RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           19 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050003943


      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. Barbara J. Ellis              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert O. Fry Jr.             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert Rogers                 |     |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 his forearm condition be approved for Combat-Related
Special Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states that he injured his forearm while inspecting HAWK
missiles, which he was required to do during practice alerts, tactical
training exercises, and field exercises.  He contends that his injury falls
into the definition for CRSC listed on the Department of Army web site.

3.  The applicant provides a list of the documents he submitted in support
of his request.  In the medical records provided by the applicant it was
reported that the applicant said that he fell off some equipment he was
inspecting, and tried to break his fall with his arm.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 23 October 1973, was
awarded the military occupational specialty of HAWK Missile Crewman, served
continuously and was promoted to pay grade E-8, and was honorably released
from active duty on 31 October 1993 for years of service and was 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.  On 22 February 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch determined that the
applicant’s tinnitus and impaired hearing were combat related and awarded
him a 20 percent combined CRSC rating.  However, the USAPDA CRSC Branch
disapproved the applicant’s forearm condition and traumatic brain disease
for CRSC.

4.  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 applicant has submitted evidence which shows that his forearm
condition was incurred while he was performing his normal military duties
as a HAWK Missile Crewman.  He has not submitted any documentation to show
that he was performing duties simulating combat conditions when he injured
his forearm.  As such, there is insufficient evidence to approve his
request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____hof__  ___rr ___  ___bje___  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.





            _________Barbara J. Ellis_________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003943                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051019                                |
|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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