conditions that led up to  the  accident.


He was tasked to construct an 800-person "Tent City" on 6 Oct 86 and was  to
have the task completed by 1800 hours on 9 Oct 86.  On  6  Oct  86,  he  was
thrown from one of the loaders while attempting to free a  Connex  box  that
had become lodged between the two loaders.  He landed on the right  side  of
his body on the rocky terrain fracturing  his  skull  and  right  arm.   All
contingency operations and all ORIs qualify under  CRSC  guidance  as  under
conditions  simulating  war.   As  well,  all  RED  HORSE   activities   are
considered combat related and the all terrain  front-end  loader/fork  lifts
qualify as instrumentalities of war.

In support of his request, applicant provided documentation associated  with
his CRSC  application,  a  photograph,  and  documents  extracted  from  his
Department of Veterans Affairs  (DVA)  records.   His  complete  submission,
with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force  on  26
Feb 65.  He was  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  senior  master
sergeant, having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank  of  1
Oct 83.  He served as a Recruiter, a Metal Fabricating Technician, and as  a
Structural Superintendent.  A Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) convened on  21
Nov 86 and referred his  case  to  an  Informal  Physical  Evaluation  Board
(IPEB) with a diagnosis of skull  fracture  with  severe  brain  damage  and
intracerebral hematoma evacuation.  On 19 Dec 86, the IPEB found  him  unfit
for further military service based  on  a  diagnosis  of  left  hemiparesis,
organic brain syndrome, left  homonymous  hemianopsia,  left  central  nerve
paresis, and burr holes.  The IPEB recommended that  he  be  placed  on  the
Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) with a combined compensable  rating
of 100%.  The IPEB found his disabilities  were  not  the  result  of  armed
conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war or incurred in line of  duty
during a period of war and that the designation that the disability was  the
direct result of a combat related injury was not applicable.  The  applicant
disagreed with the findings and recommended disposition of the IPEB.   After
discussing his case with counsel, he accepted the findings of the IPEB.   He
was placed on the TDRL on 25 Mar 87.  His  TDRL  placement  was  amended  by
AFBCMR action and corrected to reflect 10 May 87.  On 14 Sep  88,  the  IPEB
recommended that the applicant be permanently retired  from  the  Air  Force
with a combined disability rating of 100%.  The  applicant  did  not  concur
with the recommended findings.  On 20 Oct 88, the Air  Force  PEB,  directed
that he be removed from the TDRL and permanently retired.   He  was  removed
from the TDRL and retired in the grade of senior master sergeant  on  4  Nov
88.  He served 22 years, 2 months, and 14 days on active duty.

Current Department of Veterans Affairs  (DVA)  records  reflect  a  combined
compensable rating of 100% for his unfitting conditions.

His CRSC application was disapproved on 16 Apr 04 based upon the  fact  that
his service-connected medical condition was determined  not  to  be  combat-
related.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPD recommends denial.  DPPD states a review of his  service  and  DVA
medical records show  his  service  connected  medical  conditions  are  not
combat related.  His DVA records state "the veteran  fell  eight  feet  from
some equipment he was operating and  suffered  a  closed  head  injury  with
residual  left  hemiparesis,  organic  brain   syndrome,   left   homonymous
hemianspsia, left central 7th nerve  paresis,  and  fracture  of  the  right
radial head".  Injuries sustained by falling off a military  vehicle,  where
the fall (injury) was not caused by the device itself, is not considered  to
be eligible for CRSC.   Since no malfunction occurred to directly cause  the
incident, this event is considered an industrial accident and is not  combat
related.

The DPPD evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant recounts his  previous  contentions  and  requested  his  case  be
administratively closed (see Exhibit E).   Applicant  subsequently  provided
supportive statements from his former  commanders  and  requested  his  case
processing be resumed.  His  complete  response,  with  attachments,  is  at
Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

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.  Based  upon  a  review  of  the  available
evidence of record and the documentation provided in support of his  appeal,
the Board majority is not persuaded amendment  of  his  service  records  is
justified.  Therefore, the Board majority does not believe approval of  that
portion of his request is warranted.  In regard  to  his  request  that  the
service-connected medical conditions be  assessed  as  combat  related,  the
Board majority is not persuaded by his assertions  that  the  conditions  he
believes are combat-related were 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
qualify for compensation under the CRSC  Act.   The  Board  majority  agrees
with the opinion and recommendation of  the  Air  Force  office  of  primary
responsibility and adopt its rationale as the  basis  for  their  conclusion
that he has not been the victim of an error or injustice.   In  the  absence
of persuasive  evidence  to  the  contrary,  the  Board  majority  finds  no
compelling  basis  to  recommend  granting  the  relief   sought   in   this
application.

4.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been  shown
that a personal appearance with or without counsel will  materially  add  to
our understanding of the issue  involved.   Therefore,  the  request  for  a
hearing is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD:

A majority of the panel finds insufficient evidence of  error  or  injustice
and recommends the application be denied.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2004-
01541 in Executive Session on 4 Jan 06, under  the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

      Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
      Mr. James W. Russell III, Member
      Mr. Christopher Carey, Member

By a majority vote, the Board voted to deny the request.  Mr. Carey voted
to correct the record and did not desire to  submit  a  minority  report.
The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Apr 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPD, dated 19 Sep 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Sep 04.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 21 Sep 04, w/atchs.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair




MEMORANDUM FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AIR FORCE BOARD
               FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS (AFBCMR)

SUBJECT:  AFBCMR Application of APPLICANT

      I have carefully reviewed the evidence of record and the
recommendation of the Board members.  A majority found that the applicant
had not provided sufficient evidence of error or injustice and recommended
the case be denied.  I concur with that finding and their conclusion that
relief is not warranted.  Accordingly, I accept their recommendation that
the application be denied.

      Please advise the applicant accordingly.




                                        JOE G. LINEBERGER
                                        Director
                                        Air Force Review Boards
Agency