IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 August 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110007831
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 award of Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) for injuries that occurred during a rappelling training mission.
2. He states:
* he was injured during an Army training mission in December 1963
* he fractured his third metatarsal [bones of the foot] and the distal shaft of the same metatarsal
* the injury is documented in his military medical records
3. He provides:
* CRSC denial letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, KY, dated 22 February 2011
* Standard Form 513 (Clinical Record Consultation Sheet)
* three pages of a Standard Form 600 (Health Record Chronological Record of Medical Care)
* Standard Form 519 (Clinical Record Radiographic Report)
* witness statement
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is a retired Regular Army first sergeant who was initially inducted into the Army of the United States on 4 December 1956.
2. He was honorably retired on 31 December 1976 and placed on the Retired List in the rank/grade of 1SG/E-8 on 1 January 1977. His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty) shows he completed 20 years and 27 days of creditable active service.
3. He submitted a Standard Form 513 which shows he was diagnosed with a fractured base and head of his third metatarsal on 23 December 1963.
4. He submitted a partially legible copy of a Standard Form 600, dated 30 December 1963, which shows he would be able to perform the present mission following removal of his cast and evaluation of his fracture.
5. He submitted a copy of a Standard Form 519-B, dated 23 December 1963, which shows he had a fracture of the base of the third metatarsal in good position and an additional facture of the distal shaft of the same metatarsal.
6. He submitted an unnotarized witness statement from a retired lieutenant colonel, dated 16 June 2010, who states the applicant broke his third metatarsal of his left foot when he hit the ground at a high rate of speed while rappelling on 23 December 1963.
7. On 22 February 2011, the CRSC Branch determined the applicant's arteriosclerotic heart disease, degenerative disc disease/degenerative, and fracture of his left metatarsal bones were not combat-related and denied his request for CRSC.
8. 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 Department of Veterans Affairs (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)
9. The Under Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy provided policy guidance on the processing of CRSC appeals. In 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 documentation showing he was treated for disabilities that he contends are combat-related. The documents submitted by the applicant show he has service-connected conditions. He states he fractured his left metatarsal during a rappelling training mission. There is not evidence of record to show that his medical condition was the result of a combat-related event.
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 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 failed to provide documentation to show he meets this requirement.
3. Although the witness statement attests to his injuries almost 50 years after the fact, it is insufficient since there is no other corroborating evidence, such as a line of duty determination, that shows the fracture the result of a combat-related training event. As a result, it is also insufficient establishing a direct, causal relationship to the VA-rated disabilities to war or the simulation of war.
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 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) AR20110007831
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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