RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           29 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050009761


      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. Stanley Kelley                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas            |     |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 lumbosacral or cervical strain be approved for Combat-
Related Special Compensation (CRSC).  He also requests that he be awarded
CRSC for Agent Orange related disabilities, consisting of lung problems,
leukemia, bronchitis, and spleen removal.

2.  The applicant states that his lumbosacral or cervical strain was caused
by a helicopter crash.  However, the nurse didn’t properly evaluate all of
the medical problems he listed on his separation physical examination and
didn’t order any
x-rays or any magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests.  Also, the VA medical
center which worked his case has not recorded his military service
correctly and hasn’t ordered any x-rays or MRI tests.

3.  The applicant provides the denial of his request to reconsider his CRSC
application and select military and VA records.  Of particular note is his
separation physical examination in which he stated that he had suffered
from recurrent back pain on and off since 1964 or 1965.  There was no back
injury preceding the back pain.  X-rays had been taken of his back (when
the x-rays were taken is unclear).  The examining official opined that the
applicant had a slipped disc.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC), as established by Section
1413a, Title 10, United States Code, as amended, provides for the payment
of the amount of money a military retiree would receive from the VA for
combat related disabilities if it wasn’t for the statutory prohibition for
a military retiree to receive a VA disability pension.  Payment is made by
the Military Department, not the VA, and is tax free.  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.  Military retirees who are approved
for
CRSC must have waived a portion of their military retired pay since CRSC
consists of the Military Department returning a portion of the waived
retired pay to the military retiree.

2.  On 5 April 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Branch denied the applicant’s
request for CRSC for limited motion of arm, duodenal ulcer, and lumbosacral
or cervical strain.  However, the USAPDA CRSC Branch approved the applicant
for CRSC for tinnitus and migraine headaches.

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.  While the applicant has stated that a helicopter crash caused his
lumbosacral or cervical strain, he has not submitted any evidence of being
treated for any injuries from a helicopter crash.  In addition, he did not
make any comment about being injured in a helicopter crash in his
separation physical examination.

3.  Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to the
applicant’s lumbosacral or cervical strain to war or the simulation of war,
there is insufficient basis in which to award him CRSC for this condition.

4.  As for the applicant’s Agent Orange related disabilities, there is no
evidence that he has been awarded a VA disability for any of these
disabilities.  Without a VA rating, CRSC cannot be authorized in accordance
with law and regulation.  If the applicant wishes additional VA rated
disabilities to be considered for CRSC, he must first submit a rating
request to the VA and, if approved, submit a request for CRSC for that
condition or those conditions.

5.  The issues raised by the applicant concerning the medical treatment
plan the VA has implemented in his case, and the accuracy of the records
maintained by the VA, must be addressed to that Agency.  The Board has no
authority over the VA.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___lmd__  ____sk__  ___mhm__  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.





            _________Stanley Kelley_________
                    CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050009761                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051129                                |
|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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