BOARD DATE: 5 November 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140003477
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 earlier request for approval of combat-related special compensation (CRSC).
2. The applicant states, in effect, he participated in the "100-hour war" in the Persian Gulf in 1991.
3. The applicant provides 72 pages of extracts from case narratives.
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 Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20120022745 on 25 July 2013.
2. The applicant provided 72 pages of extracts from case narratives on events that took place during the Gulf War. This evidence is new and, as such, warrants consideration by the Board.
3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 6 July 1977. He served as a signal support systems specialist in Southwest Asia from 18 August 1990 to 21 March 1991. On 30 September 1997, he retired in the rank of sergeant first class.
4. His service medical records are not available for review.
5. On 3 December 1998, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) granted him service-connected disability compensation as follows:
* post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 10 percent
* lumbosacral strain 20 percent
* right knee tendonitis and degenerative joint disease (DJD) 10 percent
* left knee patellar tendonitis 0 percent
* dyshidrosis 0 percent
* hemorrhoids 0 percent
* residuals of fracture, left foot third metatarsal 0 percent
* left ear hearing loss 0 percent
* right ear hearing loss 0 percent
6. On 13 December 2004, the VA revised his rating and granted him service-connected disability compensation for:
* PTSD increased to 50 percent
* patellofemoral syndrome, left knee with DJD increased to 10 percent
* tinnitus 10 percent
* right knee tendonitis and DJD 10 percent
* left ear hearing loss 0 percent
* hearing loss, right ear deferred
7. On 21 January 2005, the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency CRSC Division denied his request for reconsideration for CRSC and advised him to apply to this Board.
8. On 14 July 2011, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command CRSC Branch reviewed his claim for CRSC and was unable to verify the following conditions as combat-related disabilities:
* right knee tendonitis and DJD
* patellofemoral syndrome, left knee with DJD
* lumbosacral strain
* PTSD
* frostbite residuals, left lower extremity
* frostbite residuals, right lower extremity
* tinnitus
9. On 2 October 2012, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command CRSC Branch advised him that after reviewing all documentation in support of his claim, that office was unable to overturn the previous adjudications(s) and the documentation he submitted still showed no new evidence to link his requested conditions to a combat-related event. He was advised that the decision was final and any appeals had to be submitted to this Board.
10. CRSC, as established by Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1413a, as amended, states that eligible members are those retirees who have 20 years of service for retired pay computation or 20 years of service creditable for Reserve retired pay at age 60 and who have disabilities that are the direct result of armed conflict, specially 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. CRSC benefits are equal to the amount of VA disability compensation offset from retired pay based on those disabilities determined to be combat related.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The CRSC criterion is 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 conditions of PTSD, patellofemoral syndrome left knee with DJD, tinnitus, right knee tendonitis and DJD, and lumbosacral strain are service-related. However, he has not submitted any evidence that shows these conditions are combat-related. Nowhere in his available records is there confirmation that the VA-rated disabilities resulted from injuries incurred during combat or under conditions simulating war.
3. Without evidence to establish a direct, causal relationship of the applicant's VA-rated disabilities to war or the simulation of war, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
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 AR20120022745, dated 25 July 2013.
____________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) AR20140003477
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