Citation Nr: 1306287 Decision Date: 02/22/13 Archive Date: 02/27/13 DOCKET NO. 09-40 282 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Detroit, Michigan THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A. ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Katz, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from May 1977 to June 1981. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2008 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Detroit, Michigan (RO). Please note this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002). 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 August 2011, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim to the RO for further development. Specifically, the Board instructed the RO to submit additional requests to obtain copies of court martial records which might corroborate the Veteran's reported stressors pertaining to her PTSD. Although the RO sent numerous requests in the hopes of obtaining the court martial records, review of the claims file reflects that additional development should be conducted. From the responses to the RO's requests in the claims file, it appears that court-martial records for the Army are maintained at two different locations. Court-martial records from 1939 to 1976 are housed at the National Archives and Records Administration in St. Louis, Missouri, and records on and after 1976 are kept with the Department of the Army in the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Despite two letters to the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the Department of the Army has not yet conducted a search of the records on and after 1976 for the court-martial records identified by the Veteran. Therefore, the RO should again contact the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals and request that they conduct a search of their records on and after 1976 for the court-martial records identified by the Veteran. Additionally, although the National Personnel Records Center responded in September 2012 that they were unable to locate any records in the General Courts-Martial index, review of their response indicates that they searched for the incorrect names - the Veteran identified the defendant as Keith D. Greene or Kevin D. Green, and the NPRC responded that they searched for Keith D. Greene or David D. Green. Thus, the RO should again contact the NPRC and request that they perform another search using the correct names provided by the Veteran. Additionally, it appears from the requests submitted by the RO that they have requested records pertaining to a Keith D. Greene or a Kevin D. Green. It is unclear from the Board's review of the record how the RO determined that the service member's middle name started with the letter "D." In all of the Veteran's statements describing her stressors and the service member at issue, she stated only the first and last name, identified as either Kevin Green or Keith Greene. Thus, the RO should submit requests identifying only the names Kevin Green or Keith Greene. Accordingly, the RO should again submit requests for any available court-martial records for Kevin Green or Keith Greene to the National Archives and Records Administration in St. Louis, Missouri for records from 1939 to 1976 and to the Department of the Army's United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals for records on and after 1976. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: (Please note, this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). Expedited handling is requested.) 1. Contact the National Archives and Records Administration in St. Louis, Missouri, and request that they conduct a search for any documentation of a court martial proceeding involving Keith Greene or Kevin Green during the time period of 1939 to 1976, with a focus on the years in the late 1970s, and provide any information found. 2. Contact the Department of the Army's United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals and request that they conduct a search for any documentation of a court martial proceeding involving Keith Greene or Kevin Green on and after 1976, with a focus on the years in the late 1970s, and provide any information found. 3. Contact any other appropriate source identified in the course of the investigation to obtain evidence to corroborate the Veteran's reported stressors. 4. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file by the RO. In compliance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2) (2012), the RO must make as many requests as are necessary to obtain records in the custody of a Federal department or agency and shall not end its efforts to obtain those records unless the RO concludes that the records sought do not exist or that further efforts to obtain those records would be futile. If, after all procedurally appropriate actions to locate and secure the court martial records and any other identified records have been made and the RO concludes that such records do not exist, that further efforts to obtain the records would be futile, the RO must make a formal finding to that effect. The RO must also provide the Veteran and her representative with a proper notice that includes (a) the identity of the specific records that cannot be obtained, (b) an explanation as to the efforts that were made to obtain those records, (c) a description of any further action to be taken by VA with respect to the claims, and (d) notice that the Veteran is ultimately responsible for providing the evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). The Veteran and her representative must then be given an opportunity to respond. 5. After completing the above actions, and any other development as may be indicated by any response received as a consequence of the actions taken in the paragraphs above, the claim must be readjudicated. If the claim remains denied, a supplemental statement of the case must be provided to the Veteran and her representative. After the Veteran and her representative have had an adequate opportunity to respond, the appeal must be returned to the Board for appellate review. 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. 2012). _________________________________________________ U. R. POWELL 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) (2012).