RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 September 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050002761
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 E. Anderholm | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Bernard P. Ingold | |Member |
| |Mr. Michael J. Flynn | |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 post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) be approved for
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).
2. The applicant states that he served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969, and
his unit had the highest ratio during that time, with over 100,000 killed
by his unit. When he returned he couldn’t hold a job, got divorced and
lost his house and family. The Government didn’t help him until 1989. He
is now employed building schools, quarters and fire stations in Iraq, and
would like some help when he returns home.
3. The applicant provides the denial of his CRSC application.
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 20 December 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch determined that the
applicant’s PTSD was 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. The applicant has not submitted any documentation to show that his PTSD
is combat related. As such, there is insufficient basis in which to grant
his request.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
____jea _ ___bpi __ ____mjf__ 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 E. Anderholm____
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050002761 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20050922 |
|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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