Citation Nr: 18151589 Decision Date: 11/19/18 Archive Date: 11/19/18 DOCKET NO. 16-40 920A DATE: November 19, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease, to include as due to herbicide exposure is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1972 to August 1976. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 1. Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease, to include as due to herbicide exposure is remanded. The Veteran contends his Parkinson’s disease is related to herbicide exposure and/or asbestos during service. His official service record does not show that he served in Vietnam. He does not contend otherwise. Rather, he asserts that in 1973, 1974, and in 1975, while serving aboard the U.S.S. Proteus in Guam, he was sent out several times on a “working party” detail to help tie up Navy ships coming in the harbor and while there, he was assigned to spray herbicides on the jungle foliage around the buildings. In addition, he also stated he sprayed herbicides when he was stationed at the Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines in 1975. He further stated that as a firefighter at Fort Ord Army Base in 1983 and 1984, he was exposed to a burn pit where he was burning unknown chemicals. The Board notes that upon review of the record, the Veteran’s service treatment and service personnel records from his service at Fort Ord during this time are not contained in the claims file. Moreover, the Board notes that there are also service treatment records beginning in 1999 from the Veteran’s time at Fort Riley, where he was also a firefighter, containing asbestos exposure questionnaires. However, the Veteran’s service since his August 1976 separation from active duty has not been verified. Accordingly, upon remand, the Veteran’s military records should be associated with the claims file and his dates of service since his 1976 separation should be verified. Updated treatment records should be obtained as well. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Request the Veteran’s service treatment and personnel records through official sources from his service with the Army at Ft. Ord in 1983 and 1984. All actions to obtain the requested records should be fully documented in the claims file. If they cannot be located or if no such records exist, the Veteran should be so notified and a formal finding of unavailability prepared. 2. Contact the appropriate sources to verify dates of ACDUTRA and/or INACDUTRA since the Veteran’s August 1976 separation from active duty service, to include his service with the Navy Reserve from December 1977 to August 1978, and his claimed service as an Army firefighter at Ft. Ord in 1983 and 1984 and Ft. Riley in 1999. If additional information is needed from the Veteran to permit verification, the Veteran should be asked to provide such. If the information cannot be obtained the Veteran should be notified of such. 3. Ask the Veteran to provide the names and addresses of all medical care providers who have recently treated him for his claimed disability. After securing any necessary releases, request any relevant records identified. In addition, obtain updated VA treatment records. If any requested records are unavailable, the Veteran should be notified of such. K. A. BANFIELD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S. Medina, Associate Counsel