RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 28 July 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050002756
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. William D. Powers | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Larry C. Bergquist | |Member |
| |Mr. James B. Gunlicks | |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 all of his Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disabilities be approved for Combat-Related
Special Compensation (CRSC).
2. In effect, the applicant states that CRSC is based on more than just
combat disabilities. It is also for disabilities received while training
for combat.
3. The applicant provides the denial of his CRSC application and his VA
disability rating.
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 17 November 2004, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
CRSC Branch determined that the applicant’s varicose veins and eczema 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. 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. The OUSD advisory opinions indicate that CRSC is generally intended for
military retirees who can show that their disabilities were caused by a
specific incident which has been made a matter of record. In the
applicant’s case, there is no evidence or indication that any specific
event caused his VA rated disabilities. Without evidence of a specific
event which caused the applicant’s disabilities, there is no basis for
approving this condition for CRSC.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___lcb___ ___wdp ___lbg ___ 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.
_________William D. Powers________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050002756 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20050728 |
|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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