Retirement Orders and DD 214 Error (2024)

Baller24 said:

Hello, I medically retired for Lupus and Fibromyalgia. I am a Gulf war veteran, and Fibromyalgia is consider combat related. My Retirement Orders shows ‘NO’ to combat related but my DD 214 shows combat related. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get this corrected. I’m not looking for an increase in my percentage, instead look to have combat related on my Order’s. See attached. How can I get this fixed? Who do I need to contact?

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The combat related designation from the PEB from a medical retirement are bound by different laws. There is no way to fix it because you don't meet the criteria for a combat related designation on your retirement orders.

However, you can automatically get approved for CRSC by submitting an application to your branch of service and include the VA award letter, Claim those presumptive conditions & show DD214's to prove you were deployed to a country that was eligible for a presumptive claim. My wife did this for chronic sinusitis, and Asthma in addition to Tinnitus. They were approved no problem due to the PACT Act.

Provis said:

The combat related designation from the PEB from a medical retirement are bound by different laws. There is no way to fix it because you don't meet the criteria for a combat related designation on your retirement orders.

See Also

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However, you can automatically get approved for CRSC by submitting an application to your branch of service and include the VA award letter, Claim those presumptive conditions & show DD214's to prove you were deployed to a country that was eligible for a presumptive claim. My wife did this for chronic sinusitis, and Asthma in addition to Tinnitus. They were approved no problem due to the PACT Act.

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Thanks so much for this information. Do you know why they put combat related on my DD214? I will definitely apply I’m glad to know it’s a different set of rules.

Baller24 said:

Thanks so much for this information. Do you know why they put combat related on my DD214? I will definitely apply I’m glad to know it’s a different set of rules.

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I am guessing they screwed up on your DD214.

However, maybe its the other way and you were awarded combat related by the PEB. That would have been rare but not impossible. My wife argued combat related for Chronic Sinusitis and the PEB didn't award her combat related due to a presumptive condition but who knows. Maybe things have changed and the interpretation of the other set of laws has changed. The PEB can do what they want. Were you Army? If so, check out your DA199 and see what your form says. If it says yes to combat related for one of your conditions then the screw up is on the orders instead of the DD214. If you were considered combat related medically retired it would exempt your entire chapter 61 pension from taxes. Most chapter 61 retirees have their pension offset by VA disability making that benefit not very helpful since VA compensation is tax exempt already.

Provis said:

I am guessing they screwed up on your DD214.

However, maybe its the other way and you were awarded combat related by the PEB. That would have been rare but not impossible. My wife argued combat related for Chronic Sinusitis and the PEB didn't award her combat related due to a presumptive condition but who knows. Maybe things have changed and the interpretation of the other set of laws has changed. The PEB can do what they want. Were you Army? If so, check out your DA199 and see what your form says. If it says yes to combat related for one of your conditions then the screw up is on the orders instead of the DD214. If you were considered combat related medically retired it would exempt your entire chapter 61 pension from taxes. Most chapter 61 retirees have their pension offset by VA disability making that benefit not very helpful since VA compensation is tax exempt already.

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Yes, I was thinking the same thing. So if it’s consider presumptive then it’s not combat related? Even though it’s states Fibromyalgia as combat related on the CRSC website. Also, my DA199 says No to combat. But it also says it happened in a combat zone that resulted from combat. Very confusing!

Baller24 said:

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. So if it’s consider presumptive then it’s not combat related? Even though it’s states Fibromyalgia as combat related on the CRSC website. Also, my DA199 says No to combat. But it also says it happened in a combat zone that resulted from combat. Very confusing!

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Okay so its mistake on DD214. You should apply and qualify for CRSC. The laws created for CRSC are completely different than the laws for combat related designation for chapter 61 military retirees. The criteria for each law is different.

There are multiple designations in the DA199 that affect different benefits. They all have different outcomes. They can help you with federal employment benefits such as hiring preferences for federal jobs, retired pay not taxed (Which is combat related designation), whether severance pay is taxed or if severance pay is to be recouped by the VA (only applicable if medically separated with severance instead of being medically retired).

Baller24 said:

Yes, but they denied me due to it not being combat related with my federal job. See attached.

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Both question #1 and #3 are no. So you don't get preference for federal jobs nor tax exemption. I was just stating all the things that are affected by the answers on the DA199. My guess is that if you were medically separated your severance wouldn't not have been subject to income taxes based on your findings.