Citation Nr: 18143123 Decision Date: 10/18/18 Archive Date: 10/17/18 DOCKET NO. 16-03 837 DATE: October 18, 2018 REMANDED Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1989 to August 1993 and November 2001 to October 2002 and had additional service with the Navy Reserve and the Army National Guard. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2014 rating decision. To afford the Veteran the broadest and most sympathetic review, the Board construes the claim for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) broadly as a claim for service connection for any acquired psychiatric disorder. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009) (holding that the Board must consider any disability that “may reasonably be encompassed by” the claimant’s description of the claim and symptoms, and other submitted information). Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded. The Veteran submitted a July 2014 private examination report to support this claim showing a diagnosis of PTSD; however, the RO denied the claim, in part, because the Veteran’s reported stressors were not verified. A remand is necessary for the additional development regarding reported stressors and for Veteran to be afforded a VA examination, which the Veteran requested in a March 2015 statement. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any VA treatment records. 2. Send the Veteran a letter a) inviting submission of psychiatric/mental health treatment records (aside from the July 2014 private examination report) and/or other evidence regarding his claimed stressors (such as statements from fellow servicemembers describing duties and experiences) and advising the Veteran that any such evidence would help VA evaluate this claim AND b) asking the Veteran to identify any providers of treatment for psychiatric conditions/mental health and for permission to obtain these records for association with the claims file. 3. Obtain the Veteran’s personnel records from the Navy, the Navy Reserves, and the Army National Guard, and the Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) from the Army National Guard. Stressor development: 4. The Veteran claims service connection for PTSD based on three in-service stressors. The Board considers the first claimed stressor—the death of the Veteran’s friend and fellow servicemember in a May 2002 car accident in Greece—as ALREADY sufficiently corroborated by the competent and credible evidence submitted by the Veteran, including the dates of the person’s birth and death. The Veteran’s second and third claimed stressors—that he feared for his life during naval service on the USS Biddle during Operation Desert Storm and as part of Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom, to include service on a “FAST” team boarding ships and protecting them from attacks near Crete, Greece—may be related to fear of hostile terrorist or military action and/or combat (as reported by the Veteran). 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(2)-(3). Therefore, lay evidence may be sufficient for corroboration. HOWEVER, in this case, the Board finds that additional background information about the Veteran’s duties and experiences may be helpful for the examiner. Accordingly, the RO is asked to conduct necessary development to provide the examiner with additional information about the Veteran’s duties and experiences during service. SPECIFICALLY, please obtain service personnel records, unit histories, deck logs, and any other such documents relating to the Veteran’s naval service 1) on the USS Biddle between August 1989 and August 1993 and 2) near Crete, Greece between November 2001 and October 2002. Please see the Veteran’s June 2014 written statement and the July 2014 private examination report describing this service. 5. After the above development is completed to the extent feasible, arrange for the Veteran to be examined by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist to determine the nature and cause of any diagnosed psychiatric disability. The examiner must be provided with a list of any noted stressors to include the three stressors described above AND any new evidence obtained pursuant to the directives above. Based on a review of the entire record and examination of the Veteran, the examiner should provide responses to the following: a) Please indicate whether the Veteran meets the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, to include as related to: i. The death of fellow servicemember and friend B. G. in a May 2002 car accident during service in Greece. [The Board notes that the Veteran provided B.G.’s full name, date of birth, date killed, and social security number, and notes for the examiner that this stressor should be considered as already corroborated.] AND/OR ii. The Veteran’s fear for his life during service near Crete, Greece in Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom to include service on a “FAST” team boarding ships and protecting them from attacks. The Board asks the examiner to consider 1) the Veteran’s descriptions of this service and 2) any obtained personnel records, unit histories, deck logs, or other such evidence, in forming a better understanding of the Veteran’s duties and experiences. AND/OR iii. The Veteran’s fear for his life during naval service on the USS Biddle in support of Operation Desert Storm. The Board asks the examiner to consider 1) the Veteran’s descriptions of this service and 2) any obtained personnel records, unit histories, deck logs, or other such evidence, in forming a better understanding of the Veteran’s duties and experiences. If the Veteran does not have PTSD, the examiner should note which criterion the Veteran does not meet, and why that is so. The examiner must also reconcile this finding with any conflicting notations in the evidence, to include the July 2014 private examination report diagnosing PTSD. b) Please identify (by diagnosis) each non-PTSD psychiatric disability. c) Is it at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed psychiatric disability had its onset during the Veteran’s active service, or is otherwise related to his service? VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. Robinson, Associate Counsel