Army CRSC: Filing Through HRC

Army CRSC is decided by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), CRSC Branch — office symbol AHRC-PDP-C — at Fort Knox, Kentucky. You file with HRC, not the VA, on the federal DD Form 2860 (current edition JUL 2011). The single most important Army-specific rule: HRC requires a hand-written ink signature on the form and rejects computer or electronic signatures. Get that one detail wrong and a strong packet still comes back unprocessed.

Who decides Army CRSC

Every branch runs its own CRSC board, and the Army’s is HRC. The CRSC Branch at Fort Knox reviews your service record against the combat-related categories, confirms each claimed condition is documented, and decides eligibility, percentage, and any retroactive amount. The VA assigns your disability ratings; HRC then decides which of those ratings are combat-related for CRSC. That split is why Army retirees sometimes assume the VA handles CRSC — it doesn’t. Your packet has to be built for HRC and sent to HRC.

Because HRC is making a paper decision, the burden is on you to show the chain for each condition: a documented combat-related event or exposure, the mechanism of injury, the medical evidence, and the category it falls under. If a link is asserted instead of proven, the board has an easy reason to deny it.

How and where to submit

HRC accepts Army CRSC packets three ways — mail, email, or eFax. Pick one; you don’t need to send all three. Whichever you choose, the DD Form 2860 inside must carry your original ink signature (see the callout below).

If you email or eFax, scan the signed form and your supporting documents into a clean, legible file. If you mail it, keep a complete copy of everything you send. Either way, hold onto proof of the date you submitted.

What to include (and what to leave out)

HRC wants the records that prove the combat-related link — not your entire medical history. Sending too much can bury the evidence that matters and slow the review. Build a tight, targeted packet.

Include

• Your DD 214 (and any DD 215 corrections)
• DA Form 199 — Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) findings, if you were medically retired
• DA Form 638 for a deployment award
• Your deployment NCOER or OER
• Service medical records from the time of injury — the records tied to the event you’re claiming
• Any Purple Heart medical paperwork, if you have it
• Your VA Code Sheet

Do not send

• Your entire medical record
• VA medical records
• X-rays or lab results
• Buddy statements
• Personal statements

The goal is a packet HRC can verify quickly: the form, the records that anchor each event, and the VA Code Sheet that ties it to your ratings. A second set of eyes before you send catches the gaps.

How to check your status

There is no self-service online portal for Army CRSC status. You check it by phone through the HRC Call Center:

• 1-888-276-9472 (1-888-ARMY-HRC)
• 1-866-281-3254

Have your information ready when you call, and give HRC reasonable processing time before following up. Timelines vary, and a polite check-in is fine — repeated calls won’t move you up the queue.

If you’re denied: reconsideration (CRSC Form 12e)

A denial isn’t the end of the road. The Army accepts a CRSC Reconsideration Request (CRSC Form 12e), sent to the same AHRC-PDP-C address, email, or eFax. Reconsideration is built on new evidence — not a re-argument of the same packet — and it’s typically triggered by:

• A denial you want to challenge with stronger documentation;
• A new combat-related VA rating; or
• A change to a rating already tied to your existing CRSC.

Reconsideration timelines are branch-dependent and often run several months to over a year, and a reconsideration is never guaranteed to change the outcome. What moves the needle is new, verifiable evidence that closes the gap the board found the first time. If you’ve been denied, that’s where we focus. How reconsideration works →

An honest note — and how Standfast helps

Army CRSC is case-specific and decided solely by HRC. We don’t guarantee approval, a rating, or a backpay amount — no one honestly can, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What we do is build the strongest documented case your records support, formatted and addressed the way HRC expects, with the ink-signature rule handled so your packet isn’t bounced on a technicality.