IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 13 September 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120005518
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, in effect, reversal of the decision to deny him Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) benefits.
2. The applicant states he was injured in Iraq in 2006. He has documents supporting his claim.
3. The applicant provides:
* 52 Standard Forms 600 (Health Record Chronological Record of Medical Care)
* Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) Proceedings
* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Decision
* denial letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command CRSC Branch
* appeal for CRSC and request form
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant's military records show he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 21 April 1998. He later enlisted in the Regular Army in pay grade E-4 on 1 April 2004 for 4 years. He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 92A (Automated Logistical Specialist).
2. He served in Iraq from 26 September 2005 through 11 August 2006.
3. He provides copies of 52 Standard Forms 600 which show between March 2005 and February 2009 he received medical treatment for an acute reaction to stress, gastroenteritis, an upper respiratory infection, sciatica, lumbago, intervertebral disc degeneration-lumbar, lumbar and sacral radiculopathy, arthritis, anxiety disorder, sensorineural hearing loss, and sleep apnea.
4. On 1 November 2010, an informal PEB convened and considered the applicant's medical conditions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome, left L5-S1 radiculopathy due to lumbar disc, obstructive sleep apnea, and sensorineural hearing loss. The PEB recommended the applicant's placement on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) with a combined rating of 60 percent because his disability was not sufficiently stable for final adjudication from a disability percentage perspective.
5. He was honorably retired from active duty on 14 February 2011 and placed the TDRL.
6. In April 2011, the VA awarded him service-connected disability compensation for PTSD, scoliosis, obstructive sleep apnea, tinnitus, and patellofemoral syndrome (left knee).
7. In a letter, dated 10 June 2011, the CRSC Branch advised him that it was unable to verify his PTSD, scoliosis, lumbar spine, and tinnitus as combat-related disabilities.
8. In a letter, dated 7 November 2011, the CRSC Branch advised him that it was unable to overturn the previous adjudication(s) and the documentation he submitted still did not meet the criteria for CRSC under the current program guidance.
9. CRSC, as established by Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1413a, 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 weren'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, especially 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-percent disabling. 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.
10. The Under Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy provided policy guidance on the processing of CRSC appeals. This guidance states 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 applicant submitted evidence to show his disabilities are service related. However, he has not submitted any evidence which shows his injuries are combat related.
3. He appears to confuse service connection for VA purposes with CRSC eligibility. These are not necessarily the same. If they were the same, CRSC would be automatic for those military retirees with VA disability pensions. Service connection for VA purposes means the VA has determined that the disability was incurred or aggravated during military service. CRSC determinations require evidence of a direct causal relationship to the military retiree's VA-rated disabilities to war or the simulation of war.
4. Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship to his VA-rated disabilities to war or the simulation of war, there is an 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 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) AR20120005518
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120005518
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