The Four Types of Navy and Marine Corps CRSC: What Military Retirees Need to Know
Many Navy and Marine Corps military retirees in Southern California — living near Naval Base San Diego, Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, or anywhere throughout the region — are leaving significant money on the table every month. Not because they don’t qualify for Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC. But because no one told them which of the four qualifying categories applies to their disability — or that the Department of the Navy’s application process has its own rules, its own board, and a processing timeline that is far longer than most retirees expect.
This post explains the four types of Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC, the legal standard that governs them, the evidentiary framework you need to understand before you apply, and what your options are if the Department of the Navy (DON) CRSC Board denies your claim.
What Is Navy and Marine Corps CRSC — and Who Qualifies?
One critical threshold point: Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC are available only to military retirees. If you separated from the Navy or Marine Corps without achieving retired status — whether through an administrative separation, an honorable discharge at the end of your enlistment, or any other non-retirement separation — you do not qualify. You must be on the retired rolls and receiving military retired pay (even if that pay is currently offset by VA disability compensation) to be eligible.
To qualify for Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC, you must:
Be in retired status and receiving military retired pay
Have a VA disability rating of at least 10%
Have an active VA waiver reducing your retired pay
Have at least one VA-rated disability that the DON CRSC Board determines is combat-related under one of the four categories described below
One board for both services: Unlike some branches, the Navy and Marine Corps share a single adjudicating body — the Department of the Navy CRSC Board, operating under the Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards. Whether you wore Navy whites or Marine Corps dress blues, your application goes to the same board. They are the gatekeeper — not the VA.
Navy and Marine Corps CRSC vs. CRDP: Which Pays More?
Before addressing the four categories, it is worth understanding the difference between Navy and Marine Corps CRSC and Concurrent Military Retirement Pay and DVA Disability Compensation — the program formerly known as Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP).
Both programs address the same problem: the dollar-for-dollar offset between military retired pay and VA disability compensation. But they work differently, and you can only receive one at a time.
CRDP requires a VA disability rating of 50% or higher, requires no application, and is processed automatically. It is taxable income — taxed the same way as your military retired pay.
Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC require a VA disability rating of at least 10% (with at least that portion being combat-related), require an application to the DON CRSC Board, and are completely tax-free under 26 U.S.C. § 104.
A U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Huey helicopter, left, and an AH-1Z Cobra helicopter assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 773, Marine Aircraft Group 29, take off during Integrated Training Exercise 3-25 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, June 6, 2025. MCAGCC serves as the Marine Corps’ premier training venue for service-level exercises by providing realistic multi-domain environments to prepare forces for success in future conflicts. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Richard PerezGarcia)
The CRSC Formula: Why Combat-Related Percentage Matters
CRSC is not always the better choice, and any blanket claim that it is should be viewed with skepticism. The math depends on two key variables:
What percentage of your total VA rating is combat-related. CRSC uses a “lesser of” formula — your payment is capped at the lesser of your combat-related VA compensation or the amount of your retirement pay being offset. If only a small portion of your total VA rating is combat-related, CRDP’s full restoration may pay more.
Your effective tax rate. Because Navy and Marine Corps CRSC is tax-free and CRDP is taxable, CRSC’s after-tax value is higher than the face amount. For retirees living in Southern California, this difference is amplified: California taxes military retired pay at rates up to 9.3%. A $1,000 monthly CRSC payment can be worth the equivalent of $1,100 to $1,300 of taxable CRDP, depending on your bracket. (This post is not legal or tax advice for any specific individual. Questions about your situation should be addressed in a consultation with an attorney or accountant.)
How to Choose Between Navy CRSC, Marine Corps CRSC, and CRDP
CRSC tends to be the stronger choice when most or all of your VA-rated disabilities are combat-related. CRDP tends to be stronger when only a small portion of your total VA rating qualifies as combat-related.
You must elect one program annually. DFAS conducts an open season each January. If you make no election, DFAS defaults to whichever program pays more — but the responsibility for that election is yours. (10 U.S.C. § 1414(d); DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, § 3.2)
The Four Types of Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC
Under 10 U.S.C. § 1413a(e) and DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, Section 6.0, a disability qualifies as combat-related if it was incurred under one of four categories — or if it is associated with a Purple Heart award, which qualifies automatically. Your application to the DON CRSC Board must identify which category applies and provide evidence connecting your VA-rated disability to a qualifying event in that category.
1. Instrumentality of War
A disability qualifies under this category when it was caused by a vehicle, vessel, or device designed primarily for military service. The key requirement is a direct causal relationship between the military instrumentality and the disability. It is not required that the injury occurred during an actual period of war or combat deployment.
For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, this category has a broad reach: naval vessels, amphibious assault vehicles, military aircraft, shipboard ordnance, and combat equipment all qualify as instrumentalities of war. Common examples include injuries from shipboard accidents involving military machinery, IED blasts, AAV operations, and exposure to fumes or explosions from military ordnance.
The DoD FMR is precise about causation: an injury that occurs near a military vessel or vehicle but is not caused by it does not qualify. The instrumentality must be the direct cause — not merely the setting — of the injury.
2. Hazardous Service
This category covers injuries sustained during officially designated hazardous duty assignments, including aerial flight, parachute duty, demolition duty, experimental stress duty, and diving duty. The injury must be a direct result of the hazardous service itself.
For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, this category is particularly significant. Naval aviation, combat diving, EOD duty, and shipboard flight deck operations all fall squarely within designated hazardous service. Two points retirees frequently miss:
Deployment is not required. Domestic training injuries during officially designated hazardous duty qualify.
Travel to and from hazardous duty does not qualify. The injury must occur during the hazardous service itself, not incidentally to it.
3. Armed Conflict
This category requires a definite causal relationship between the armed conflict and the resulting disability. It is not sufficient to establish that you were deployed, present in a combat zone, or served during a period of war. The DoD FMR requires that the disability be the direct result of armed conflict with a hostile or belligerent force.
Armed conflict under the FMR includes wars, expeditions, occupations, battles, skirmishes, raids, invasions, guerrilla actions, riots, and any other engagement with a hostile or belligerent force — as well as incidents involving a prisoner of war or escape from enemy custody.
This is one of the most commonly misunderstood categories. Navy and Marine Corps retirees who served in Iraq or Afghanistan sometimes assume that deployment presence alone is enough. It is not — the DON CRSC Board requires a nexus between the specific disability and a specific qualifying event. Framing this connection clearly before you apply is critical and speaking with a CRSC attorney may help.
4. In the Performance of Duty Under Conditions Simulating War
This is the most frequently overlooked category — and one of the most valuable for Navy and Marine Corps retirees.
The DoD FMR defines simulated war broadly. It covers disabilities resulting from military training such as war games, practice alerts, tactical exercises, airborne operations, leadership reaction courses (LRCs), grenade and live-fire weapons practice, bayonet training, hand-to-hand combat training (MCMAP), rappelling, and negotiation of combat confidence and obstacle courses.
What it does not cover: physical training activities such as calisthenics, jogging, formation running, or supervised sport activities.
Many Marine Corps and Navy retirees with chronic injuries from years of field exercises, amphibious assault training, combined arms exercises, and combat simulations assume their injuries don’t qualify for CRSC because they occurred during training rather than deployed combat. That assumption is wrong, and it costs retirees real money. The Marine Corps’ culture of rigorous combat training — and the Navy’s fleet readiness exercises — produce precisely the kinds of injuries this category was designed to cover.
221118-N-XB010-1008 PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 18, 2022) – Sailors assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) stand by in the well deck as members of the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) return in Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) from the Philippine Sea during Keen Sword 23. Keen Sword is a joint, bilateral, biennial field-training exercise involving U.S. military and Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, designed to increase combat readiness and interoperability and strengthen the ironclad Japan-U.S. alliance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Desmond Parks)
The Evidentiary Standard — and What Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Applicants Need to Know
This section matters as much as any other part of your application. Understanding what the DON CRSC Board is required to apply — and how it has approached evidence in practice — can be the difference between an approval and a denial.
What the DON CRSC Board Is Required to Apply
The DON CRSC Board’s own published guidance states that eligibility requires a preponderance of the evidence establishing that the disability is combat-related. The DoD FMR (Section 10.1.1) articulates a weight-of-the-evidence standard: the totality of available evidence must establish a sufficient causal relationship between the VA-rated disability and a qualifying combat-related event. An uncorroborated statement alone is not determinative — but nowhere does the statute or regulation require that evidence come from a commissioned officer or senior enlisted leader. The standard is causal sufficiency, not rank of the witness.
What This Means for Your Evidence
The DON CRSC Board focuses on whether the evidence establishes the required causal nexus — not on who signed the supporting statement. This has practical implications for how you build your application:
Contemporaneous military records carry the most weight. For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, this means: deck logs and command chronologies documenting operational activities, unit diaries, battle damage assessments, safety investigation reports, mishap reports, line-of-duty determinations, and medical records from shipboard treatment facilities or field medical units. These records document what happened at the time — before any claim was ever contemplated — and carry significant evidentiary weight precisely because they were not created in anticipation of litigation.
Witness accounts have value — especially firsthand ones. A junior enlisted servicemember who was physically present when the qualifying event occurred has a more probative account than a senior leader who received a report through the chain of command. A firsthand account from a witness who was there — regardless of rank — goes to the heart of what the preponderance standard requires: evidence that makes it more likely than not that the disability resulted from a qualifying event. But an unsigned letter weakens the value.
The nexus statement matters. The DON CRSC Board must be able to trace the path from the qualifying event to the specific VA-rated disability. A medical record that documents treatment without explaining how the injury occurred, or a service record that documents a deployment without connecting it to a specific qualifying event, leaves a gap the Board will not fill on your behalf. Building that evidentiary bridge before you apply is the most important thing you can do to protect your claim.
What This Means for Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Claims
Reconsideration can be requested from the DON CRSC Board by submitting new or additional evidence using the Department of the Navy CRSC Reconsideration Request Form
The BCNR applies the DoD FMR’s weight-of-the-evidence framework and has authority to correct naval records and order CRSC entitlements where the evidence supports it
The BCNR can also order reconsideration by the DON CRSC Board with specific instructions on how to weigh the evidence
How Navy and Marine Corps Retirees Can Get Their Records
The nexus between your VA-rated disability and a qualifying Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC event must be documented. Here is how Navy and Marine Corps retirees request the records that matter most.
Military Service Records (OMPF)
For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) is the primary service record. Active-duty Navy personnel and recent retirees can access their OMPF through MyNavyHR. Marine Corps retirees can access their OMPF through Marine Onlineor request it through the NPRC.
For records held at the National Personnel Records Center — generally, Navy enlisted and officers separated before February 1, 1994, and Marine Corps personnel separated before January 1, 1999 — submit a Standard Form 180 (SF-180) or request online through eVetRecs.
Request specifically: deployment orders, unit diaries (Marine Corps) or deck logs and command chronologies (Navy), line-of-duty determinations, safety investigation and mishap reports, awards citations, and any prior administrative or disability board decisions. These contemporaneous records document operational reality at the time — before any claim was contemplated.
Military Medical Records
Service treatment records document the injury and, critically, its causation. Navy and Marine Corps medical records for retirees separated after the mid-1990s are generally held by the VA. For older records, the NPRC or the Naval Health Records Repository may have them.
Focus on records that document how the injury occurred — not just treatment records showing the nature or extent of the condition. A medical record that shows diagnosis and treatment without documenting mechanism of injury leaves a gap the DON CRSC Board will not fill on your behalf.
Also request: records from shipboard medical facilities, battalion aid station records, field medical records, and any hospitalization records from combat deployments. These are often separate from routine outpatient records and may require specific requests.
VA Records
Request your VA claims file (C-file) through VA Form 20-10206 (a FOIA request) or through the VA’s online portal. Your C-file contains the VA rating decisions, diagnostic codes, and examination reports that the DON CRSC Board will use as the foundation of its Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC determination.
Understanding your C-file before you apply allows you to identify evidentiary gaps and address them proactively, rather than discovering them after a denial.
Why Records Matter for Navy and Marine Corps CRSC
The causal nexus between your VA-rated disability and a qualifying event must be established through documentary evidence. Navy and Marine Corps retirees often have access to records — deck logs, command chronologies, unit diaries, mishap reports. Knowing which records to request, and how to use them to frame the qualifying event, is the foundation of a strong Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC claim.
A U.S. Marine with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, fires an M240B medium machine gun during a service level training exercise at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Jan. 29, 2026. SLTE is designed to be a challenging, realistic training environment that produces combat-ready forces capable of operating as an integrated Marine Air-Ground Task Force across all domains of military operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Keegan Jones)
The Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Application Process
Applying for Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC is handled exclusively through the DON CRSC Board — not through the VA, DFAS, or MyNavyHR.
Confirm retired status and VA waiver. You must be on the retired rolls and have an active VA waiver with DFAS reducing your retired pay.
Gather your records. Relevant documentation includes your VA rating decision letters, VA code sheets, VA narrative summary, service medical records documenting causation, your OMPF, unit diaries or deck logs, LOD determinations, safety and mishap reports, and any prior disability board decisions.
Identify which of the four CRSC categories applies. This is the most consequential decision in your application. Every piece of evidence you submit should be organized around establishing the causal nexus for the specific category you are claiming.
Where to Submit Your Navy or Marine Corps CRSC Application
Step 4: Complete DD Form 2860 and submit to the DON CRSC Board.
Mailing address:
Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards Attn: Combat-Related Special Compensation Branch 720 Kennon Street SE, Suite 309 Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5023
Phone: (877) 366-2772
Email: CRSC@navy.mil
Processing time: This is the most significant difference between the DON CRSC Board and the Army’s process. Due to increased application volume and staffing constraints, Navy and Marine Corps retirees should anticipate a processing time of approximately 12 to 18 months from the date a completed application is received. This is not a clerical delay — it is the DON CRSC Board’s current published estimate. Plan accordingly and file as early as possible.
Retroactive pay: CRSC is payable retroactively. Given the 12 to 18 month processing window, filing promptly is particularly important for Navy and Marine Corps retirees — every month of delay narrows the retroactive window.
Frequently Asked Questions About Navy and Marine Corps CRSC
Do I qualify for Navy or Marine Corps CRSC if I separated without retiring?
No. Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC are available only to military retirees on the retired rolls who are receiving — or entitled to receive — military retired pay. Veterans who separated without retiring, including those who were honorably discharged at the end of an enlistment or service obligation, do not qualify. Other programs, including standard VA disability compensation, may be available, but CRSC is not.
Can I receive Navy or Marine Corps CRSC with less than a 50% VA rating?
Yes. Navy and Marine Corps CRSC require only a 10% or greater VA disability rating — with at least that portion determined to be combat-related. This is one of CRSC’s key advantages over CRDP, which requires a 50% rating minimum.
Navy and Marine Corps CRSC: Training Injuries, Service Connection, and Domestic Claims
My disability is service-connected. Doesn’t that automatically make it combat-related for CRSC purposes?
No. Service connection and combat-relatedness are separate legal determinations made by separate agencies. The VA determines service connection. The DON CRSC Board determines combat-relatedness under the four CRSC categories. A disability that the VA has service-connected — even under a presumptive theory — is not automatically combat-related for CRSC purposes. It simply means the injury is connected to your service.
I was injured during training at a domestic installation or aboard ship in U.S. waters. Can I still qualify?
Possibly yes, under the Hazardous Service or Simulated War categories. Training injuries sustained during naval aviation operations, amphibious exercises, combat dive training, EOD duty, live-fire exercises, or combat simulation training can all qualify. The fact that no deployment was involved does not disqualify the claim.
How long will it take for the DON CRSC Board to decide my application?
The DON CRSC Board currently estimates 12 to 18 months from receipt of a completed application. This is significantly longer than other service branches. Submitting a complete, well-documented application the first time — with all supporting evidence included — is the best way to avoid delays from requests for additional information.
Navy and Marine Corps CRSC: Denials, Divorces, and Retroactive Pay
What if the DON CRSC Board denies my application?
You can request reconsideration from the DON CRSC Board using the Department of the Navy CRSC Reconsideration Request Form. If reconsideration is denied, Navy and Marine Corps retirees may appeal to the Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) using DD Form 149. The BCNR has broad authority to correct naval records and order CRSC entitlements where the evidence supports it.
Additional Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Questions
Is Navy or Marine Corps CRSC divisible in a divorce?
No. CRSC is not military retired pay and is not subject to 10 U.S.C. § 1408 (the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act). It cannot be divided as marital property in a divorce proceeding. (DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, § 1.1.3)
How does Navy or Marine Corps CRSC interact with my Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)?
If your retired pay is not adequate to cover your SBP premium, the premium may be deducted from your CRSC payment. (DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, § 1.1.3.2)
What Navy and Marine Corps Retirees in Southern California Should Know
Southern California is home to one of the largest concentrations of Navy and Marine Corps military retirees in the country. Naval Base San Diego, Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, Naval Base Coronado, and the surrounding communities in San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties represent a dense community of retirees who served across every occupational specialty — from infantry and aviation to special operations and surface warfare.
Why California Makes Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Worth Examining Closely
For these retirees, two factors make Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC particularly worth examining:
First, California taxes military retired pay. Unlike a number of other states, California does not exempt military retirement income from state income tax. Because Navy and Marine Corps CRSC is tax-free at both the federal and state level, its after-tax value is materially higher for California residents than the gross monthly amount suggests.
Second, the combat experience concentrated in Southern California’s military retiree community is significant. Marine Corps and Navy retirees who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other combat theaters — or who sustained injuries during the demanding training programs at bases throughout the region — may have qualifying disabilities under one or more of the four CRSC categories. The simulated war category alone covers years of combined arms exercises, live-fire training at Twentynine Palms, amphibious operations off San Clemente Island, and airborne and combat dive operations that produced the chronic injuries many retirees now carry.
If you are a Navy or Marine Corps retiree living in Southern California and you have VA-rated disabilities connected to your service, understanding whether Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC applies to your situation is worth the time.
The Bottom Line
Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC are federal entitlements, not discretionary benefits. If your VA-rated disability qualifies under one of the four categories — instrumentality of war, hazardous service, armed conflict, or simulated war — and you meet the retirement status requirements, you are entitled to compensation.
The DON CRSC Board’s process is demanding, and the 12 to 18 month processing window means that the decisions you make at the application stage — which category to claim, which records to submit, how to frame the evidentiary nexus — have consequences that play out over a long horizon. A denial is not the end of the road. But a well-built initial application is far better than rebuilding a case on reconsideration or appeal.
If you are a Navy or Marine Corps retiree who has been denied CRSC, or if you are preparing an initial claim and want to make sure it is structured correctly from the start, speaking with a military CRSC attorney who understands both the governing regulation and the DON CRSC Board’s process can make a significant difference in the outcome.
Kevin Courtney, Esq. is the Founding Member of Courtney Military Law Group, P.C., a boutique military law firm based in Southern California focused primarily on military law. A former USMC Captain and Judge Advocate, he represents military retirees, servicemembers, and veterans nationwide. For questions about Navy CRSC, Marine Corps CRSC, or related military legal matters, request a consultation to speak to a CRSC attorney.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. CRSC eligibility is fact-specific. Consult a qualified CRSC attorney before making decisions about your benefits.
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The Four Types of Navy and Marine Corps CRSC: What Military Retirees Need to Know
Many Navy and Marine Corps military retirees in Southern California — living near Naval Base San Diego, Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, or anywhere throughout the region — are leaving significant money on the table every month. Not because they don’t qualify for Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC. But because no one told them which of the four qualifying categories applies to their disability — or that the Department of the Navy’s application process has its own rules, its own board, and a processing timeline that is far longer than most retirees expect.
This post explains the four types of Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC, the legal standard that governs them, the evidentiary framework you need to understand before you apply, and what your options are if the Department of the Navy (DON) CRSC Board denies your claim.
What Is Navy and Marine Corps CRSC — and Who Qualifies?
One critical threshold point: Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC are available only to military retirees. If you separated from the Navy or Marine Corps without achieving retired status — whether through an administrative separation, an honorable discharge at the end of your enlistment, or any other non-retirement separation — you do not qualify. You must be on the retired rolls and receiving military retired pay (even if that pay is currently offset by VA disability compensation) to be eligible.
To qualify for Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC, you must:
Be in retired status and receiving military retired pay
Have a VA disability rating of at least 10%
Have an active VA waiver reducing your retired pay
Have at least one VA-rated disability that the DON CRSC Board determines is combat-related under one of the four categories described below
One board for both services: Unlike some branches, the Navy and Marine Corps share a single adjudicating body — the Department of the Navy CRSC Board, operating under the Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards. Whether you wore Navy whites or Marine Corps dress blues, your application goes to the same board. They are the gatekeeper — not the VA.
Navy and Marine Corps CRSC vs. CRDP: Which Pays More?
Before addressing the four categories, it is worth understanding the difference between Navy and Marine Corps CRSC and Concurrent Military Retirement Pay and DVA Disability Compensation — the program formerly known as Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP).
Both programs address the same problem: the dollar-for-dollar offset between military retired pay and VA disability compensation. But they work differently, and you can only receive one at a time.
CRDP requires a VA disability rating of 50% or higher, requires no application, and is processed automatically. It is taxable income — taxed the same way as your military retired pay.
Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC require a VA disability rating of at least 10% (with at least that portion being combat-related), require an application to the DON CRSC Board, and are completely tax-free under 26 U.S.C. § 104.
A U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Huey helicopter, left, and an AH-1Z Cobra helicopter assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 773, Marine Aircraft Group 29, take off during Integrated Training Exercise 3-25 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, June 6, 2025. MCAGCC serves as the Marine Corps’ premier training venue for service-level exercises by providing realistic multi-domain environments to prepare forces for success in future conflicts. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Richard PerezGarcia)
The CRSC Formula: Why Combat-Related Percentage Matters
CRSC is not always the better choice, and any blanket claim that it is should be viewed with skepticism. The math depends on two key variables:
What percentage of your total VA rating is combat-related. CRSC uses a “lesser of” formula — your payment is capped at the lesser of your combat-related VA compensation or the amount of your retirement pay being offset. If only a small portion of your total VA rating is combat-related, CRDP’s full restoration may pay more.
Your effective tax rate. Because Navy and Marine Corps CRSC is tax-free and CRDP is taxable, CRSC’s after-tax value is higher than the face amount. For retirees living in Southern California, this difference is amplified: California taxes military retired pay at rates up to 9.3%. A $1,000 monthly CRSC payment can be worth the equivalent of $1,100 to $1,300 of taxable CRDP, depending on your bracket. (This post is not legal or tax advice for any specific individual. Questions about your situation should be addressed in a consultation with an attorney or accountant.)
How to Choose Between Navy CRSC, Marine Corps CRSC, and CRDP
CRSC tends to be the stronger choice when most or all of your VA-rated disabilities are combat-related. CRDP tends to be stronger when only a small portion of your total VA rating qualifies as combat-related.
You must elect one program annually. DFAS conducts an open season each January. If you make no election, DFAS defaults to whichever program pays more — but the responsibility for that election is yours. (10 U.S.C. § 1414(d); DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, § 3.2)
The Four Types of Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC
Under 10 U.S.C. § 1413a(e) and DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, Section 6.0, a disability qualifies as combat-related if it was incurred under one of four categories — or if it is associated with a Purple Heart award, which qualifies automatically. Your application to the DON CRSC Board must identify which category applies and provide evidence connecting your VA-rated disability to a qualifying event in that category.
1. Instrumentality of War
A disability qualifies under this category when it was caused by a vehicle, vessel, or device designed primarily for military service. The key requirement is a direct causal relationship between the military instrumentality and the disability. It is not required that the injury occurred during an actual period of war or combat deployment.
For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, this category has a broad reach: naval vessels, amphibious assault vehicles, military aircraft, shipboard ordnance, and combat equipment all qualify as instrumentalities of war. Common examples include injuries from shipboard accidents involving military machinery, IED blasts, AAV operations, and exposure to fumes or explosions from military ordnance.
The DoD FMR is precise about causation: an injury that occurs near a military vessel or vehicle but is not caused by it does not qualify. The instrumentality must be the direct cause — not merely the setting — of the injury.
2. Hazardous Service
This category covers injuries sustained during officially designated hazardous duty assignments, including aerial flight, parachute duty, demolition duty, experimental stress duty, and diving duty. The injury must be a direct result of the hazardous service itself.
For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, this category is particularly significant. Naval aviation, combat diving, EOD duty, and shipboard flight deck operations all fall squarely within designated hazardous service. Two points retirees frequently miss:
Deployment is not required. Domestic training injuries during officially designated hazardous duty qualify.
Travel to and from hazardous duty does not qualify. The injury must occur during the hazardous service itself, not incidentally to it.
3. Armed Conflict
This category requires a definite causal relationship between the armed conflict and the resulting disability. It is not sufficient to establish that you were deployed, present in a combat zone, or served during a period of war. The DoD FMR requires that the disability be the direct result of armed conflict with a hostile or belligerent force.
Armed conflict under the FMR includes wars, expeditions, occupations, battles, skirmishes, raids, invasions, guerrilla actions, riots, and any other engagement with a hostile or belligerent force — as well as incidents involving a prisoner of war or escape from enemy custody.
This is one of the most commonly misunderstood categories. Navy and Marine Corps retirees who served in Iraq or Afghanistan sometimes assume that deployment presence alone is enough. It is not — the DON CRSC Board requires a nexus between the specific disability and a specific qualifying event. Framing this connection clearly before you apply is critical and speaking with a CRSC attorney may help.
4. In the Performance of Duty Under Conditions Simulating War
This is the most frequently overlooked category — and one of the most valuable for Navy and Marine Corps retirees.
The DoD FMR defines simulated war broadly. It covers disabilities resulting from military training such as war games, practice alerts, tactical exercises, airborne operations, leadership reaction courses (LRCs), grenade and live-fire weapons practice, bayonet training, hand-to-hand combat training (MCMAP), rappelling, and negotiation of combat confidence and obstacle courses.
What it does not cover: physical training activities such as calisthenics, jogging, formation running, or supervised sport activities.
Many Marine Corps and Navy retirees with chronic injuries from years of field exercises, amphibious assault training, combined arms exercises, and combat simulations assume their injuries don’t qualify for CRSC because they occurred during training rather than deployed combat. That assumption is wrong, and it costs retirees real money. The Marine Corps’ culture of rigorous combat training — and the Navy’s fleet readiness exercises — produce precisely the kinds of injuries this category was designed to cover.
221118-N-XB010-1008 PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 18, 2022) – Sailors assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) stand by in the well deck as members of the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) return in Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) from the Philippine Sea during Keen Sword 23. Keen Sword is a joint, bilateral, biennial field-training exercise involving U.S. military and Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, designed to increase combat readiness and interoperability and strengthen the ironclad Japan-U.S. alliance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Desmond Parks)
The Evidentiary Standard — and What Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Applicants Need to Know
This section matters as much as any other part of your application. Understanding what the DON CRSC Board is required to apply — and how it has approached evidence in practice — can be the difference between an approval and a denial.
What the DON CRSC Board Is Required to Apply
The DON CRSC Board’s own published guidance states that eligibility requires a preponderance of the evidence establishing that the disability is combat-related. The DoD FMR (Section 10.1.1) articulates a weight-of-the-evidence standard: the totality of available evidence must establish a sufficient causal relationship between the VA-rated disability and a qualifying combat-related event. An uncorroborated statement alone is not determinative — but nowhere does the statute or regulation require that evidence come from a commissioned officer or senior enlisted leader. The standard is causal sufficiency, not rank of the witness.
What This Means for Your Evidence
The DON CRSC Board focuses on whether the evidence establishes the required causal nexus — not on who signed the supporting statement. This has practical implications for how you build your application:
Contemporaneous military records carry the most weight. For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, this means: deck logs and command chronologies documenting operational activities, unit diaries, battle damage assessments, safety investigation reports, mishap reports, line-of-duty determinations, and medical records from shipboard treatment facilities or field medical units. These records document what happened at the time — before any claim was ever contemplated — and carry significant evidentiary weight precisely because they were not created in anticipation of litigation.
Witness accounts have value — especially firsthand ones. A junior enlisted servicemember who was physically present when the qualifying event occurred has a more probative account than a senior leader who received a report through the chain of command. A firsthand account from a witness who was there — regardless of rank — goes to the heart of what the preponderance standard requires: evidence that makes it more likely than not that the disability resulted from a qualifying event. But an unsigned letter weakens the value.
The nexus statement matters. The DON CRSC Board must be able to trace the path from the qualifying event to the specific VA-rated disability. A medical record that documents treatment without explaining how the injury occurred, or a service record that documents a deployment without connecting it to a specific qualifying event, leaves a gap the Board will not fill on your behalf. Building that evidentiary bridge before you apply is the most important thing you can do to protect your claim.
What This Means for Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Claims
Reconsideration can be requested from the DON CRSC Board by submitting new or additional evidence using the Department of the Navy CRSC Reconsideration Request Form
The BCNR applies the DoD FMR’s weight-of-the-evidence framework and has authority to correct naval records and order CRSC entitlements where the evidence supports it
The BCNR can also order reconsideration by the DON CRSC Board with specific instructions on how to weigh the evidence
How Navy and Marine Corps Retirees Can Get Their Records
The nexus between your VA-rated disability and a qualifying Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC event must be documented. Here is how Navy and Marine Corps retirees request the records that matter most.
Military Service Records (OMPF)
For Navy and Marine Corps retirees, the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) is the primary service record. Active-duty Navy personnel and recent retirees can access their OMPF through MyNavyHR. Marine Corps retirees can access their OMPF through Marine Onlineor request it through the NPRC.
For records held at the National Personnel Records Center — generally, Navy enlisted and officers separated before February 1, 1994, and Marine Corps personnel separated before January 1, 1999 — submit a Standard Form 180 (SF-180) or request online through eVetRecs.
Request specifically: deployment orders, unit diaries (Marine Corps) or deck logs and command chronologies (Navy), line-of-duty determinations, safety investigation and mishap reports, awards citations, and any prior administrative or disability board decisions. These contemporaneous records document operational reality at the time — before any claim was contemplated.
Military Medical Records
Service treatment records document the injury and, critically, its causation. Navy and Marine Corps medical records for retirees separated after the mid-1990s are generally held by the VA. For older records, the NPRC or the Naval Health Records Repository may have them.
Focus on records that document how the injury occurred — not just treatment records showing the nature or extent of the condition. A medical record that shows diagnosis and treatment without documenting mechanism of injury leaves a gap the DON CRSC Board will not fill on your behalf.
Also request: records from shipboard medical facilities, battalion aid station records, field medical records, and any hospitalization records from combat deployments. These are often separate from routine outpatient records and may require specific requests.
VA Records
Request your VA claims file (C-file) through VA Form 20-10206 (a FOIA request) or through the VA’s online portal. Your C-file contains the VA rating decisions, diagnostic codes, and examination reports that the DON CRSC Board will use as the foundation of its Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC determination.
Understanding your C-file before you apply allows you to identify evidentiary gaps and address them proactively, rather than discovering them after a denial.
Why Records Matter for Navy and Marine Corps CRSC
The causal nexus between your VA-rated disability and a qualifying event must be established through documentary evidence. Navy and Marine Corps retirees often have access to records — deck logs, command chronologies, unit diaries, mishap reports. Knowing which records to request, and how to use them to frame the qualifying event, is the foundation of a strong Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC claim.
A U.S. Marine with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, fires an M240B medium machine gun during a service level training exercise at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Jan. 29, 2026. SLTE is designed to be a challenging, realistic training environment that produces combat-ready forces capable of operating as an integrated Marine Air-Ground Task Force across all domains of military operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Keegan Jones)
The Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Application Process
Applying for Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC is handled exclusively through the DON CRSC Board — not through the VA, DFAS, or MyNavyHR.
Confirm retired status and VA waiver. You must be on the retired rolls and have an active VA waiver with DFAS reducing your retired pay.
Gather your records. Relevant documentation includes your VA rating decision letters, VA code sheets, VA narrative summary, service medical records documenting causation, your OMPF, unit diaries or deck logs, LOD determinations, safety and mishap reports, and any prior disability board decisions.
Identify which of the four CRSC categories applies. This is the most consequential decision in your application. Every piece of evidence you submit should be organized around establishing the causal nexus for the specific category you are claiming.
Where to Submit Your Navy or Marine Corps CRSC Application
Step 4: Complete DD Form 2860 and submit to the DON CRSC Board.
Mailing address:
Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards Attn: Combat-Related Special Compensation Branch 720 Kennon Street SE, Suite 309 Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5023
Phone: (877) 366-2772
Email: CRSC@navy.mil
Processing time: This is the most significant difference between the DON CRSC Board and the Army’s process. Due to increased application volume and staffing constraints, Navy and Marine Corps retirees should anticipate a processing time of approximately 12 to 18 months from the date a completed application is received. This is not a clerical delay — it is the DON CRSC Board’s current published estimate. Plan accordingly and file as early as possible.
Retroactive pay: CRSC is payable retroactively. Given the 12 to 18 month processing window, filing promptly is particularly important for Navy and Marine Corps retirees — every month of delay narrows the retroactive window.
Frequently Asked Questions About Navy and Marine Corps CRSC
Do I qualify for Navy or Marine Corps CRSC if I separated without retiring?
No. Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC are available only to military retirees on the retired rolls who are receiving — or entitled to receive — military retired pay. Veterans who separated without retiring, including those who were honorably discharged at the end of an enlistment or service obligation, do not qualify. Other programs, including standard VA disability compensation, may be available, but CRSC is not.
Can I receive Navy or Marine Corps CRSC with less than a 50% VA rating?
Yes. Navy and Marine Corps CRSC require only a 10% or greater VA disability rating — with at least that portion determined to be combat-related. This is one of CRSC’s key advantages over CRDP, which requires a 50% rating minimum.
Navy and Marine Corps CRSC: Training Injuries, Service Connection, and Domestic Claims
My disability is service-connected. Doesn’t that automatically make it combat-related for CRSC purposes?
No. Service connection and combat-relatedness are separate legal determinations made by separate agencies. The VA determines service connection. The DON CRSC Board determines combat-relatedness under the four CRSC categories. A disability that the VA has service-connected — even under a presumptive theory — is not automatically combat-related for CRSC purposes. It simply means the injury is connected to your service.
I was injured during training at a domestic installation or aboard ship in U.S. waters. Can I still qualify?
Possibly yes, under the Hazardous Service or Simulated War categories. Training injuries sustained during naval aviation operations, amphibious exercises, combat dive training, EOD duty, live-fire exercises, or combat simulation training can all qualify. The fact that no deployment was involved does not disqualify the claim.
How long will it take for the DON CRSC Board to decide my application?
The DON CRSC Board currently estimates 12 to 18 months from receipt of a completed application. This is significantly longer than other service branches. Submitting a complete, well-documented application the first time — with all supporting evidence included — is the best way to avoid delays from requests for additional information.
Navy and Marine Corps CRSC: Denials, Divorces, and Retroactive Pay
What if the DON CRSC Board denies my application?
You can request reconsideration from the DON CRSC Board using the Department of the Navy CRSC Reconsideration Request Form. If reconsideration is denied, Navy and Marine Corps retirees may appeal to the Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) using DD Form 149. The BCNR has broad authority to correct naval records and order CRSC entitlements where the evidence supports it.
Additional Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Questions
Is Navy or Marine Corps CRSC divisible in a divorce?
No. CRSC is not military retired pay and is not subject to 10 U.S.C. § 1408 (the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act). It cannot be divided as marital property in a divorce proceeding. (DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, § 1.1.3)
How does Navy or Marine Corps CRSC interact with my Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)?
If your retired pay is not adequate to cover your SBP premium, the premium may be deducted from your CRSC payment. (DoD FMR Vol. 7B, Ch. 63, § 1.1.3.2)
What Navy and Marine Corps Retirees in Southern California Should Know
Southern California is home to one of the largest concentrations of Navy and Marine Corps military retirees in the country. Naval Base San Diego, Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, Naval Base Coronado, and the surrounding communities in San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties represent a dense community of retirees who served across every occupational specialty — from infantry and aviation to special operations and surface warfare.
Why California Makes Navy and Marine Corps CRSC Worth Examining Closely
For these retirees, two factors make Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC particularly worth examining:
First, California taxes military retired pay. Unlike a number of other states, California does not exempt military retirement income from state income tax. Because Navy and Marine Corps CRSC is tax-free at both the federal and state level, its after-tax value is materially higher for California residents than the gross monthly amount suggests.
Second, the combat experience concentrated in Southern California’s military retiree community is significant. Marine Corps and Navy retirees who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other combat theaters — or who sustained injuries during the demanding training programs at bases throughout the region — may have qualifying disabilities under one or more of the four CRSC categories. The simulated war category alone covers years of combined arms exercises, live-fire training at Twentynine Palms, amphibious operations off San Clemente Island, and airborne and combat dive operations that produced the chronic injuries many retirees now carry.
If you are a Navy or Marine Corps retiree living in Southern California and you have VA-rated disabilities connected to your service, understanding whether Navy CRSC or Marine Corps CRSC applies to your situation is worth the time.
The Bottom Line
Navy CRSC and Marine Corps CRSC are federal entitlements, not discretionary benefits. If your VA-rated disability qualifies under one of the four categories — instrumentality of war, hazardous service, armed conflict, or simulated war — and you meet the retirement status requirements, you are entitled to compensation.
The DON CRSC Board’s process is demanding, and the 12 to 18 month processing window means that the decisions you make at the application stage — which category to claim, which records to submit, how to frame the evidentiary nexus — have consequences that play out over a long horizon. A denial is not the end of the road. But a well-built initial application is far better than rebuilding a case on reconsideration or appeal.
If you are a Navy or Marine Corps retiree who has been denied CRSC, or if you are preparing an initial claim and want to make sure it is structured correctly from the start, speaking with a military CRSC attorney who understands both the governing regulation and the DON CRSC Board’s process can make a significant difference in the outcome.
Kevin Courtney, Esq. is the Founding Member of Courtney Military Law Group, P.C., a boutique military law firm based in Southern California focused primarily on military law. A former USMC Captain and Judge Advocate, he represents military retirees, servicemembers, and veterans nationwide. For questions about Navy CRSC, Marine Corps CRSC, or related military legal matters, request a consultation to speak to a CRSC attorney.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. CRSC eligibility is fact-specific. Consult a qualified CRSC attorney before making decisions about your benefits.
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