IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  1 May 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110020504 


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 reconsideration of his previous request to correct his physical evaluation board (PEB) proceedings to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an unfitting condition for the purpose of qualifying for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).

2.  The applicant states the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluation of his service-connected condition of paranoid-type schizophrenia with PTSD, alcohol dependence, and substance abuse in remission is currently 100-percent disabling.

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty)
* Army Board for Correction Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings Docket Number AR20100022702, dated 29 March 2011
* VA Rating Decision, dated 8 September 2011
* certificate from the VA, dated 10 September 2011

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR20100022702, dated 29 March 2011.

2.  The applicant provides new evidence in the form of a rating decision from the VA which warrants consideration by this Board.

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 7 August 1978.

4.  On 1 May 1979, a PEB convened and considered the applicant's condition of acute schizophrenia with definite impairment of social and industrial adaptability and found him to be unfit for continued military service by reason of schizophrenia.  The board recommended a 30-percent disability rating and placement on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) with reexamination during November 1980.  He concurred with the PEB and waived a formal hearing.  The PEB made the recommended finding that his retirement was neither based on disability resulting from injury or disease received in the line of duty nor from a combat-related injury.  These PEB proceedings made no mention of a previous chest injury or PTSD.

5.  On 8 June 1979, he was retired from active duty because of physical disability and placed on the TDRL effective 9 June 1979.  His DD Form 214 shows he was honorably retired under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-40 (Personnel Separations Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation), paragraph4-9e(2), by reason of temporary disability and placed on the TDRL under the provisions Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1202 or 1205.  He completed 10 months and 2 days of total active service during his period of enlistment.

6.  His record contains a DD Form 199 which shows a PEB convened on 22 January 1981 to reconsider his condition of paranoid schizophrenia (change of diagnostic code) with considerable impairment of social and industrial adaptability and found that he remained unfit with considerable impairment.  The board recommended a 50-percent disability rating and permanent placement on the Retired List.  He concurred with the PEB and waived a formal hearing.  These PEB proceedings made no mention of a previous chest injury or PTSD.

6.  He submits a copy of ABCMR Docket Number AR20100022702, dated 29 March 2011, in which he circled paragraph 3 of Consideration of Evidence which stated, "on 21 November 1978, he presented himself to the Troop Medical Clinic at Sheridan Kaserne in Germany for chest pain resulting from an M109 howitzer accident while in Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, OK.  His Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care) stated he was hit in the chest with part of the gun.  Subsequent physical examinations related to this incident showed his chest wall was symmetrical and he was returned to duty."

7.  He submits a VA Rating Decision, dated 8 September 2011, with the following statements identified by asterisks and circles:

	a.  "Decision.  Evaluation of schizophrenia, paranoid type with PTSD and alcohol dependence and substance abuse in remission, which is currently 
100-percent disabling, is continued."

	b.  "Review of treatment records from [the VA Medical Center], Fayetteville, dated 12 July 2011, provides a diagnosis of schizophrenia with PTSD with a global function score (GAF) of 50.  Mental status examination revealed you were alert and oriented to person, place, and time.  Mood was depressed and affect was congruent.  You reported auditory hallucinations and paranoid ideations.  Impulse control and judgment were good."

	c.  "You reported having auditory and visual hallucinations as well as ideas of reference and paranoid delusions.  The examiner diagnosed schizophrenia, paranoid type with PTSD and alcohol dependence and substance abuse in remission with a GAF of 45.  The examiner opined your PTSD is likely a continuation of symptoms you experienced since your injury while in the military.  The examiner stated the GAF score of 45 encompasses both conditions and…"

	d.  "An evaluation of 100 percent is assigned whenever there is evidence of total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as:  gross impairment in thought processes or communications, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene), disorientation to time or place, and memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name."

	e.  "An evaluation of 100 percent is based on evidence which provides symptoms of persistent delusions or hallucinations and persistent danger of hurting self."

8.  The VA Winston-Salem Regional Office transmittal letter, dated 10 August 2010, shows his service-connected disability rating of 100 percent for paranoid-type schizophrenia with PTSD and alcohol dependence and substance abuse in remission was continued.  He did not submit his initial VA Rating Decision.

9.  On 7 October 2011, the CRSC Branch determined the applicant's schizophrenia, paranoid type with PTSD and alcohol dependence and substance abuse in remission were not combat-related and denied his request for CRSC for the final time.

10.  Army Regulation 635-40 governs the evaluation of physical fitness of Soldiers who may be unfit to perform their military duties because of physical disability when the unfitness is of such a degree that a Soldier is unable to perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating in such a way as to reasonably fulfill the purposes of his or her employment on active duty.

11.  Title 38, U.S. Code, sections 1110 and 1131, permit the VA to award compensation for disabilities which were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.  However, an award of a higher VA rating does not establish an error or injustice in the Army rating.

12.  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)

13.  The Under Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy provided policy guidance on the processing of CRSC appeals.  This guidance 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 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.

2.  The available records show he was diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia with PTSD, alcohol dependence, and substance abuse in remission.

3.  The applicant contends he sustained PTSD due to his combat-related injury which resulted from being injured when he was hit in the chest by part of a gun.  He submitted evidence that states was treated and released for chest pain related to an M109 accident while in AIT at Fort Sill, OK.  Notwithstanding his contention, there is no evidence in the available record and he has not provided sufficient evidence which shows a medical condition was sustained during combat action or simulation of war.  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.

4.  Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to the applicant's disabilities to war or the simulation of war, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to warrant relief in this case.

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20100022702, dated 29 March 2011.



      __________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)                                         AR20110020504



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110020504



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