RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           1 September 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050002041


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Barbara J. Ellis              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
rated disabilities for his right knee and lower back be approved for Combat-
Related Special Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states in his CRSC application that he injured his knee
and back when he made his fifth parachute jump during airborne training in
1965.

3.  The applicant provides the denial of his CRSC application, the denial
of his request for reconsideration of the denial of his CRSC application,
his separation document, and excerpts from his medical records.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty as a platoon
sergeant on 29 February 1980 and placed on the Retired List the following
day.  His awards and decorations include the Parachutist Badge, the Vietnam
Service Medal, and the Combat Medical Badge.

2.  The medical records provided by the applicant show that he was
initially treated for internal derangement of his right knee on 18 November
1963.  On 16 September 1966, it was stated on a consultation sheet that the
applicant reported that he had injured his knee a year ago while in
parachutist school when he twisted his knee while landing.  On 7 June 1969,
the applicant reported straining his back when he picked up a heavy
footlocker on 30 May 1969.  On 12 March 1970, the applicant had right
medial meniscectomy.  On 2 June 1997, the applicant had a right knee
replacement.

3.  On 1 July 2004, the US Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA) CRSC
Branch approved the applicant for CRSC for diabetes mellitus (20 percent),
and paralysis of a nerve (two 20 percent awards), for a total combined CRSC
rating of 50 percent.  However, the USAPDA CRSC Branch disapproved the
applicant’s knee prosthesis, lumbosacral or cervical strain, and tinnitus
for CRSC.  On 10 December 2004, the USAPDA CRSC Branch disapproved the
applicant’s request for reconsideration.

4.  Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC), as established by Section
1413a, Title 10, United States Code, as amended, states that eligible
members



are those retirees who have 20 years of service for retired pay computation
(or 20 years of service creditable for reserve retirement at age 60) and
who have disabilities that are the direct result of armed conflict,
specially hazardous military duty, training exercises that simulate war, or
caused by an instrumentality of war.  Such disabilities must be compensated
by the VA and rated at least 10% disabling.  For periods before 1 January
2004 (the date this statute was amended), members had to have disabilities
for which they have been awarded the Purple Heart and are rated at least
10% disabled or who are rated at least 60% disabled as a direct result of
armed conflict, specially hazardous duty, training exercises that simulate
war, or caused by an instrumentality of war.  CRSC benefits are equal to
the amount of VA disability compensation offset from retired pay based on
those disabilities determined to be combat-related.

5.  Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payment (CRDP), as established by
the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),
provides a 10-year phase-out of the offset to military retired pay due to
receipt of VA disability compensation for members whose combined disability
rating is 50% or greater.

6.  In the processing of similar cases, advisory opinions were obtained
from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD), Military
Personnel Policy.  The OUSD has maintained in these opinions that in order
for a condition to be considered combat related, there must be evidence of
the condition having a direct, causal relationship to war or the simulation
of war.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  CRSC was passed into law as the first stage of an ongoing legislative
initiative to eliminate the prohibition of military retirees from receiving
VA disability benefits.  Due to cost constraints, while all military
retirees will eventually receive concurrent receipt of VA disability
compensation, only those military retirees who have disabilities incurred
in combat, or in conditions simulating combat (which includes hazardous
duties), are eligible for CRSC.

2.  As stated above, the CRSC criteria is specifically for those military
retirees who have combat related disabilities.  Incurring disabilities
while in a theater of





operations is not, in and of itself, sufficient to grant a military retiree
CRSC.  The military retiree must show that the disability was incurred
while engaged in combat, while performing duties simulating combat
conditions, or while performing specially hazardous duties such as
parachuting or scuba diving.

3.  There are no medical records showing medical treatment for a twisted
knee while the applicant was in parachutist school.  The first record of
the applicant reporting that he injured his knee in parachutist school was
a year after the fact.  In addition, the applicant was first diagnosed with
knee derangement around 2 years before he attended parachutist school.

4.  Also noted is the fact that the applicant had a knee replacement around
32 years after he attended parachutist school.

5.  As for the applicant’s low back pain, the applicant first reported
having back pain around 4 years after parachutist school.  At that time he
stated that he strained his back when he picked up a heavy footlocker.

6.  Since there is no evidence to show that the applicant’s low back
disability or his right knee prosthesis were the result of a parachute
jump, there is no basis for granting his request.

7.  The denial of the applicant’s request does not mean he will not be
compensated for his service related disabilities.  The denial means that he
will not be compensated for his disabilities in the first group of military
retirees being given this compensation.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___sk ___  ___rtd___  ___bje __  DENY APPLICATION






BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.





            _________Barbara J. Ellis__________
                    CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002041                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050901                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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