RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-01876
            INDEX CODE:  108.07
            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His service-connected  medical  conditions,  intervertebral  disc  syndrome,
paralysis of external popliteal nerve  (left  lower),  paralysis  of  median
nerve (left and right upper), bronchial asthma,  sinusitis,  and  Individual
Unemployability (IU), be assessed as combat-related in order to qualify  for
compensation under the Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Act.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He desires CRSC for his service-connected medical conditions.   His  records
will reflect his job descriptions and  the  firearms  he  carried  daily  to
protect general officers, the commanders  and  men  and  women  of  the  Air
Force.  However, due to the classified nature of  many  of  his  assignments
the records may not be able to explain the assignments to one who never  was
involved in counter espionage operations.  He was constantly  in  harms  way
due to his hazardous service commitment, dealing with the criminal  elements
in the Air Force, protecting foreign dignitaries, terrorist threats  to  our
country, as well as the foreign countries he was  stationed  in.   He  never
realized he would spend the rest of his  life  running  from  his  years  of
military fears of armed conflict and hazardous service.

In support of his request, the applicant provided a personal  statement  and
documentation associated with his CRSC application.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force  on  17
October 1960.   He  was  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  master
sergeant, having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank  of  1
July 1977.   He  served  as  a  Special  Investigations  Superintendent  and
Telephone Switching Equipment Technician.  On 31 July 1981, he was  relieved
from active duty and retired from the Air Force  on  1 August  1981,  having
served 20 years, 9 months, and 14 days on active duty.

Available Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) records  reflect  a  combined
compensable rating of 70% for his unfitting conditions.

His CRSC application was disapproved on 16 October 2006 based upon the  fact
that his service-connected medical conditions  were  determined  not  to  be
combat-related.  However, his  application  was  partially  approved  on  17
October 2007.  PTSD was determined to be combat-related with  a  compensable
rating of 30%.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSDC recommends denial.  DPSDC states there is no evidence  showing  a
combat-related event or events that caused his intervertebral disc  syndrome
(lumbar spine) and the associated  paralysis  of  external  popliteal  nerve
(left lower).  In his initial application, applicant stated he  injured  his
back when he slipped on a wet patio  during  a  narcotics  arrest  in  1970.
Whether slipping on a wet patio, getting into a car,  or  slipping  on  ice,
there is no evidence of a  combat-related  event  or  events  that  occurred
during these incidents  that  caused  this  disability  and  the  associated
radiculopathy of the left lower extremity.

Furthermore, there is no evidence showing a combat-related event  or  events
that caused spondylolisthesis or segmental instability (cervical spine)  and
the associated paralysis of median nerve (left and  right  upper).   In  his
initial application, applicant stated this injury was caused over  a  number
of years and was related to his  lower  back  (lumbar)  injury.   Since  the
lower back disability is not combat-related, and there was no evidence of  a
separate, acute, combat-related  neck  injury,  this  disability  cannot  be
considered combat-related.

Applicant did not request consideration of bronchial  asthma  and  sinusitis
in his initial application.  In  his  request  for  correction  of  military
records, he added these disabilities.  The Department  of  Veterans  Affairs
(VA) rating decision dated 18 February 2005 awarded service  connection  for
sinusitis and bronchitis based on service medical records  indicating  these
conditions occurred in service.  Again, however, there  is  no  evidence  of
any combat-related cause.  Exposure to the  environment  is  not  unique  to
military  service  or  combat-situations  and  these  disabilities  are  not
presumptive conditions for Agent Orange  exposure  in  Vietnam.   Therefore,
these disabilities cannot be considered combat-related.



Lastly, IU is approved for CRSC when combat-related disabilities  are  equal
to or  greater  than  60%  based  on  the  VA  requirement  for  IU.   Since
applicant’s approved, combat-related disability (PTSD) is  30%,  he  is  not
entitled to IU under the CRSC program.

The complete DPSDC evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 26 October 2007, the  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the  applicant  for
review and comment within 30 days  (Exhibit  D).   As  of  this  date,  this
office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

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.  The available evidence of record does  not
support  a  finding  that  the  service-connected  medical  conditions   the
applicant 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, therefore, do not qualify for compensation  under  the  CRSC  Act.   We
agree with the opinion  and  recommendation  of  the  Air  Force  office  of
primary responsibility  and  adopt  its  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.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

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

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2007-
01876 in Executive Session on 28 April 2008, under the provisions of AFI 36-
2603:

      Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
      Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member
      Mr. Michael V. Barbino, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

  Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 May 2007, w/atchs.
  Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
  Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSDC, dated 17 October 2007, w/atchs.
  Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 26 October 2007.





                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair