A Navy and Marine Corps town
San Diego County holds one of the largest concentrations of Navy and Marine Corps installations in the country: Naval Base San Diego, Naval Air Station North Island, Naval Base Point Loma, Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Many sailors and Marines who served here chose to retire here.
For CRSC, that means most local retirees file with the same board. Navy and Marine Corps CRSC claims are decided by the Department of the Navy's CRSC Board, part of the Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards. We build each packet to that board's requirements. See our Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC guides. Army, Air Force and Coast Guard retirees in San Diego file with their own branch.
Fact patterns we look at for San Diego retirees
- Shipboard and flight deck injuries. Injuries caused by a vessel, aircraft or its equipment may fit instrumentality of war. The equipment has to be the cause, not just the location.
- Diving, demolition and special warfare. These duties can fit hazardous service when the duty and the injury are documented.
- Amphibious and field training. Realistic training injuries at places like Camp Pendleton can fit training that simulates war.
- Ground combat deployments. Marines and corpsmen injured by enemy action fit armed conflict with documentation.
- Burn pits and exposures. See our burn pit CRSC page for how exposure claims are treated.
What CRSC is, briefly
CRSC is a tax-free monthly payment under 10 U.S.C. § 1413a for eligible military retirees whose retired pay is reduced by VA disability compensation. The VA rates the condition. Your branch decides whether it was combat-related, condition by condition, based on credible documents. CRSC and CRDP cannot be received at the same time; if you qualify for both, you choose, and DFAS offers an annual open season to change that choice. See CRSC vs. CRDP.
Local resources worth knowing
Each major installation has retiree support, and the Navy and Marine Corps both run retired activities programs that can answer retired pay and SBP questions. VA health care facilities serve San Diego County for treatment and records. For VA disability claims, county veterans service offices and accredited Veterans Service Organizations offer free help; Standfast does not file VA claims. After a CRSC approval, DFAS pays the benefit. Our work is the CRSC packet.
How it works
- Take the 30-second quiz or book a free 15-minute review.
- Upload your DD-214, VA rating decisions and any prior CRSC letters.
- We tell you which conditions look combat-related and provable.
- If it makes sense, we build your packet for a flat fee. You sign and submit it.
- Flat fee, quoted up front. Never a percentage of your back pay. Payment plans available through Affirm or Klarna at checkout, subject to approval.
- Founded by a combat-disabled Army Infantry retiree who filed his own 277-page CRSC packet. Meet Loy.
- Free 15-minute review before you spend anything.
We help retirees from every branch
Each branch decides CRSC through a different board. Start with yours:
What we do
- CRSC packet preparation: end-to-end build, intake to submission-ready.
- CRSC records review: what is combat-related, provable, and worth per month.
- CRSC reconsideration: rebuild a denied claim with a clearer link to a qualifying cause.
- DD Form 2860 help: completing the CRSC claim form, block by block.
- CRSC eligibility: see if you qualify.
- CRSC calculator: a working estimate of the monthly amount.
Frequently asked questions
Who decides CRSC for Navy and Marine Corps retirees?
The Department of the Navy's CRSC Board, under the Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards, decides claims for both Navy and Marine Corps retirees.
Can a shipboard injury be combat-related?
It can, when the records show that the ship, aircraft or military equipment caused the injury, or that the injury happened in another qualifying category. An injury that only happened aboard ship, without that causal link, is harder to support.
Is Standfast a law firm or VSO?
No. Standfast is a private, veteran-owned CRSC packet-preparation company. We are not a law firm, VSO or VA-accredited agent, and we are not affiliated with the VA, DoD, DFAS or any branch.
Do I need to be in San Diego to work with you?
No. Standfast is 100% remote and works with retirees nationwide.
San Antonio, TX · Killeen / Fort Hood, TX · El Paso / Fort Bliss, TX · Colorado Springs, CO · Fayetteville / Fort Bragg, NC · Norfolk & Virginia Beach, VA · Tampa / MacDill AFB, FL · Clarksville / Fort Campbell, TN-KY · Columbus, GA / Fort Benning · Tacoma / JBLM, WA · Jacksonville, FL · Huntsville / Redstone Arsenal, AL
Local or nationwide, start with a free review.
Everything is done by phone, email and secure file sharing, so where you live never limits the help. Tell us your situation and we will give you a straight, vet-to-vet read on whether CRSC looks like a fit.
Standfast Veterans Group (Standfast Claims LLC) is a private, veteran-owned CRSC packet-preparation company. We are not a law firm, not a Veterans Service Organization and not VA-accredited agents, and we are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, DFAS, Army Human Resources Command or any branch of the Armed Forces. This page is general information, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Your branch's CRSC board decides every claim; we do not guarantee approval, a rating, a payment amount or back pay.