IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 17 February 2022 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20210012318 APPLICANT REQUESTS: * reversal of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) to deny Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) * telephonic/video appearance before the Board APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Memorandum, Subject: Army CRSC Decision Letter, dated 26 May 2020 * Army Review Boards Agency Congressional Liaison and Inquiries (CLI) Response, dated 6 April 2021 FACTS: 1. The applicant states, in pertinent part, that he is entitled to CRSC because some of his fellow veterans with similar conditions are getting special tax-exempt money. 2. A review of the applicant's official service records shows: a. On 28 November 1995, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army and served continuously until his retirement. DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record Part II) lists his military occupational specialty as 45D (Self-Propelled Field Artillery Turret Mechanic). b. On 31 January 2017, the applicant was honorably released from active duty for retirement after completing 21 years, 2 months, and 3 days of net active. DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) reflects the applicant served in Iraq during the periods from 12 March 2003 to 9 April 2004 and from 25 October 2005 to 11 October 2006. c. Enlisted Record Brief, dated 1 February 2017, shows the applicant was assigned as a 63D (Self-Propelled Field Artillery System Mechanic) when he served in Iraq. d. On 25 January 2017, the applicant applied for CRSC for the following conditions: * Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Major Depressive Disorder * Right Shoulder strain e. On 5 July 2018, Memorandum, Subject: Army CRSC Decision Letter, issued by the CRSC Department, HRC, notified the applicant the office reviewed his claim for CRSC and determined his special monthly compensation (SMC) entitlement to not be combat-related and not payable under CRSC. It further stated that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) associated this SMC to a disability that was found not to be combat-related. f. On 26 May 2020, HRC notified the applicant that a request for reconsideration of his CRSC claim for was denied. As previously stated, the applicant's conditions were found not to be combat-related. To be reconsidered, he must show documentation that shows how each condition is related to combat. Medical documentation must be from the time the injury occurred and clearly show direct relationship between the disability claimed and a CRSC qualifying event. The CRSC program office were unable to verify the following conditions as combat-related disabilities: * Obstructive Sleep Apnea * PTSD with major depressive disorder * Asymmetric Septal Hypertrophy * Right shoulder strain * Diabetes Mellitus Type II * Left Upper Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy * Erectile Dysfunction g. On 1 September 2020, HRC, notified the applicant that the CRSC program office completed processing his appeal. After carefully reviewing the available documentation, they were unable to award CRSC based on seven of his claimed conditions. He did not include any supporting documentation linking the cause of his condition to the qualifications for CRSC entitlement. Four additional disabilities for sleep apnea, asymmetric septal hypertrophy, diabetic neuropathy, and diabetes, do not qualify for current wartime service nor are recognized as being caused by combat environments or events. 3. On 24 November 2021, HRC, Chief, Special Compensation Branch provided a case summary citing that the applicant's conditions did not meet the criteria for award of CRSC due to lack of evidence and failure to meet program guidelines. a. The applicant submitted his initial CRSC claim on 8 February 2018. His claims were adjudicated at the initial, reconsideration, and appeal levels. To award a condition as combat-related, the applicant is required to submit official military documentation that shows a direct link between a combat-related event and the disability claimed. The applicant states that his PTSD is due to combat operations in the Al Ambar Province during the period from 2003 through 2004 during which a convoy travelling ahead of his was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The applicant claims his injury occurred while performing a recovery mission after the IED explosion, wherein the driver of the vehicle kicked the door open and struck the applicant on the shoulder. However, he did not provide statements on how his other conditions occurred. b. The applicant's conditions of diabetes-related disabilities and obstructive sleep apnea do not meet the criteria for the award of CRSC. The diabetes-related conditions in his claim may only be awarded due to Vietnam War Agent Orange exposure. The applicant's records confirm that he did not serve during the Vietnam War. The obstructive sleep apnea was also determined to not be caused by combat-related events or environments. c. To award CRSC for PTSD under the definition of armed conflict, the applicant must submit official military documentation which verifies his personal exposure to armed conflict. To date, the applicant had not presented official military documentation that shows his disabilities are the result of a combat-related event. For mental health conditions, official documentation includes wartime chain of command endorsements which confirms exposure to armed conflict, copies of combat decorations (certificates, combat badges, and DA Forms 638), and evaluation reports which support exposure to armed conflict. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence found within the military record, the Board found relief is not warranted. 2. The Board concurred with the conclusion of the HRC case summary that the applicant has not presented official military documentation that shows his disabilities are the result of a combat-related event. In the absence of such documentation, the Board determined the decision to deny his CRSC claim was not in error or unjust. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : 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. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1413a, "Combat-Related Special Compensation" (CRSC), states, in pertinent part, that the Secretary concerned shall pay to each eligible combat-related disabled uniformed services retiree who elects benefits under this section a monthly amount for the combat-related disability of the retiree. The monthly amount to be paid to an eligible retiree is the amount of compensation to which the retiree is entitled under Title 38 for that month, determined without regard to any disability of the retiree that is not a combat-related disability. The amount paid to an eligible combat-related disabled uniformed services retiree for any month may not exceed the amount of the reduction in retired pay that is applicable to the retiree for that month under sections 5304 and 5305 of Title 38. 2. Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7B: a. Section 630301 states a member may not be paid CRSC unless he or she has applied for and elected to receive compensation under the CRSC program by filing an application on DD Form 2860 (Claim for CRSC), with the Military Department from which he or she retired. A member may submit an application for CRSC at any time and, if otherwise qualified for CRSC, compensation will be paid for any month after May 2003 for which all conditions of eligibility were met. b. Section 630502 states a combat-related disability is a disability with an assigned medical diagnosis code from the VA Schedule Rating of Disabilities (VASRD). The Military Departments will determine whether a disability is combat-related based on the following criteria: * as a 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 c. The Department will record for each disability determined to be combat-related which of the circumstances provided qualifies the disability as combat-related. A determination of combat-relatedness (see section 6306) will be made with respect to each separate disability with an assigned medical diagnosis code from the VASRD. A retiree may have disabilities that are not combat-related. Such disabilities will not be considered in determining eligibility for CRSC or the amount of CRSC payable. An uncorroborated statement in a record that a disability is combat-related will not, by itself, be considered determinative for purposes of meeting the combat-related standards for CRSC prescribed herein. CRSC determinations must be made on the basis of the program criteria. d. Section 6306 (Determinations of Combat Relatedness) (1) Direct Result of Armed Conflict: a. The disability is a disease or injury incurred in the line of duty as a direct result of armed conflict. To support a combat-related determination, it is not sufficient to only state the fact that a member incurred the disability during a period of war, in an area of armed conflict, or while participating in combat operations. There must be a definite causal relationship between the armed conflict and the resulting disability. b. Armed conflict includes a war, expedition, occupation of an area or territory, battle, skirmish, raid, invasion, rebellion, insurrection, guerilla action, riot, or any other action in which Service members are engaged with a hostile or belligerent nation, faction, force, or with terrorists. c. Armed conflict may also include such situations as incidents involving a member while interned as a prisoner of war or while detained against his or her will in custody of a hostile or belligerent force, or while escaping or attempting to escape from such confinement, prisoner of war, or detained status. (2) While Engaged in Hazardous Service. Hazardous service is service that includes, but is not limited to, aerial flight, parachute duty, demolition duty, experimental stress duty, and diving duty. A finding that a disability is the result of such hazardous service requires that the injury or disease be the direct result of actions taken in the performance of such service. Travel to and from such service, or actions incidental to a normal duty status not considered hazardous, are not included. (3) In the Performance of Duty Under Conditions Simulating War. In general, performance of duty under conditions simulating war covers disabilities resulting from military training, such as war games, practice alerts, tactical exercises, airborne operations, leadership reaction courses, grenade and live fire weapon practice, bayonet training, hand-to-hand combat training, repelling, and negotiation of combat confidence and obstacle courses. It does not include physical training activities such as calisthenics, jogging, formation running, or supervised sport activities. (4) Instrumentality of War: a. There must be a direct causal relationship between the instrumentality of war and the disability. It is not required that a member's disability be incurred during an actual period of war. The disability must be incurred incident to a hazard or risk of the service. b. An instrumentality of war is a vehicle, vessel, or device designed primarily for Military Service and intended for use in such Service at the time of the occurrence or injury. It may also include such instrumentality not designed primarily for Military Service if use of or occurrence involving such instrumentality subjects the individual to a hazard peculiar to Military Service. Such use or occurrence differs from the use or occurrence under similar circumstances in civilian pursuits. c. A determination that a disability is the result of an instrumentality of war may be made if the disability was incurred in any period of service as a result of such diverse causes as wounds caused by a military weapon, accidents involving a military combat vehicle, injury or sickness caused by fumes, gases, or explosion of military ordnance, vehicles, or materiel. d. For example, if a member is on a field exercise, and is engaged in a sporting activity and falls and strikes an armored vehicle, then the injury will not be considered to result from the instrumentality of war (armored vehicle) because it was the sporting activity that was the cause of the injury, not the vehicle. On the other hand, if the individual was engaged in the same sporting activity and the armored vehicle struck the member, then the injury would be considered the result of an instrumentality of war. 3. The Under Secretary of Defense, Military Personnel Policy has 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 or caused by an instrumentality of war. 4. Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABMCR)) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The ABCMR may, in its discretion, hold a hearing or request additional evidence or opinions. Additionally, it states in paragraph 2- 11 that applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director or the ABCMR may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20210012318 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1