Citation Nr: 18143004 Decision Date: 10/18/18 Archive Date: 10/17/18 DOCKET NO. 16-28 027 DATE: October 18, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease due to Agent Orange exposure is granted. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus due to Agent Orange exposure is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran had active service on Royal Thai Air Force Bases in Thailand within the period from February 1961 to May 1975. 2. The Veteran has current diagnoses of ischemic heart disease and type II diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for establishing service connection for ischemic heart disease have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 1154, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for establishing service connection for type II diabetes mellitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 1154, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Air Force from January 1966 to May 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2014 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Service Connection Generally, service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Establishing service connection requires competent evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) the in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after service, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Additionally, VA regulations provide that, for a veteran who has been exposed to an herbicide agent during military service, service connection for certain enumerated diseases will be presumed. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). This exposure presumption includes veterans who served near the air base perimeter at Royal Thai Air Force Bases, including U-Tapao and Takhli, during the Vietnam era, February 1961 to May 1975 and who had an Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of police, security and dog handlers. Veterans who were not in these positions must establish exposure to Agent Orange on a “facts found” basis. Service near the air base perimeter can be established using the veteran’s military occupational specialty designation or evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence as to any issue material to the determination of a matter, VA will resolve reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). To deny a claim on its merits, the evidence must preponderate against the claim. Alemany v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 518, 519 (1996). The Veteran’s diagnoses for type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease are documented in the record in both VA and private treatment records. Service personnel records document that the Veteran had service at Takhli and U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Bases for periods of time between August 1967 and November 1968 and the evidence of record establishes that his duties placed him on the perimeter of the bases. The Board finds that based on the unique facts of this case regarding the Veteran’s duties in Thailand and after resolving any reasonable benefit of the doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Veteran was exposed to Agent Orange during active military service. Accordingly, the Veteran’s claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease are granted. M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Josey, Associate Counsel