RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 26 July 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050003507
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:
| |Ms. Linda D. Simmons | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Patrick H. McGann Jr. | |Member |
| |Mr. Leonard G. Hassell | |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 both of his Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) rated disabilities be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation
(CRSC).
2. The applicant states that while his injury did not occur while under
enemy fire, it did occur when he was loading equipment for a combat
mission.
3. The applicant provides the denial of his CRSC application, his VA
rating decision, and medical records which show that while in Vietnam, the
applicant got his left hand caught between a forklift and band saw, causing
the avulsion of the distal pads of his long and ring fingers.
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 January 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch determined that the
applicant’s loss of motion of two fingers and traumatic arthritis 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 the applicant sustained his disabilities while in the theater of
operations during Vietnam, he himself states that he was not engaged in
combat at the time.
3. While the applicant’s disabilities are certainly service connected,
they are not considered combat related in accordance with law and OUSD
interpretation.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___lds __ ___lgh___ ___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.
__________Linda D. Simmons______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050003507 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20050726 |
|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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