When some soldiers retire from the military, they are also eligible for disability compensation from the VA. Due to current guidelines, they are, in most cases, prohibited from fully collecting both. The CRSC enables the soldier to receive either partial or full concurrent compensation from both in certain situations.
For CRSC to apply, the service member must:
1. Have twenty years or more of qualifying service.
2. Have a disability rating from the VA and be receiving VA disability compensation that is offsetting retirement pay.
3. The VA disability rating must be due to a combat related disability.
4. The combined rating for all combat related disabilities must be at least 10%.
CRSC is a non taxable benefit that is retroactive to the date that the soldier became eligible to receive CRSC (after June 1, 2003).
I have a question that I am having a hard time finding the answer. I am do to retire in the next couple of months. This summer they found a medical problem with my back that I didn’t even know about. I am thinking of asking for a Med board but don’t know if it will worth the time. My medical problem is to the point where I have to decide to get surgery or to not get it until it gets so bad I will have no choice to. It is combat related, but I still don’t know if I will benefit from getting a Med board or not. My decision is to either just retire normally or go thru the MEB to get more benefits and medical coverage, any advice?
My personal opinion is to go for the medboard. You could potentially be given a rating that is higher than what your percentage of pay would be just from time in service. You can also potentially qualify for CRDP: https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crdp.html.