Citation Nr: 0813935 Decision Date: 04/28/08 Archive Date: 05/08/08 DOCKET NO. 06-30 678 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Ahlstrom, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from January 1966 to February 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2006 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg, Florida. 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 the September 2006 substantive appeal, the veteran did not check the box on the front of form indicating he desired a hearing; however, he submitted an attachment requesting a videoconference hearing before the Board. In the VAF-646, his representative related that the veteran had declined a hearing. In the May 2007 informal brief presentation, his representative reflected that no action had ever been taken to fulfill his request for a videoconference hearing. A reasonable reading of the correspondence is that the veteran has, in fact, requested a hearing before the Board. The Board does not construe the VAF-646 as a withdraw of the request. As such, the case will be returned to the RO to schedule such a hearing. If he no longer desires a hearing, he should withdraw the request in writing. In view of the foregoing, the claim is remanded to the RO for the following development: The RO should schedule the veteran for a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO, in accordance with applicable procedures, and notice should be sent to the veteran and to his representative, as required. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board in accordance with appropriate procedures. No action is required of the appellant or his representative until further notice. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter 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). _________________________________________________ L. HOWELL 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).