There seems to be some folks not just on this board that "think" CRSC is ONLY for combat. Please don't cut yourself short. Here's a listing direct from the AF web site:
Three of those categories need further definition.What are Combat-Related Disabilities?
They are disabilities caused or incurred:
- by an injury which led to the award of a Purple Heart
- by armed conflict
- by an instrumentality of war
- while simulating war
- while performing hazardous service
- or a disability deemed presumptive by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
4. What qualifies as Hazardous Service for CRSC?
Combat-related disabilities incurred while engaged in hazardous service (e.g., flight, diving, parachuting duty) are those where:
The disability was incurred during performance of duties that present a higher degree of danger to service personnel due to the level of exposure to actual or simulated armed conflict. The fact that a member incurred the disability during a period of hazardous service is not sufficient by itself to support a combat-related determination. There must be clear evidence of a definite, documented, causal relationship between the hazardous service and the resulting disability. Such service includes, but is not limited to, aerial flight, parachute duty, demolition duty, experimental stress duty, diving duty, and rescue missions.
5. What qualifies as Instrumentality of War for CRSC?
Combat-related disabilities incurred through an instrumentality of war are those where:
The disability was incurred in the line of duty as a result of an instrumentality of war. 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. Incurrence during an actual period of war is not required; however, there must be a direct, documented, causal relationship between the instrumentality of war and the resulting disability. The disability must be incurred incident to a hazard or risk of service and be caused by the device itself. Instrumentalities not designed primarily for Military Service if use of, or occurrence involving, such instrumentality subjects the individual to a hazard peculiar to Military Service, are included. Such use or occurrence differs from the use or occurrence under similar circumstances in civilian pursuits. An example of this would be injuries sustained while engaging in pugil stick training using a broomstick, where the broomstick replaces the weapon and causes the injury. A determination that a disability is the result of an instrumentality of war may be made if clear evidence exists to confirm 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 or military ordnance, vehicles, or material. For example, if a member is on a field exercise and is engaged in a sporting activity and falls and strikes an armored vehicle, 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, the injury would be considered the result of an instrumentality of war.
6. What qualifies as Simulating War for CRSC?
Combat-related disabilities incurred in the performance of duty under conditions simulating war are those where:
The disability was incurred in the line of duty as a result of simulating armed conflict. The fact that a member incurred the disability during a period of simulating war or in an area of simulated armed conflict or while participating in simulated combat operations is not sufficient by itself to support a combat-related determination. There must be clear evidence of a definite, documented, causal relationship between the simulated armed conflict and the resulting disability. In general, this covers disabilities resulting from simulated combat activity during military training, such as war games, practice alerts, tactical exercises, airborne operations, grenade and live fire weapons practice, bayonet training, hand-to-hand combat training, repelling, and negotiation of combat confidence and obstacle courses. Physical training activities such as calisthenics and jogging or formation running and supervised sports activities are not included.
As you can see, the definition of what qualifies for CRSC is very broad, don't cut yourself out of some tax free income.
