RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 13 December 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050013167
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. Shirley L. Powell | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer | |Member |
| |Mr. Allen L. Raub | |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 he be paid compensation from the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Persian Gulf War Syndrome.
2. The applicant states that law requires the VA to pay compensation to a
Persian Gulf War veteran who exhibits objective indications of certain
chronic disabilities.
3. The applicant provides the denial of his request to reconsider his CRSC
application and Persian Gulf War Syndrome related documents.
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 2 February 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 his lumbar spine, dermatitis or
eczema, and spinal disc condition. However, the USAPDA CRSC Branch
approved the applicant’s 10 percent VA disability for Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder for CRSC.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Board has no authority over the VA. The Board considered this case
solely because it was submitted as part of the appellate process of the
denial of the applicant’s Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
request.
2. The applicant must file the appropriate forms with the VA if he wishes
to request compensation for Persian Gulf War Syndrome.
3. If the applicant wishes to appeal his CRSC denial, he must submit a
request to that effect to the Board.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___alr___ ___mhm_ ____slp__ 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.
_________Shirley L. Powell________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050013167 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20051213 |
|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. | |
-----------------------
[pic]
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050006358C070206
The applicant requests that all of his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disabilities be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). Thus, one Gulf War veteran presenting with difficult-to-diagnose symptoms could be diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, which cannot be service-connected under this law because it is a diagnosis. While the applicant has five disabilities which have been classified as Gulf War incurred, there is no evidence or indication that those...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050002123C070206
The applicant provides the denial of her request to reconsider her CRSC application, her VA disability decision and rating, excerpts from her military medical records, and her separation documents. 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. Due to cost constraints, while all military retirees will eventually receive...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050003651C070206
Linda M. Baker | |Member | The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. The applicant provides the partial denial of his request to reconsider his CRSC application and excerpts from his military and VA medical records. 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.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050001053C070206
Jeanette R. McCants | |Member | The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. 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. As stated above, the CRSC criteria is specifically for those...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050001053C070206
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 28 June 2005 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050001053 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. 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...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050002742C070206
Laverne V. Berry | |Member | The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. 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. Due to cost constraints, while all military retirees will eventually receive concurrent receipt of VA disability compensation, only those...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050003568C070206
Robert Rogers | |Member | The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. These documents include the denial of his request to reconsider his CRSC application, his VA disability rating, medical records, and documents pertaining to the use of chemical agents during Operation Desert Storm 4. To the contrary, the applicant himself reported that he started experiencing depression after he returned to the United States and discovered that...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | 20070011913
The applicant requests, in effect, that all of his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disabilities be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). 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 wasnt for the statutory prohibition for a military retiree to receive a VA...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050006389C070206
The applicant requests that his nine Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disabilities for degenerative arthritis be approved for Combat- Related Special Compensation (CRSC). Even if the applicant had submitted documentation showing that he was injured in the Gulf War, he would still have to show that the injury was combat related and that it caused his nine VA rated disabilities for degenerative arthritis. Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to the applicant’s...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | 20060000867C070205
The applicant requests that his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disabilities for his knees be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). 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. Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to the applicant’s VA rated disabilities to war or the...