Citation Nr: 18148372 Decision Date: 11/07/18 Archive Date: 11/07/18 DOCKET NO. 16-41 436 DATE: November 7, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease as a result of herbicide agent exposure is granted. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease. 2. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during active service in Thailand. 3. The Veteran’s ischemic heart disease is presumed due to exposure to herbicide agents during service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the criteria for establishing service connection for ischemic heart disease as a result of herbicide agent exposure have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1113, 1116, 1137, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309; Combee v. Brown, 34 F.3d 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1994). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION On August 23, 2017, the President signed into law the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 115-55 (to be codified as amended in scattered sections of 38 U.S.C.), 131 Stat. 1105 (2017), also known as the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). This law creates a new framework for Veterans dissatisfied with VA’s decision on their claim to seek review. The Veteran chose to participate in VA’s test program RAMP, the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program. This decision has been written consistent with the new AMA framework. The Veteran served on active duty from April 1971 to January 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Seattle, Washington. Service connection for ischemic heart disease as a result of herbicide agent exposure Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2010); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004). VA has determined that there was significant use of herbicide agents on the fenced-in perimeters of military bases in Thailand, a practice that was intended to eliminate vegetation and ground cover for base security purposes. A primary source for that information was the declassified Vietnam era Department of Defense document titled Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report: Base Defense in Thailand. Although the Department of Defense indicated that the herbicide used was commercial in nature rather than tactical, VA has determined that there was some evidence that herbicide agents of a tactical nature, or of a greater strength commercial variant, were used. Accordingly, VA has determined that special consideration should be given to veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases. Consideration of herbicide exposure on a facts found or direct basis should be extended to those veterans. A Veteran who, during active service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam war, between January 9, 1962, to May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(3); 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). Exposure to herbicide agents may also be established on a factual basis for veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases. VA has identified several bases in Thailand, including U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang, that qualify for that consideration. Therefore, herbicide agent exposure should be acknowledged on a facts found or direct basis if a United States Air Force veteran served at one of the air bases as a security policeman, a security patrol dog handler, a member of a security police squadron, or otherwise served near the air base perimeter, as shown by military occupational specialty, performance evaluations, or other credible evidence, during the Vietnam era, from February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975. The list of diseases associated with exposure to herbicide agents includes ischemic heart disease (including, but not limited to, acute, subacute, and old myocardial infarction; atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease (including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable, unstable and Prinzmetal’s angina). 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). The Veteran contends that his ischemic heart disease was caused by his in-service exposure to herbicide agents while he was stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Udorn, Thailand, from January 1974 to January 1975. The Veteran does not assert that he served in the Republic of Vietnam and the evidence of record does not document service in Vietnam. Therefore, he is not presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents in Vietnam. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f); 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6). The Veteran specifically contends that his barracks while at stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Udorn, Thailand, were located close to the fence perimeter where herbicide agents were used to control vegetation. The Veteran also contends that he often worked near the perimeter as an aircraft repairman and that his duties caused him to work on or near the perimeter of the base. In addition to his statements, in furtherance of his claim, the Veteran has submitted pictures of Udorn Air Force Base. The Veteran has been diagnosed with ischemic heart disease. Medical records confirm a current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, first diagnosed in January 2010. Regarding in-service herbicide exposure, the Veteran’s service personnel records confirm that the Veteran served at the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Udorn, Thailand, from January 1974 to January 1975 during the Vietnam Era. The Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base is one of the bases in Thailand that is associated with herbicide agent exposure. The Veteran’s service separation form documents that the Veteran served as an aircraft electrical repairman. The Veteran was not a security policeman, a security patrol dog handler, or a member of a security police squadron. Thus, the Veteran must establish that he otherwise served near the air base perimeter, as shown by occupational specialty, performance evaluations, or other credible evidence, in order for the Board to find that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while stationed in Thailand. In a September 2015 written statement, the Veteran stated that “while deployed to Udorn my primary assignment was to maintain RF-4c/F-4d aircraft. Along with other airman assigned to this specialty I performed troubleshooting and repairs, working various days and shifts, on aircraft located in revetments on and near the base perimeter. On occasion I was also dispatched to the end of the flight line (arm/rearm area) where the aircraft received final checks and at times experience problems prior to take off… In addition to my assigned work areas, traveling to my work assignment on a bus brought me close to the base perimeter. The route the bus took around the flight line took the occupants of the bus along the base perimeters. The enlisted men’s barracks also were positioned very close to the base perimeter.” In this instance, the Board finds the Veteran’s lay statements to be competent, credible, and persuasive. The Veteran’s description of his work while at the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base is consistent with his occupational specialty and the evidence of record. There is no contrary evidence to disprove the Veteran’s contentions nor is there any basis to question the Veteran’s credibility regarding his statements. After a thorough review of the record, to include all lay evidence submitted by the Veteran and the Veteran’s military records, the Board resolves reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor and finds that he was exposed to herbicide agents while stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base when his work duties placed him on or near the perimeter of the base. His military occupational specialty, as well as his credible statements, establishes that his duties were such that required him to be near the base perimeter to fulfil his obligations as an aircraft electrical repairman. Thus, based on these specific facts, the Veteran is found to have been exposed to herbicide agents while stationed in Thailand near the air base perimeter. Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran was likely exposed to herbicides while stationed in Thailand. Accordingly, service connection for ischemic heart disease is warranted on a presumptive basis. Thus, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, service connection for ischemic heart disease relating to herbicide agent exposure is granted. Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD E. Mondesir, Law Clerk