Citation Nr: 18140667
Decision Date: 10/05/18	Archive Date: 10/04/18

DOCKET NO. 14-23 025
DATE:	October 5, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety is remanded. 

REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from August 1973 to April 1975.  
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2010 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 
The Veteran’s claim specifically requested service connection for a mental condition, depression, and anxiety; however, other psychiatric disorders have been raised by the record, to include PTSD.  In Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2009), the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) held that the scope of a mental health disability claim includes any mental disorder that may reasonably be encompassed by the claimant’s description of the claim, reported symptoms, and other information of record.  In consideration of this holding and the other diagnosis of record, the Board has recharacterized the claim as reflected above.
The evidence of record includes a December 2012 VA treatment record where the Veteran underwent a psychiatric evaluation.  At that time, the Veteran reported that while in service, he was involved in an incident where other servicemembers threatened him at gunpoint.  The Veteran reported that he “believed that these men were going to kill him.”  The VA psychologist indicated that this incident was “definitely a traumatic event” and that the Veteran met the criteria for PTSD.  
The Board notes that service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence establishing a diagnosis of the disorder, credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor(s) occurred, and a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor(s). 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (f) (2017).
Here, there is evidence of a current diagnosis of PTSD as noted in the December 2012 VA psychiatric evaluation.  The determining factor in this case is whether there is credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred.  Service treatment records and service personnel records currently in the claims file do not indicate that the Veteran was involved in any incident as described during the December 2012 evaluation.   
Nonetheless, in an August 2011 statement, the Veteran indicated that he was assaulted at Fort Sam Houston and had a gun pulled on him in the barracks.  This incident was noted to occur while he was in medical corpsman training around November 1973.  The Veteran stated that he was escorted by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers following the incident.  The Veteran specifically requested that VA obtain any records from the CID.  
For these reasons, efforts should be made to obtain these records prior to adjudication of the claim.
The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:
1. Contact the U.S. Army Crime Records Center, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (Criminal Investigation Division (CID)), or any other appropriate department to request any records associated with an investigation of the Veteran between 1973 and 1975. 
If any records cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts have been made, notify the Veteran and allow him the opportunity to provide such records, as provided in                     38 U.S.C. § 5103A (b)(2) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e).  All attempts to obtain the records must be documented in the claims file. 
2. Thereafter, readjudicate the claim on appeal
   
S. B. MAYS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	R. Casadei, Counsel