Plaats Program Offers Compensation For Veterans’ Sacrifice (NAPSA)—Something all retired veterans who have sacrificed for their country should know about is Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). The CRSC program restores military retired pay to eligible retired veterans. Each month, CRSC replaces the VA disability offset taken from a veteran’s retirement payby giving it back tax free in disability pay. For those retirees who have their retirement pay reduced by their VA disability pay, CRSC will replace the amount of disability that can be linked to the combat-related portion of their VA rating. These retired veterans will receive both their full military retirement pay and their VA-disability compensation. Retired veterans of 20 years or more who have “combat-related” VA-rated injuries are eligible to receive CRSC. Injuries sustained during training that simulates war(e.g., exercises, field training); hazardous duty(e.g., flight, diving, parachute duty); an instrumentality of war (e.g., combat vehicles and weapons); and armed conflict (e.g., Agent Orange, gunshot wounds [Purple Heart], punji stick injuries) qualify as combatrelated injuries. “This is money set aside by Congress to compensate our retired veterans who havesacrificed in the service of our country,” said Col. John F. Sackett, program chief of CRSC. “This moneyis not a bonus or additional compensation—this money is something our retired veterans have earned through Photo by Sgt. Kristopher Joseph, May 12, 2005. World War Il veteran and retired Army National Guard Brig. General Walker L. Johnson (left) and 3rd Army’s Sgt. Kevin James exchange greetings in Pilsen, Czech Republic, May 5, during celebra- tions of the 60th anniversary of the city’s liberation at the end of World WarIl. their service. It’s rightfully theirs.” Enacted by Congress on December 2, 2002, the CRSC pro- gram is a special part of a larger legislative initiative to restore military retirement compensation, making military pay structure closer to that of the federal pay system. As a result of this legislation, Congress authorized two programsfor disabled retired veterans: Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Con- current Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP). If you or someone you know may be eligible for CRSC, visit www.crsc.army.mil to learn more. For any questions regarding CRSC, please e-mail ersc.info@us.army.mil or call (866) 281-3254.
