Citation Nr: 1320370 Decision Date: 06/25/13 Archive Date: 07/05/13 DOCKET NO. 09-46 464 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Indianapolis, Indiana THE ISSUES 1. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure. 2. Service connection for hypertension, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure. 3. Service connection for Parkinson's disease, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure. 4. Service connection for sleep apnea, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD McBrine, M., Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from March 1967 to March 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2008 decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Indianapolis, Indiana, that denied the Veteran's above listed claims. 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 notes that all of these claims were previously denied in large part because they were based on the Veteran's claimed exposure to herbicides in service, and the evidence of record did not show any evidence of exposure to herbicides in service. The evidence of record currently only shows that the Veteran served on a ship off the coast of Vietnam. However, the Veteran's representative, in a May 2013 informal hearing presentation, contained in the virtual VA record, indicated that they felt there was information relevant to the Veteran's claims contained in his personnel file, and requested that it be associated with the claims folder. VA has a duty to assist claimants to obtain evidence needed to substantiate a claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c) (2012). This includes making as many requests as are necessary to obtain relevant records from a Federal department or agency, including, but not limited to, military records. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c) (2). As such, the Board finds that an attempt should be made to obtain the Veteran's personnel file and associate it with the Veteran's claims file. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's entire service personnel records, to include requesting any documentation, such as temporary duty orders, that indicate the Veteran's presence in Vietnam. If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified and this should be documented for the record. Notice must be provided to the appellant. The notice must contain the identity of the records VA was unable to obtain, an explanation of the efforts VA made to obtain the records, a description of any further action VA will take regarding the claim and a notice that the appellant is ultimately responsible for providing the evidence. The AMC should also inform the appellant that he can also provide alternative forms of evidence. 2. 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 appellant. After the appellant has 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). _________________________________________________ MICHAEL LANE 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).