Citation Nr: 18148337 Decision Date: 11/07/18 Archive Date: 11/07/18 DOCKET NO. 16-48 253 DATE: November 7, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a heart disability, to include coronary artery disease, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran had active service at the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB) in the Vietnam era. 2. The Veteran’s duties at the Takhli RTAFB during the Vietnam era took him at or near the base perimeter, and herbicide agent exposure is accepted on a facts-found basis. 3. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of coronary artery disease that is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure sustained in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Service connection for a heart disability is presumed. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1113, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION Veteran had active air service from March 1960 to March 1964. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Atlanta, Georgia. In connection with this appeal, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in August 2018 and accepted that hearing in lieu of an in-person hearing before a member of the Board. A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the claims file. Service Connection In this case, the Veteran did not have service in the Republic of Vietnam, rather he has asserted that he served at Takhli RTAFB in 1963. He claims that he was exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand. VA concedes herbicide agent exposure for United States Air Force Veterans who served in Thailand during the Vietnam era at certain RTFABs, to include Takhli RTAFB, if they served as security policemen, security patrol dog handlers, members of the security police squadron, or otherwise near the air base perimeter as shown by evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence At various times, the Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System reviewed the Veteran’s record and was unable to document or verify that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents or that he served at Takhli RTAFB. Nevertheless, the Veteran has stated that he was part of the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing, Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, and that in 1963 the squadron was sent to Takhli RTFAB to provide support. The Veteran’s DD Form 214 does not explicitly state that the Veteran served at Takhli RTAFB, but does show that the Veteran served in the Air Force with the 27th Field Maintenance Squadron, and that he had just under two years of foreign service. Moreover, a March 2015 statement submitted by the Veteran’s fellow servicemember indicates that they were stationed at Takhli RTAFB together with the 27th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Further, in February 2015 correspondence, Colonel N.M. of the United States Air Force indicated that the “subordinate units of the 27th TFW [were] deployed to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, between 1963 and 1964.” Therefore, the Board notes that the Veteran is competent to describe his military service and finds his statements regarding his service in Thailand to be credible. Per his military personnel record, the Veteran’s military occupational specialty (MOS) was an Aircraft Mechanic. As the Veteran did not work with Air Force security, the Board must determine, based on evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence whether the Veteran’s regular duties placed him on or near the perimeter of the base. In this regard, in written correspondence and sworn testimony before the Board, the Veteran has stated that his duties at Takhli RTAFB caused him to sleep and work a short distance from the perimeter of the base. He testified that there was one runway with no taxiways, and that the base was very small. He testified that he ate, slept, bathed, and worked outside in the open-air adjacent to the airstrip. From his work and living space, he could see the perimeter of the base, and he witnessed the spraying of vegetation around the perimeter. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran is competent to describe the conditions of his service and finds that the statements are credible. In considering the Veteran’s MOS of Aircraft Mechanic, his active service at the Takhli RTAFB during the Vietnam War era, his statements of performing his duties on planes and equipment on the flight line near the perimeter of the base, and the corroborating statements of the Veteran’s fellow servicemembers, the evidence is at least in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran served at Takhli RTAFB near the perimeter of the base. Therefore, the Board will resolve all doubt in favor of the Veteran in finding that he worked near the Takhli RTAFB perimeter. Accordingly, his exposure to herbicide agents in Thailand is conceded on a factual basis. A review of the record shows that the Veteran was diagnosed with coronary artery disease in August 2014. Coronary artery disease is considered as a form of ischemic heart disease for purposes of presumptive service connection due to exposure to herbicides. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e) (2018). In sum, the Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides while serving in Thailand, and he has a current diagnosis of heart disease. Therefore, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is for the claim and entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b) (2012); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Kristin Haddock Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Mariah N. Sim, Associate Counsel