BOARD DATE: 29 December 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100016395
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated disabilities for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) be approved for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).
2. The applicant states he disagrees with the decision that denied him CRSC. He states he is currently 50 percent service connected for PTSD.
3. The applicant provides a copy of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command CRSC Branch letter denying him CRSC.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant's military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 29 November 1962. He continued to serve through reenlistments until he was voluntarily retired on 30 April 1986 for sufficient service for retirement after completing more than 23 years of active service.
2. A DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) contained in his records shows he served in Vietnam during the period 30 June 1969 to 29 June 1970. There are no available documents showing his duties while stationed in Vietnam.
3. A Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 30 June 1986, indicates the examination was for the purpose of retirement. There is no evidence that he had an injury or disability which may have been combat related. The physical profile serial entries were all 1's which indicated there were no medical problems precluding him from performing his duties.
4. CRSC, as established by Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1413a, as amended, states that eligible members are retired veterans with combat-related injuries who meet all of the following criteria:
* Active, Reserve, or National Guard with 20 years of creditable service, or permanent medical retiree, or Temporary Early Retirement Authority retiree
* receiving military retired pay
* have 10 percent or greater VA-rated injury
* military retired pay is reduced by VA disability payments (VA Waiver)
* and who are able to provide documentary evidence that their injury was a result of one of the following:
* training that simulates war (e.g., exercises, field training)
* hazardous duty (e.g., flight, diving, parachute duty)
* an instrumentality of war (e.g., combat vehicles, weapons, Agent Orange)
* armed conflict (e.g., gunshot wounds (Purple Heart), punji stick injuries)
5. On 3 May 2010, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency CRSC Branch determined that the applicant's impaired hearing, PTSD, and tinnitus (ears) were not combat related and denied his request for CRSC.
6. The Under Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy provided policy guidance on the processing of CRSC appeals. In that guidance it was stated 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 applicant submitted no documentation showing he was treated for combat related disabilities while serving on active duty and his records contain no evidence indicating such. The document submitted by the applicant shows he has service connected conditions. He states the VA rated him 50 percent disabled due to PTSD. However, there is no evidence or indication that he was suffering from a combat-related medical condition when he was separated from active duty.
2. As stated above, the CRSC criteria are 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 especially hazardous duties such as parachuting or scuba diving. The applicant has failed to provide documentation to show he meets this requirement.
3. 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
____x____ ___x___ ___x_____ 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.
_______ _ x_______ ___
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100016395
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100016395
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