Veterans who served in combat receive special evidentiary considerations when filing disability claims. If you engaged in combat with the enemy, your own statements about what happened during combat are accepted as sufficient proof that the event occurred, even without official records documenting the specific incident. This is a significant benefit because combat records are often incomplete or unavailable. To qualify for this consideration, the claimed injury or disease must be consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of your combat service. You do not need to have received a combat medal, though medals and awards can help establish combat status. Service in a combat zone alone may be sufficient if the evidence shows you personally engaged in combat. The combat presumption only covers the in-service event itself. You still need medical evidence of a current disability and evidence connecting the current condition to the combat event. However, the relaxed standard for proving the in-service event removes one of the most common obstacles in disability claims. If you are a combat veteran and VA is questioning whether an event occurred during service, make sure VA applies this provision. Many claims by combat veterans are improperly denied because the rating official does not consider or correctly apply these special rules.
Note: This article references sections of the VA's M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual. The VA periodically reorganizes the M21-1 and section numbers may have changed since this article was written. For the most current section references, visit the VA's public M21-1 Web Automated Reference Material System (WARMS).