Fair Treatment for Retired Veterans Wounded or Injured as a Result of Their Service Finally Achieved

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. It also serves as an opportunity to thank our nations present veterans for their dedication to our national defense. Many retired veterans may be eligible for compensation for wounds or injuries they sustained while serving.

Since the late 1800's, retired veterans with disabilities waived their regular retired pay to receive Veterans Administration (VA) disability compensation. In effect they received virtually no compensation for the disabilities that occurred while they were serving our nation. This system has been unique to military retirement, since civilian federal service retirees are entitled to receive their full regular retirement as well as any disability compensation.

Many retired veterans may be eligible for Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC). The Army as well as the other military services believe that there are numerous retired veterans that are eligible for this well deserved and well earned benefit that are not aware of the legislation that was passed in 2002

The CRSC program restores military retired pay to eligible retired veterans with "combat related" injuries. and is part of a larger legislative initiative to restore military retirement compensation that is on par with the benefits that have been accorded to civilian federal employees.

Eligible veterans with 20 or more years of service, that have "combat related" VA-rated injuries, will no longer have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability compensation. Instead they will receive both their full military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation. The term "combat related" includes not only combat injuries, but also injuries sustained in training for combat. For instance a paratrooper that sustained a disability due to a parachute training jump in preparation for combat may be eligible. The detailed specifics can be found on the Army CRSC web site or any of the other service web sites.

Veterans must apply to their own branch of Service for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) benefits. Applicants are urged to contact their own branch of Service for additional information. Links to Service web sites are provided here that spell out the rules and requirements for this program.

If you are a retired veteran that is disabled and receiving VA compensation for a service connected injury, you may be eligible. If you know someone that is a retired disabled veteran, please insure that they are aware of this program which will restore some of their well deserved compensation for their service to our nation.