What is considered Combat Related to you?

I think any time you are overseas in a military position - the military sent you there - any injury should be listed as combat relate - behind lines. This would show you were in another place besides the states - on a military mission - but not on the combat line.

I always understood combat as under enemy fire. Kuwait is a peace keeping mission. And upon entry to Iraq (a war zone), you fly into Kuwait (green zone). The fire you withstood came from friendly fire, though it came from a disgruntled soldier, that soldier was meant to be fighting with you and not against you.
I believe it has something to do with location and enemy fire.

James...look at this as "Ask The IG." The issue is, at its heart, whether or not an incident is deemed workplace violence or an act of terrorism. I suggest you review the full story of Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan who killed 13 service members at Ft. Hood and the resultant congressional actions that occurred later. It's understood that traumatic stress by itself is not restricted to combat situations exclusively and can affect anyone exposed to traumatic events anywhere. Unfortunately, to be "service connected" and subject to VA Benefits the situation must fall within the definition as given by current regulation and VA guidelines which are generally combat related. All incidents are reviewed on a case by case basis and judged accordingly. I suggest you file an appeal to the VA including all of the evidence you have and explain why you believe your case should be vetted as "service connected," including exactly what benefits you feel you should receive as a result.

PTSD is not in and of itself disqualifying from combat duty.......if your symptoms are not debilitating you may be qualified to go....if they are seek help and get qualified....soldiers (the collective we) deploy....it's our job if you cant do it ....it may be time to retire, or separate.

Combat related means it happened during a deployment in the theater of operations .

A couple issues here: is this a C&P exam stating this? Is this your mental health provider saying this? What do you mean "VA website"? The way the law is written it talks about "fear of hostile military or terrorist activity, ". If SGT Akbar was not defined as a terrorist then by law the rater would probably move that way. However it's important that you receive help with whatever is ailing you.

The problem is, even if you were in the next tent over when he conducted his grenade attack, and you suffered shrapnel wounds, you wouldn't be awarded a purple heart since it isn't considered "enemy action."

On the other hand, people have service-related injuries from doing PT, so this definitely seems like a grey area, especially where mental health is concerned. The problem with PTSD is, it's hard to prove, so it's often viewed in the lens of what you were actually exposed to. Since you were not there, your PTSD claim seems no different than people who watched a terror attack on the news and suddenly felt the urge to duct tape the seals on their windows.

Yes, bad things can happen while deployed. If you watched 9/11 footage prior to a deployment and it had the same effect, they still wouldn't consider it service-related, because it was something everyone was able to see, not just those who serve. It's not a question of whether or not it could cause PTSD, but whether or not access to what caused it was service related.