IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:  31 May 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120007310 


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 combat-related special compensation (CRSC) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

2.  The applicant states he has additional evidence from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to support his request.

3.  The applicant provides:

* 5 January 2010 VA Progress Notes 
* 6 April 2012 letter from a VA Readjustment Counseling Center
* 12 March 2012 letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC)
* Request Pertaining to Military Records

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is a retired U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) staff sergeant (SSG)/
E-6.  He last served on active duty from 6 December 1990 to 6 December 1991.  He was placed on the Retired List on 28 February 1994 because of permanent physical disability, with a percentage of disability of 60 percent (%).

2.  The applicant served in Vietnam from September 1968 through November 1969 and in Saudi Arabia from 15 January 1991 to 20 April 1991.


3.  The applicant's service medical records are not available for review.

4.  In CRSC decision letters, dated 7 and 12 March 2010, HRC notified the applicant that his request was denied because the documentation he submitted showed no evidence to link his requested conditions to a combat-related event.

5.  In a CRSC decision letter, dated 18 August 2010, HRC notified the applicant that they were unable to find justification to reverse the previous decisions made on his CRSC claim.

6.  In a CRSC decision letter, dated 24 June 2011, HRC notified that applicant that his claim for CRSC was approved.  He was granted 100% disability compensation under VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) code 7005 - Coronary Artery Disease, Nehmer Granted as Presumptive due to exposure to Agent Orange under the Nehmer rule.  However, they were unable to verify his Depression with Sleep Disorder as a combat-related disability.  PTSD was not included in his request.

7.  The VA Rating Decision, dated 13 February 2012, awarded him service-connected disability for PTSD and Depression with Sleep Disorder; Weight Loss, Fatigue, and Night Sweats, which is currently 70% disabling.  It further indicates his PTSD was non-combat.

8.  In support of this application, the applicant provided a copy of Progress Notes from the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, dated 5 January 2012.  In the notes the applicant is diagnosed with PTSD.  In Section II (Clinical Findings) the applicant describes two stressor events he considers traumatic:

	a.  He reported that while in Vietnam he witnessed his fellow Soldiers killed and wounded in the battlefield.  He loaded the Soldiers bodies on the airplane in Vietnam.  He was driving an infantry unit supply truck in Vietnam.

	b.  He witnessed civilians killed by a mine explosion during the Gulf War.  He and his fellow Soldiers were on alert to be prepared for the missile attack.  He was extremely frightened, terrified, and fearful.  He thought he would be killed in the attack.  He witnessed many Soldiers badly wounded in the hospital in Germany where he was evacuated because of his right arm injury that occurred in California before he was deployed to the Gulf War.  Some Soldiers were blown up and had no legs or arms.

9.  The Under Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel provided policy guidance for processing CRSC appeals.  The guidance states there must be evidence of the condition having a direct, causal relationship to war or the simulation of war for a condition to be considered combat-related.

10.  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 were not for the statutory prohibition for a military retiree to receive a VA disability pension.

	a.  Payment is made by the Military Department, not the VA, and is tax-free.

	b.  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.

	c.  Qualified disabilities must be compensated by the VA and rated at least 10% disabling.

	d.  Military retirees who are approved for CRSC must have waived a portion of their military retired pay in order to receive VA benefits. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends he should be awarded CRSC for PTSD.

2.  He receives CRSC as a matter of law under the Nehmer rule for his congestive heart failure.

3.  Although the applicant's 5 January 2010 VA Medical Center Progress Note indicates he was diagnosed with PTSD, the applicant’s 13 February 2012 VA Rating decision indicates his PTSD was "non-combat."

4.  The applicant's requests for CRSC were denied because the available evidence failed to show his PTSD condition was combat-related.  He has not provided any additional documentary evidence to indicate otherwise.

5.  The CRSC criteria are specifically for those retirees who have combat-related disabilities.  Simply incurring disabilities while in a theater of operations is not, in and of itself, sufficient to grant a military retiree CRSC.

6.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's 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)                                         AR20110011116



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120007310



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