Citation Nr: 0703445 Decision Date: 02/05/07 Archive Date: 02/14/07 DOCKET NO. 04-37 939 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Jackson, Mississippi THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, multiple discs, claimed as a low back injury. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Tresa M. Schlecht, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active service from September 1962 to December 1966, and from January 1991 to April 1991, and numerous periods of reserve component service. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a September 2003 rating decision issued by the Jackson, Mississippi, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) which, in pertinent part, denied a claim of entitlement to service connection for a back injury. After the veteran submitted a notice of disagreement in October 2003 and the RO issued a statement of the case (SOC) in September 2004, the veteran's timely substantive appeal was received in October 2004. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND In a statement submitted to the Board in October 2006, the veteran indicated that he wanted a videoconference hearing before the Board. The claim must be Remanded to afford the veteran the requested hearing. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: The requested videoconference Board hearing should be scheduled. All notices to the veteran and any and all responses from the veteran, whether written or verbal, must be documented in the claims file. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2005). _________________________________________________ MARJORIE A. AUER Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2006).