RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2010-01081

            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His service-connected medical condition, arthritis of the back and  neck
and sinusitis (bronchitis) be reevaluated  as  combat-related  in  order  to
qualify for  compensation  under  the  Combat-Related  Special  Compensation
(CRSC) Act.

2.  His heart problems and numbness  of  fingers  be  evaluated  as  combat-
related in order to qualify for compensation under the CRSC Act.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He flew as a combat Loadmaster for over 26  years,  and  was  constantly  in
combat conditions simulating war, or  aerial  flight,  which  is  considered
hazardous service.  Throughout his career, he has  flown  over  8500  flying
hours of hazardous duty and training missions.

He received  cervical  back  and  neck  injuries  during  his  annual  Water
Survival training.  During this time, he began  to  experience  nose  bleeds
and numbness of his fingers.   He also was injured when he  fell  down  some
wet stairs when he was going to sign a file in  preparation  for  an  aerial
flight for a simulated war mission.

In support of his request, the applicant provides  documentation  associated
with his CRSC application.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 18 May 66,  the  applicant  contracted  his  initial  enlistment  in  the
Regular Air Force.  He was progressively promoted to  the  grade  of  senior
master sergeant having assumed that grade effective and with a date of  rank
of 1 Aug 89.  He was retired on 1 Nov 98.  He served 26 years, 5 months  and
17 days of active service.

The applicant submitted an application for CRSC for sinusitis, arthritis  of
the back and neck, gouty arthritis of his right big  toe,  bursitis  of  the
right shoulder, colon cancer,  and  reflux  disease.   His  application  was
disapproved on  28  Jul  03.   He  requested  reconsideration  and  provided
additional documentation.  On 14 Jun 04,  the  reconsideration  was   denied
because no evidence was  provided  to  confirm  his  disabilities  were  the
direct result of armed conflict, hazardous service, instrumentality of  war,
or simulating war.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application  are  contained
in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force, which is
attached at Exhibits C.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSDC recommends denial of the applicant’s request that  his  back  and
neck, arthritis, sinusitis, heart problems and numb fingers be approved  for
CRSC.  These conditions do not meet the mandatory criteria for  compensation
under the CRSC  program.   The  purpose  of  CRSC  is  to  restore  military
retirement pay that has been offset by the Department  of  Veterans  Affairs
(DVA) compensation  when  the  veteran’s  disabilities  are  combat-related.
Since the  applicant  is  not  receiving  DVA  compensation  for  his  heart
problems and numb fingers, DPSDC is unable to consider them under CRSC.   If
the applicant disagrees with the ratings of the  DVA,  he  must  request  an
evaluation through the DVA.   DVA  ratings  are  not  subject  to  challenge
through CRSC.

DPSDC notes the law requires  determinations  of  whether  a  disability  is
combat-related be  based  on  the  preponderance  of  available  documentary
information.  All the relevant  documentation  is  weighed  in  relation  to
known facts and circumstances, and the determination will  be  made  on  the
basis of credible, objective  documentary  information  in  the  records  as
distinguished  from  personal  opinion,  speculation  or   conjecture.    In
accordance with DD Form 2860, Claim for Combat-related Special  Compensation
(CRSC), the fact the service member incurred a  disability  in  an  area  or
armed conflict or simulated armed conflict, while  participating  in  combat
operations or simulated combat operations or during a  period  of  hazardous
service  is  not  sufficient  by  itself   to   support   a   combat-related
determination.  There must be a definitive, documented, causal  relationship
between the armed conflict and the resulting disability.

The  DVA  does  not  recognize  sinusitis  or  bronchitis   as   presumptive
conditions for Agent Orange (AO) herbicide exposure.   Therefore,  DPSDC  is
unable to consider any disability claimed under AO  that  the  DVA  has  not
recognized as, or secondary to, an AO presumptive condition.

Although, his records reflect multiple notations of back or neck  pain,  the
CRSC board looks for specific causes of pain for the injury or  event.   For
an injury to be approvable for CRSC, documentation  from  the  time  of  the
injury must clearly indicate it was directly incurred from a  combat-related
event.  Injuries such as loading cargo are not unique  to  military  service
or combat situations; therefore,  to  qualify  for  CRSC,  a  combat-related
event  must  have  occurred  that   caused   or   aggravated   the   injury.
Furthermore, while flying itself  is  considered  hazardous  service,  there
must be a direct link to the hazardous service.

Upon reviewing the documentation DPSDC  approved  the  applicant’s  impaired
hearing for CRSC.  This  condition  is  currently  rated  at  zero  percent;
therefore, he will not receive compensation.  However, he  will  be  subject
to compensation if his disability increases at a later date.

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

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant  on  11  Jun
10, for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this  date,  no  response
has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

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 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,
as such, do not qualify for compensation under the CRSC Act.  We agree  with
the opinion and recommendation of the office of primary  responsibility  and
adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion the  applicant  has  not
been the victim of an error or injustice.  In the  absence  of  evidence  to
the contrary,
we  find  no  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-2010-
01081 in Executive Session on 4 Jan 11, under  the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

      , Panel Chair
      , Member
      , Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, undated, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSDC, dated 27 May 10.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 Jun 10.





                                             Panel Chair