RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           21 July 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050002641


      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. John Infante                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert J. Osborn              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Brenda K. Koch                |     |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.  In effect, the applicant requests that his Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) rated disability for degenerative arthritis of spine be
approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states that he injured his back on a parachute jump in
Germany on or about January 1960.  He adds that the VA has accepted that
his degenerative arthritis of spine was due to a parachute injury.

3.  The applicant provides the denial of his CRSC application and VA
ratings.  On his VA rating decision it was stated that “Your contentions
were that due to parachute landing falls in service you had arthritis of
the lumbar spine . . . The Brooke Army Medical Center records did not show
treatment for this condition.”

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 21 January 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch determined that the
applicant’s diabetes mellitus is combat related and awarded him 10 percent
CRSC.  The USAPDA CRSC Branch determined that the applicant’s degenerative
arthritis of spine and tinnitus were not combat related and denied his
request for CRSC for those conditions.

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.  CRSC was passed into law as a legislative initiative to eliminate the
prohibition of military retirees from receiving VA disability benefits.
Due to cost constraints, 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.  While the applicant states that he injured himself while on a parachute
jump, he has not submitted any evidence to substantiate his contention.

4.  The applicant cites the fact that the VA has accepted his degenerative
arthritis of spine as being incurred in a parachute jump as evidence of the
validity of his request.  However, the VA rating decision cited by the
applicant states that the applicant reported that his degenerative
arthritis of spine was due to parachute jumping, and that there were no
medical records to show he received treatment for a back injury while he
was on active duty.  Of specific note is the fact that the applicant
reported to the VA that his degenerative arthritis of spine was due to
multiple parachute jumps, not a specific accident.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____bkk _  ___ji____  ___rjo___  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.





            __________John Infante____________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002641                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050721                                |
|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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