The Army now treats combat-zone burn pits as an instrumentality of war.

Who this page is for

Four things, and if all four fit, the Army is re-reviewing your case right now: you were medically retired from the Army under Chapter 61; your separation was on or after August 10, 2022; you have at least one condition the PACT Act presumes to burn-pit exposure; and your Physical Evaluation Board did not give it a combat-related designation. Whether your case qualifies for CRSC is a determination only your branch board can make — but for the right cases, this is meaningful, tax-free money.

Why this reopens CRSC for Chapter 61 retirees

Medical retirees under 20 years generally cannot receive CRDP, so the VA waiver simply takes their retired pay — often all of it. CRSC is the one program that can restore the combat-related portion, tax-free. But CRSC needs a condition to be combat-related, not just service-connected — and for burn-pit illnesses, the Army used to say no. Smoke v. Driscoll is what changed that answer.

“Combat-related” is not only Purple Heart

CRSC recognizes four categories of combat-related causation:

• Armed conflict — injuries from direct engagement with the enemy.
• Hazardous duty — airborne, dive, EOD, flight-deck, aviation crew.
• Training that simulates war — live-fire, force-on-force, NTC/JRTC rotations.
• Instrumentality of war — military vehicles, aircraft, weapons systems, and combat equipment. Combat-zone burn pits now live here.

That last category is the whole story of this settlement. If the VA already tied your respiratory illness or cancer to burn-pit exposure, you may be closer to CRSC than you think.

Conditions the PACT Act presumes to burn pits

The presumptive list includes many respiratory illnesses — asthma, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and COPD — along with a range of cancers (respiratory, head and neck, gastrointestinal, and others). If one of your service-connected conditions is on that list and traces to a combat-zone deployment, it may now meet the combat-related standard. The connection has to be documented — that is the packet's job.

The evidence that matters

• Deployment records placing you at a burn-pit/combat-zone location
• VA rating decision establishing service connection for the presumptive condition
• Medical records tying the condition to burn-pit exposure — the causation chain the board reads first
• Personnel records — orders, awards, and badges that corroborate where and when you served

Most first-time packets don't fail on eligibility — they fail on documentation. The illness was real; the paper trail didn't prove the category.

Two ways we can help

What happens on the free 15-minute call

You talk to a combat veteran, not a sales script. We ask about your retirement type, your rating, your deployments, and your conditions; we tell you straight whether burn-pit CRSC looks worth pursuing in your case — and if it isn't, we say so. No documents needed on the first call, no cost, no obligation.