RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 October 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050011369
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. Melvin H. Meyer | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Allen L. Raub | |Member |
| |Ms. Linda D. Simmons | |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 all of his Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) rated disabilities be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation
(CRSC).
2. The applicant states that he meets the statutory and regulatory
criteria for CRSC. All of his disabilities were incurred simulating combat
while performing duties as a paratrooper and as a Drill Sergeant. He also
attended several schools which simulated combat. He continues that a
letter he provides in support of his request verifies that his heart
disease was caused by stress and worsened by the military.
3. The applicant provides his separation document, a document explaining
the criteria for CRSC, his CRSC disapproval, and a letter from a VA
physician dated 11 August 1999. In that letter it was stated that the
applicant’s records show that he tested as borderline hypertensive while he
was on active duty and he had an elevated cholesterol reading when he was
nearing his retirement date. The physician opines that with that history,
the applicant’s hypertension should be considered service connected as well
as his coronary artery disease, since that is caused by uncontrolled
hypertension.
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 5 November 2004, the US Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
CRSC Branch denied the applicant’s 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 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’s contention that his duties as a paratrooper and Drill
Sergeant caused his hypertension and resulting cardiovascular disease is
speculative at best. In order to be awarded CRSC, the applicant must be
able to establish a direct, causal relationship between his disabilities
and war or the simulation of war.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___alr___ ___mhm_ ____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.
________Melvin H. Meyer____________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR200500011369 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20051027 |
|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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