The_Granite_Slate_Page-6-Jun03

Combat-Related Special Compensation
Reprinted from MOAA website

Combat-related special compensation (CRSC) was authorized by the FY 2003 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 107-314, sec. 636) for certain retirees with combat- or operations-related disabilities.

Eligible Retirees: Must have 20 or more years of active duty service in the Uniformed Services (retired reservists are not eligible unless they have accumulated 7,200 points-equivalent of 20 years for pay-or more). Retirees are not eligible if they have waived military retired pay to credit military service toward their civil service retirement, or for any other reason, other than to receive VA disability compensation. DoD expects approximately 35,000 retirees to qualify for the new compensation.

Qualifying Disabilities: A combat-related disability associated with the award of a Purple Heart decoration, regardless of the VA disability rating (10-100 percent). Or, any disability with an assigned medical diagnosis code from the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) that results in a VA rating of 60-100% that was incurred either:

As a direct result of armed conflict;
While engaged in hazardous service (e.g., flight, diving, parachute duty);
In the performance of duty under conditions simulating war (exercises, field training);
Through an instrumentality of war (combat vehicles, weapons, Agent Orange, etc.)

The retiree’s parent Military Service will determine which disabilities qualify under the above criteria. CRSC will not be paid for disabilities that are not combat- or operations-related. Certain disabilities will be presumed to be combat-related when the VA disability rating form indicates that the VA rating for the disability is based on one of these presumptions: disabilities rated by the VA on the basis of exposure to radiation, mustard gas or lewisite, Agent Orange, and those associated with Persian Gulf service. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) must be evaluated by the member’s Service to determine if it is combat-related.

Application Processing: The Military Services will process CRSC claim applications for members of their Service, and notify members of their decision. Processing times have not been established, but it is anticipated that thousands will be applying and the process will take months. However, payments will be retroactive to June 1, 2003 for those determined to have qualifying disabilities that existed as of that date. The application can be downloaded from the MOAA website at: http://www.moaa.org/BenefitsInfo/crsc/crsc.asp

Taps

John Joseph Sheridan, of Albin Road, Bow, died April 12, 2003, at the Hospice House in Concord. He was born in Wahpeton, N.D., the son of Jack and Mae (Wahlen) Sheridan. He graduated from Wahpeton (N.D.) High School and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Idaho and a master's degree from the University of Wichita in Kansas. He served with the Marine Corps for 32 years, serving in Vietnam, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1977. John Sheridan worked as deputy warden for the New Hampshire State Prison for many years and as superintendent of the Youth Development Center in Manchester. He also worked as a professor of criminal justice at the University of New Hampshire. John was an active parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Church and the Knights of Columbus Council 112 of Concord. He was a member of the Rotary

International for more than 30 years. Survivors include his wife, Alyce (Nordick) Sheridan of Bow; a son, Tom Sheridan of Gilmanton; a daughter, Catherine Earl of Bolingbrook, Ill.; a brother, Mike Sheridan of Phoenix; six sisters, Angie Zabel of Summerfield, N.C., Mary Flaa of Duluth, Minn., June Meeker of Phoenix, Patty Nordine of Renolds, N.D., Kathy Adams of Moline, Ill., and Debbie Markson of Port Bryon, Ill.; four grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Memorial donations may be made to the Bow Rotary Club, 4 River Road, Bow 03304; or Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association, Hospice House, P.O. Box 1797, Concord 03302-1797.

[John was a Chapter member, former Director, and served most recently as the Trustee of the Trust fund.]