RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 28 June 2007
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060010303
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.
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, in effect, that his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disability for post-operative stomach condition be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).
2. The applicant states that he had about 75 percent of his stomach removed at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Bangkok. He then describes being wounded by shrapnel in his left index finger during World War II in Northern Africa and states that he was awarded the Purple Heart for that wound.
3. The applicant provides his separation document which shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart during World War II.
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 wasnt 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. In the processing of this case the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA) CRSC Branch was contacted by the Boards staff, The USAPDA CRSC Branch stated that they approved the applicant for combat-related compensation for Disfigurement of Head, Face or Neck (7800) at 0% as Purple Heart eligible, and Condition of the Skeletal System (5299) at 0% as Purple Heart eligible. They denied the applicant combat-related compensation for Postoperative Stomach Injury (7308) at 20% for "lack of evidence to support claim".
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 stated that he had 75 percent of his stomach removed at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Bangkok. However, he does not state that the operation was due to a wound or injury that was combat related. 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.
3. The applicants Purple Heart for shrapnel to his finger has no bearing on whether his post-operative stomach condition is combat related.
4. Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to the applicants 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
___jtm___ ____dac_ ___wfc__ 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.
__________John T. Meixell_______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20060010303
SUFFIX
RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070628
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.
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3.
4.
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6.
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