RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 20 September 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050002617
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. James C. Hise | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy | |Member |
| |Mr. Patrick H. McGann Jr. | |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 disability for back strain be approved for Combat-Related Special
Compensation (CRSC).
2. In a second application the applicant requests “Award of Purple Heart,
dated Oct 5, 68.”
3. The applicant states that he injured his back when an armored personnel
carrier (APC) which he was riding on top of hit a landmine. The blast
threw him from the top of the APC. He injured his back when he landed. In
his second application he states that he wants the Purple Heart he was
issued for hurting his back when his APC ran over a landmine “added.”
4. The applicant provides the denial of his CRSC application and the
orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. 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.
2. On 4 February 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch determined that the
applicant’s back strain and flat foot condition were not combat related and
denied his request for CRSC.
3. 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. 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.
2. While any injury incurred as a result of being thrown off an APC when
it ran over a landmine would certainly be combat related, the applicant has
not submitted any documentation to show that this was how his back strain
was caused. The orders awarding him a Purple Heart verify that he was
wounded as a result of hostile action, but it does not indicate what the
applicant’s wound was.
3. The applicant’s request to have his Purple Heart “added” is interpreted
as a request to have the USAPDA CRSC Branch add this comment to its denial
since the applicant already has a Purple Heart. Since there is no evidence
that the applicant has requested that the USAPDA CRSC Branch add this
statement to his CRSC denial, he has not exhausted his administrative
remedies in this portion of his request. As such, this portion of the
applicant’s request will not be considered by the Board at this time.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___jch___ ___teo __ ___phm__ 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.
__________James C. Hise____________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20050920 |
|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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