RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           4 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050003512


      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. Mark D. Manning               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry C. Bergquist            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |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 neck injury be approved for Combat-Related Special
Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states that his neck injury occurred during the same
combat action as the two VA rated disabilities which have already been
approved for CRSC.  He adds that the physical examination for his VA rating
clearly states that his neck injury was the result of a shell fragment
wound.

3.  The applicant provides a “Request for physical examination,” wherein
the applicant had three disabilities listed as having been incurred as a
result of shell fragment wounds in the block titled “Check disabilities for
which examination is needed.”  He also provides a “Report of medical
examination for disability evaluation,” wherein it was stated in pertinent
part in Item 17, “Present complaint,” that “Vet suffered SFW of multiple
areas of body Jan 10, 1967-involved both legs, (L)knee, (L)neck.”

4.  The applicant also submits the denial of his request to reconsider 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 21 January 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch determined that the
applicant’s lower leg muscle injury and knee condition were combat related
and awarded him CRSC for those two VA ratings.  However, the USAPDA CRSC
Branch determined that his seizure disorder and neck injury were not combat
related and denied his request for CRSC for those two 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.  The CRSC criteria is specifically for those military retirees who have
combat related disabilities.  Incurring disabilities while in a theater of
operations or in training exercises 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 documents submitted by the applicant show that during a VA rating
examination he reported that three of his VA rated disabilities were caused
by shell fragment wounds.  However, he has not submitted any documentation
which show his initial treatment for these wounds.  Without source
documents to show that his neck injury was combat related, there is
insufficient documentation in which to approve his request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__mdm __  ___cd __  ____lcb____  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.





            _________Mark D. Manning__________
                    CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003512                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051004                                |
|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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