washingtonscene
of federal unemployment benefits through Nov. 30. The stripped-down unemploy- ment bill was approved July 21. The concurrent receipt language would
have phased out the retired pay offset for all Chapter 61 (medical) retirees, regard- less of years of service, whether the dis- ability was combat-related or not. MOAA is working with Senate Major-
ity Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a long- standing concurrent receipt champion, to introduce the same provision as an amendment to the FY 2011 Defense Au- thorization Bill, which the Senate is ex- pected to take up in September.
Are You CRSC-
Eligible? Combat-disabled must apply.
O
ver the past seven years, Con- gress has expanded concurrent receipt eligibility criteria for dis-
abled military retirees so a greater popula- tion can receive both earned retired pay and disability compensation from the VA. Probably the most significant expan- sion happened just over two years ago when Combat-Related Special Compensa- tion (CRSC) eligibility was extended to all combat/combat-related disabled retirees, regardless of their years of service or VA disability rating percentage. But many eligible retirees still need to
get the word about this program, which can provide hundreds or thousands of dol- lars a month, depending on the disability. In June, a member’s remark during a
call to MOAA prompted a staff member to ask that member if he was receiving CRSC. “What’s that?” the member asked. MOAA assisted this 17-year Army
lieutenant colonel, combat-wounded in Vietnam and awarded a 100-percent dis- ability rating by both the Army and the
4 2 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R S E P T EMB E R 2 0 1 0
VA, in filing his claim. In July, he called to say he had received a retroactive award of nearly $60,000. CRSC is an extremely valuable benefit,
but it’s not an automatic one. Qualifying retirees must apply to their parent service.
PTSD Rules
Eased The VA drops the specific- incident rule.
U
ntil now, servicemembers seek- ing a disability rating for PTSD had to prove it resulted from a
documented “stressor,” such as witness- ing an IED attack, coming under enemy fire, or being involved in a mortar attack that killed fellow servicemembers or wounded the individual. But the VA has now softened the evi- dentiary standard for disability claims related to PTSD. Under the new rule, a veteran or sepa-
rating servicemember still must have a confirmed diagnosis of PTSD from a VA psychiatrist to be awarded service-con- nection for the condition. But proof of a specific combat or
combat-related event associated with the PTSD no longer is required for justifica- tion. Instead, the trauma claimed by a veteran must be shown to be related to anxiety about hostile military or terrorist activity and be consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of the veteran’s service (e.g., if they served in a war zone). The rule change applies to veterans of
any conflict period, not just to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. In the past, some female veterans have
been denied a disability for PTSD sim- ply because military policies bar women from serving in direct combat roles — de- spite the reality that many women have
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