RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           6 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050002727


      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. Curtis L. Greenway            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Laverne V. Berry              |     |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 two cold weather Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) rated disabilities be approved for Combat-Related Special
Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states that he sustained his cold injuries during a field
problem conducted at Fort Polk, Louisiana in January 1982.

3.  The applicant provides the denial of his request to reconsider his CRSC
application, and excerpts from his military medical records.  The medical
records consist of a record that the applicant was treated for a hang
toenail on 31 July 1981; and a record dated 22 January 1982 which requests
a physician examine the applicant’s feet and rule out a cold injury to his
feet.  The physician diagnosed the applicant with bilateral plantar
fasciitis.  The applicant also submits an excerpt from a report of military
history dated 9 October 2002, which refers to the applicant as a veteran,
wherein a physician’s assistant stated that the applicant had suffered a
cold weather injury during a field problem at Fort Polk, Louisiana in 1981.

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.  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.
3.  On 20 January 2004, the US Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
CRSC Branch disapproved the applicant for CRSC for residuals of cold injury
(two ratings), shoulder condition, limited motion of wrist, degenerative
arthritis (three ratings), chronic wrist strain, chronic hip strain, back
strain, and degenerative joint disease.

4.  Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation (irritation and swelling with
presence of extra immune cells) of the thick tissue on the bottom of the
foot that causes heel pain and disability.  The plantar fascia is a very
thick band of tissue that covers the bones on the bottom of the foot.  This
fascia can become inflamed and painful in some people, making walking more
difficult.  Risk factors for plantar fasciitis include foot arch problems
(both flat foot and high arches), obesity, sudden weight gain, running, and
a tight Achilles tendon (the tendon connecting the calf muscles to the
heel).  A typical patient is an active man aged 40-70.  This condition is
one of the most common orthopedic complaints relating to the foot.

5.  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 or while on a training exercise 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.  The applicant has submitted documentation showing his treatment for a
hang toenail and plantar fasciitis.  The document dated 9 October 2002
cannot be
accepted as verification of CRSC entitlement without source documents
showing treatment at the time of the incident and documentation showing
what caused the condition.

4.  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

___rtd___  ___lvb___  ____clg__  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.





            __________Curtis L. Greenway________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002727                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051006                                |
|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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