Citation Nr: 18141300 Decision Date: 10/10/18 Archive Date: 10/10/18 DOCKET NO. 16-27 955 DATE: October 10, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified, and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1965 to June 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2012 rating decision. In March 2016, a new Appointment of Individual as Claimant’s Representative (VA Form 21-22a) was received appointing the attorney listed on the title page above. The Board recognizes this change in representation. The Veteran’s September 2010 Application for Compensation and/or Pension (VA Form 21-526) reflects that he initially sought service connection for PTSD. However, the Veteran’s post-service medical records indicate he has current diagnoses of anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified. What constitutes a claim is not limited by a lay veteran’s assertion of his condition in the application, but must be construed based on the reasonable expectations of the non-expert claimant and the evidence developed in processing the claim. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 4-5 (2009). The record raises the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder as listed above. Therefore, the Board has recharacterized the issue more broadly. The Veteran’s VA treatment records and an April 2011 VA examination note the Veteran has a diagnosis of PTSD under the DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL FOR MENTAL DISORDERS (4th ed. 1994) (DSM-IV). However, because the Veteran’s claim was pending before the agency of original jurisdiction after August 4, 2014, the claim must be remanded for evaluation under the DMS-5 rating criteria. The DSM-IV has been recently updated with a Fifth Edition (DSM-5), and VA has amended certain provisions in the regulations to reflect this update, including the Schedule for Rating Disabilities. 79 Fed. Reg. 45093, 45094 (Aug. 4, 2014). The amendments only apply to applications that are received by VA or are pending before the agency of original jurisdiction on or after August 4, 2014; they do not apply to appeals already certified to the Board or pending before the Board. Id. Therefore, on remand, the Veteran must be afforded a VA examination that utilizes the DSM-5 rating criteria. The Veteran reported a number of stressors during his active service. Specifically, in an October 2010 Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (VA Form 21-0781), the Veteran advised that during his active service in the Republic of Vietnam, he was exposed to combat while on an underwater demolition team assignment in the Mekong River, cleared underwater floating mines, experienced monsoon season, and saw stacks of body bags. The Veteran also stated that there were anti-war protestors at U.S. Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco, California, when separated from active service. Additionally, during the September 2014 Informal Hearing Conference, the Veteran’s attorney advised that he contacted the Veteran’s fellow crewmembers to corroborate the Veteran’s reported stressors. Neither the Veteran nor his attorney provided buddy statements from his crewmembers or any other additional information. A remand is required to allow the Veteran to submit additional information concerning his reported stressors and for VA to attempt to corroborate the Veteran’s reported stressors. The Veteran indicated in the October 2010 VA Form 21-0781 that he was hospitalized during his active service in the Republic of Vietnam as a result of his claimed combat exposure. It does not appear that any clinical records are contained in the Veteran’s claims folder. A remand is required to allow VA to request these potentially relevant records. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from October 2015 to the present. 2. Obtain the Veteran’s complete service treatment records, to include all clinical and field hospital records. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims folder. 3. Ask the Veteran to submit any available buddy statements from fellow servicemembers corroborating his reported stressors. 4. Next, undertake any additional necessary stressor verification development concerning the Veteran’s claimed stressors, including, but not limited to, the following: (a.) Witnessed the boarding and capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo; (b.) Exposed to combat while on an underwater demolition team assignment in the Mekong River; (c.) Cleared underwater floating mines; (d.) Experienced monsoon season; (e.) Saw stacks of body bags; and (f.) Encountered anti-war protestors at U.S. Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco, California when separated from active service. 5. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for a psychiatric examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified, and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified. (a.) Identify all current acquired psychiatric disorder(s) under the DSM-5 criteria found to be present. (b.) If the Veteran is diagnosed with PTSD under the DSM-5 criteria, the examiner must explain how the diagnostic criteria are met and opine whether it is at least as likely as not related to a verified in-service stressor. (c.) If any other acquired psychiatric disorders are diagnosed, the examiner must opine whether each diagnosed disorder is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. All examination findings, along with the complete rationale for all opinions expressed, must be set forth in the examination report. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S. Mussey, Associate Counsel