Citation Nr: 0811482 Decision Date: 04/08/08 Archive Date: 04/23/08 DOCKET NO. 04-10 509 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Montgomery, Alabama THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Michael J. Skaltsounis, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active service from September 1977 to January 1985, and from February 1991 to March 1991. This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a September 2003 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama, which denied the above claim. Although the claims folder reflects the Board's receipt of additional information from the veteran in February 2008 without waiver of the RO's initial review of this evidence, as a result of the Board's decision to remand the claim, the Board finds that efforts to obtain a waiver of this consideration are not necessary. 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 The Board has carefully examined the RO's efforts to obtain the veteran's personnel records from each of his periods of active service, and finds that while the RO diligently pursued the veteran's records from the appropriate agencies, there is an indication that the personnel records from his first period of active service are incomplete. More specifically, the veteran asserts that he was attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry when he was exposed to his primary stressor in Korea in December 1979, and with the exception of photographs supplied by the veteran and the service medical records for that period, there are no records that confirm his attachment to that unit. Consequently, the Board finds that further efforts should be made to obtain additional personnel records for the veteran from his first period of service, and that based on correspondence contained within the claims folder, this additional search should be directed to both the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (RMC), P.O. Box 5020, St. Louis, MO 63115-0020. In addition, the record contains multiple diagnoses of PTSD, and the veteran has now supplied more detailed information with respect to the stressor he contends he was exposed to while attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Division during a mission in the Korean DMZ in which casualties resulted from the detonation of a land mine. Although the veteran's most recent account of the incident discloses the names of two fellow service members that were killed in this incident as opposed to one service member as previously reported, and neglects to report the name of the fellow service member who lost a leg in the explosion as was also previously reported, the Board finds that this information, together with previously provided information, is sufficiently detailed to warrant further development. There is also no indication that the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) was ever contacted for the purposes of obtaining the unit records for the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry, and based on the information provided by the veteran, that search could be limited to the period of December 1, 1979 to February 1, 1980. Consequently, this claim must also be remanded so an effort can be made to obtain these records. In the event that this or another one of the veteran's claimed stressors is verified, the veteran should then be provided with a psychiatric examination to determine whether he has PTSD that is linked to the verified stressor or stressors. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Arrangements should be made to obtain any additional VA treatment records for the veteran, dated since December 2005. 2. An effort should be made to obtain additional personnel records for the veteran from his first period of service, and this request should be directed to both the NPRC and the Department of Veterans Affairs (RMC), P.O. Box 5020, St. Louis, MO 63115- 0020. 3. An effort should be made to contact JSRRC located at 7701 Telegraph Road, Kingman Building, Room 2C08, Alexandria, VA 22315-3802, and request that JSRRC research the unit history of the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Division for the period of December 1, 1979 to February 1, 1980, to determine whether it sustained any casualties during this period as a result of the accidental detonation of a land mine by a patrol in the area of the Korea DMZ. 4. In the event that a stressor is verified, the RO/AMC should note that for the record and schedule the veteran for a VA psychiatric examination. The claims folder must be made available to the examiner for review. The diagnosis should be in accordance with the American Psychiatric Association's: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- IV (DSM-IV). All necessary special studies or tests are to be accomplished. The examiner must express an opinion as to whether the veteran meets the criteria for PTSD contained in DSM-IV, and if he meets such criteria, whether PTSD can be related to the stressor or stressors reported by the veteran and established as having occurred during the veteran's active service. The examiner must provide a comprehensive report including complete rationales for all conclusions reached. 5. Finally, readjudicate the claim on appeal. If the benefits sought on appeal remain denied, the veteran and his representative should be provided a supplemental statement of the case, and given the opportunity to respond thereto. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in order. The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate outcome of this case. The appellant need take no action unless otherwise notified. 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. 2007). _________________________________________________ P.M. DILORENZO 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) (2007).