DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS
2 NAVY ANNEX
WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100

JRE
Docket No. 02166-07
11 March 2008

From:	Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
To:	Secretary of the Navy

Subj:

Ref:	(a) 10 U.S.C. 1552

Encl:	(1) DD Form 149
(2)	CRSC ltr 1850 13 Feb 07
(3)	Subject’s naval record

1.	Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a) , Subject, hereinafter referred to as Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with this Board requesting, in effect, that the applicable naval record be corrected to show that he is entitled to combat related special compensation (CRSC) for a hiatal hernia and chondromalacia bursitis of the right knee. He contends, in effect, that the former condition was incurred in combat in Vietnam, and the latter was the result of an injury incurred when he was performing duties simulating war.

2.	The Board, consisting of Messrs. and reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 6 March 2008, and pursuant to its regulations, determined that the partial corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.

3.	The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice, finds as follows:

a.	Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b.	In correspondence attached as enclosure (2), the CRSC Branch, Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards, advised Petitioner, in effect, that as it could not establish the specific combat-related events that caused his disabilities, his request for CRSC had been denied.

c.	Records obtained by the Board indicate that Petitioner sustained a significant injury to his right knee on or about 15 March 1962 when he struck the knee on a stump while on a tactical problem in the Northern Training Area, Okinawa, Japan. As a result of the knee injury, he was admitted to an orthopedic clinic on 15 March 1962. He was not returned to duty until 12 April 1962, when he was placed on limited duty for three months.

CONCLUSION:

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board concludes that Petitioner injured his knee on 15 March 1962 as a direct result of his performance of duties simulating war, and as such, that he is entitled to CRSC for the knee condition which has been rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at 10% under VA code 5019. In addition, the Board finds that although the hiatal hernia became symptomatic when Petitioner was serving in Vietnam, he has not established that the condition was incurred as a direct result of armed conflict or other circumstances that would warrant classifying it as a combat-related condition.

In view of the foregoing, the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting the following corrective action.

RECOMMENDATION:

a.	That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that
he is entitled to combat related special compensation for a
condition of his left knee which has been rated by the VA at 10%
under VA code 5019.

b.	That so much of Petitioner’s request for corrective action as exceeds the foregoing be denied.

c.	That a copy of this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record.

4.	It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above entitled

5.	The foregoing report of the Board is submitted for your review and action.

	W. DEAN PFEIFFER
  Executive Director

Reviewed and Approved:
ROBERT T. CALl
Assistant General Counsel
(Manpower and Reserve Affairs)