RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            18 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:    AR20050003564


      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. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Kenneth W. Lapin              |     |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 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) be approved for
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states that while he was in basic combat training, he was
camped with his training platoon in extreme cold.  A good portion of his
platoon had to leave the encampment because they came down with pneumonia.
His platoon sergeant was one of the people who left, and the applicant
believes that he died of pneumonia.  On the way back from the encampment he
saw, or thought he saw, something which he has blocked from his mind.  From
that day on he has experienced mental anxiety.  Approximately 4 years later
he was assigned to Shemya, Alaska, which in and of itself exacerbated his
OCD.  Later still he was stationed in Vietnam when he saw smoke.  When he
investigated the cause of the smoke he discovered that it was outhouse
waste being burned.  He spent hours stomping around in the feces trying to
put out the fire.  This incident further exacerbated his OCD.

3.  The applicant provides an index of the documents he provides in support
of his request.  In the medical records submitted, it is shown that the
applicant was not treated for OCD until 5 years after his retirement.  He
reported that he had hid his symptoms in order to stay in the military.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was awarded the military occupational specialties of
electronic warfare/signal intelligence chief and administrative specialist.
 He was given awards which include two awards of the Joint Service
Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Unit
Commendation, two awards of the Army Commendation Medal, the Bronze Star
Medal, and the Legion of Merit.  He was promoted to pay grade E-9 and was
honorably released from active duty due to length of service on 30 June
1983 and placed on the Retired List the following day.

2.  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.

3.  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.

4.  On 26 July 2004, the US Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA) CRSC
Branch denied the applicant’s request for reconsideration of the denial of
his application for CRSC.

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 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 made the argument that his OCD should be approved for
CRSC because while he was in basic combat training, he saw, or thought he
saw, something which he has blocked from his mind which caused his OCD; his
OCD was exacerbated by the fact that he was assigned to a unit in Alaska;
and his OCD was again exacerbated in Vietnam when he saw smoke which turned
out to be outhouse waste being burned.

4.  Initially, the applicant was never diagnosed with or treated for OCD
while he was on active duty.  He didn’t report having symptoms of that
condition until 5 years after his retirement.  While the VA, operating
under its own laws and regulations, granted the applicant service
connection for his OCD, the VA has no authority over the military.  As
such, the VA’s ruling does not establish service connection for the
applicant’s OCD for Army purposes.

5.  There is insufficient evidence to show that the applicant had OCD while
he was on active duty.  The applicant states that his OCD started in basic
combat training.  After that incident, he completed a full military career
and was promoted to pay grade E-9, the highest rank achievable by an
enlisted Soldier, and was awarded numerous prestigious awards and
decorations, including the Legion of Merit, one of the highest non-valorous
awards provided for in Army regulations.

6.  Even if the Board were to accept that the applicant had OCD while on
active duty, as previously stated, being in a theater of operations or on a
training exercise is not, in and of itself, sufficient to warrant granting
CRSC.  None of the events listed by the applicant, which are seeing
something unremembered while marching home from a training encampment,
being stationed in Alaska, and seeing outhouse feces being burned while in
Vietnam, would constitute combat relationship for CRSC purposes.

7.  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

___jns___  ___rwl __  ___lds___  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.





            _________John N. Slone_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003564                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051018                                |
|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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