Citation Nr: 18152336 Decision Date: 11/21/18 Archive Date: 11/21/18 DOCKET NO. 16-44 787 DATE: November 21, 2018 REMANDED Service connection for PTSD is remanded. Service connection for erectile dysfunction, secondary to PTSD is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1972 to December 2002. This matter is on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision. 1. Service Connection for PTSD is remanded. The Veteran contends that he developed PTSD as a result of his military service. At an August 2016 VA examination, the Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD, which the VA examiner found to be related to his military service, or more specifically to the Veteran’s reported stressors. Unfortunately, the Veteran’s reported stressors have not yet been corroborated as required by law to grant service connection for PTSD in a non-combat situation. In attempts to verify his in-service stressors, the Veteran was requested to provide a 60-day window during which the stressful event. In a January 2014 letter, the Veteran reported two in service stressors. The first incident involved the alleged suicide/death of a recruit between August and October 1986 while the Veteran was at the Naval Training Center/Recruit Training Command. The second incident was a suicide/death of a fellow Chief Petty Officer which allegedly occurred while he was aboard the U.S.S. Independence (CV-62), between February and July 1991. In a May 2014 memorandum, VA issued a formal finding on a lack of information required to corroborate the Veteran’s stressors. Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval Systems (DPRIS) found no documented suicides at the Recruit Training Command and Naval Training Center in San Diego in 1986. Findings relating to the suicide on the USS Independence in 1991 was not discussed. VA ultimately issued another memorandum in July 2016 of a formal finding on a lack of information required to corroborate stressors and that further efforts would be futile. In a March 2017 statement, the Veteran explained that while he worked at the Deck Department aboard the USS Independence, a Post Clerk Chief, who was on temporary duty assignment came aboard and hanged himself inside his office. Then, in a May 2017 letter, the Veteran identified Luke McKeever to the be Petty Officer who committed suicide aboard the USS Independence on August 8, 1991. It is observed that the Veteran did list the names of several individuals he served with in the Navy who he believed could corroborate his reported stressor. The Board notes that the Veteran is free to contact his fellow service members to see if any remember the stressors he has described and would be willing to write a statement describing their recollection of the event or events. Given the additional information provided by the Veteran, the Board finds that additional development is needed. 2. Erectile Dysfunction The Veteran contends that he developed an erectile dysfunction as a result of medications taken for his PTSD. Given that the issue of PTSD is remanded, the Board cannot yet make a fully-informed decision since the Veteran’s service connection claim for erectile dysfunction is secondary to his PTSD. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Corroborate the Veteran’s in-service stressor (to include contacting the JSRRC to obtain copies of the August 1991 deck logs from the USS Independence (CV-62) to verify the Veteran’s stressor, which involves the suicide of Petty Officer L. McKeever). 2. If and only if the reported stressor is corroborated, obtain a medical opinion to address whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater) that the Veteran’s erectile dysfunction was either caused or aggravated (made worse) by the Veteran’s PTSD and/or medications taken for PTSD? Why or why not? MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N.Yeh, Associate Counsel