RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        1 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060003158


      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. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Conrad V. Meyer               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |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 disabilities for flat foot condition and spinal disc conditions (two)
be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states that on 4 July 1968 he was leaving the barracks
dressed in full combat gear.  He was on his way to the field for practice
alert training.  He slipped and fell down the stairs injuring his lower
back.  He reinjured his back twice when loading reels of wire, and passed
out twice in unrelated incidents due to back pain.

3.  The applicant states that his flat feet, bilateral pes planus, was
caused by many tactical road marches.

4.  The applicant states that he injured his neck while negotiating a
combat confidence and obstacle course.

5.  The applicant provides the denial of his request to reconsider his CRSC
application, his separation document, VA rating decisions, and selected
medical records.  Those medical records show that when the applicant was
given a physical examination on 15 February 1968, he had pes planus; when
he was treated for back pain on 5 July 1968 he reported that he fell down
steps the day before; and a neurosurgical evaluation dated 13 July 1992 in
which it was stated that the applicant injured his lower back 25 years ago
while lifting a heavy object.

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 21 January 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA)
Combat Related Special Compensation (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 has not submitted any documentation to show that his VA
rated disabilities for flat foot condition and spinal disc conditions (two)
are combat related.  The documents the applicant submitted show that:

      a.  he initially injured his back when he fell down some stairs.
However, there is no mention or indication that he fell down the stairs
during the simulation of war.

      b.  he reinjured his back while lifting heavy objects.  However,
there is no mention or indication that he was lifting heavy objects while
simulating war.

      c.  he had pes planus as early as 15 February 1968.  In addition,
there is no evidence that the pes planus was caused by road marches.

      d.  while the applicant was treated for neck problems, there is no
evidence or indication that he injured his neck while negotiating a combat
confidence and/or obstacle course.

3.  As stated above, the fact that a disability was incurred in a theater
of operations or during a training exercise is insufficient, in and of
itself, to warrant approval of CRSC.

4.  Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to the
applicant’s VA rated disabilities to war or the simulation of war, there is
insufficient basis in which to grant his request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____cvm_  ____ym_  ____kan__  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.





                                  _________Kathleen A. Newman_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060003158                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060801                                |
|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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