RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-05250 COUNSEL: HEARING DESIRED: YES APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His application for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) for hearing loss and tinnitus be approved and he receive the associated back pay. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He has hearing loss due to his service in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He was assigned next to the airfield in Cam Ranh Bay where planes flew 24 hours a day and his hearing was affected. He thought it was understood that his hearing loss was combat- related. In support of his request, the applicant provides a statement from his counsel and a copy of his Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) rating decision dated 2 July 2009, and his Enlisted Performance Report (EPR) ending 7 March 1968. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 30 April 1976, the applicant was retired in the grade of Master Sergeant (MSgt, E-7). He was credited with 20 years, 6 months and 3 days of active duty service. According to the DVA rating decision dated 3 August 2011, the applicant’s rating for service connected disability of bilateral hearing loss was increased to 20 percent and he was rated at 10 percent for tinnitus. Public Law 107-314 established the CRSC program which provides compensation to certain retirees with combat-related disabilities that qualify under established criteria. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPFDC recommends denial. The conditions of impaired hearing and tinnitus do not meet the mandatory criteria for compensation under the CRSC program as outlined under the provisions of 10 U.S.C. § 1413a and Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) guidance. Exposure to radio operations and indirect exposure to military aircraft engines is not sufficient to show a combat-related acoustic trauma for CRSC. The applicant submitted a claim for CRSC for anxiety disorder/Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), diabetes, impaired hearing and tinnitus. His claim was partially approved on 6 January 2014 for PTSD and diabetes. He requested reconsideration of the disapproval of impaired hearing and tinnitus but the request was denied on 23 October 2014. The reconsideration request was a copy of the initial claim for impaired hearing with no expansion of the cause. In the DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record, the applicant reiterates his conditions were from aircraft noise in Vietnam. Per the OUSD guidance, determinations of whether a disability is combat-related will be based on the preponderance of available documentation. All relevant documentary information is to be weighed in relation to known facts and circumstances, and determinations will be made on the basis of credible, objective documentary information in the records as distinguished from personal opinion, speculation or conjecture. To award CRSC, the board reviews the occupation of the individual and the continually direct (close proximity) exposure to combat-related acoustic trauma the individual was subjected to during their career. For specific combat-related acoustic trauma, the board looks for medical documentation confirming exposure to a combat- related event and the resulting condition; for example, direct exposure to an explosion, or direct exposure to military aircraft engine noise. When determining “directness” the board does not consider those individuals whose duties are performed at the perimeter of the flight line to be direct. Many specialties may have occasional or indirect exposure to flight line noise due to the location of their duty sections. While impaired hearing caused by listening to military radio operations by a communications center operations supervisor/superintendent is sufficient for the DVA to award a service connected disability, these duties do not show a combat- related acoustic trauma. Furthermore, based on input from functional area experts, the CRSC board determined the applicant’s career field is one of the specialties considered to have indirect exposure to qualifying combat-related noise; therefore, to award CRSC, there must be clear documentation of an acoustic trauma occurring due to a combat-related event. Documentation provided does not confirm a combat-related acoustic trauma as the cause of the applicant’s impaired hearing and tinnitus. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPFDC evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Counsel states the applicant meets the criteria for CRSC for other combat-related disabilities while engaged in hazardous service and performance of duty under conditions simulating war per 10 U.S.C. 1413a(e). Being on the French Frigate Shoals would be considered hazardous service and exceeds the definition of “hazard service.” He was the telecommunications officer on an island that was 200 feet wide and 2,800 feet long. C-123, C- 47 and R-40 aircrafts flew in three and four times a day with grappling hooks to practice picking up loads and simulating war pick-ups. The noise and vibration were so loud that it shook the nails out of the telecommunications shack. The applicant complained to the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) physician that his ears felt stopped up and were ringing. A review of his case file does not reflect the ENT report; however, it was mentioned by other physicians. The applicant states he was at Ton Son Nhut AB and a mortar hit nearby where 12 airmen were killed and 20 were wounded. He did not seek medical attention because others lost their arms, legs and their lives. The DVA findings and ENT report should be reviewed in the light most favorable to the applicant. There is clear and convincing evidence that the applicant’s hearing loss and tinnitus are combat-related. The applicant’s complete submission with attachments, is at Exhibit E. THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. After a thorough review of the available evidence of record, it is our opinion that the service-connected medical condition the applicant believes is combat-related was not incurred as the direct result of armed conflict, while engaged in hazardous service, in the performance of duty under conditions simulating war, or through an instrumentality of war, and therefore, does not qualify for compensation under the CRSC Act. While the counsel’s contentions are duly noted, she has not provided substantial evidence which, in our opinion, successfully refutes the assessment of the applicant’s case by the Air Force Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR). Therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the AF OPR and adopt the rationale expressed as the basis for our decision that the applicant has failed to sustain his burden of proof of either an error or an injustice. 4. The applicant’s case is adequately documented and it has not been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the application was denied without a personal appearance; and the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-05250 in Executive Session on 6 August 2015 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-05250 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 25 November 2014, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPFDC, dated 2 February 2015, w/atchs. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 3 June 2015. Exhibit E. Letter, Counsel, dated 29 June 2015, w/atchs.