Citation Nr: 18155422 Decision Date: 12/04/18 Archive Date: 12/04/18 DOCKET NO. 17-48 440 DATE: December 4, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1951 to March 1955 and from June 1955 to September 1974. He died in February 2016. The appellant, the surviving spouse of the Veteran, seeks entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death as a result of exposure to herbicides. Preliminarily, the Board recognizes the Veteran’s outstanding service in the United States Air Force, his service to this country is greatly appreciated. The appellant contends that the Veteran developed ischemic heart disease (IHD) because of exposure to herbicides, including Agent Orange, during his active duty service at an Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. See August 2018 hearing testimony; June 2017 statement; March 2016 claim; articles submitted in August 2015 and October 2016. As an initial matter, to establish service connection for the cause of a Veteran’s death, the evidence must show that a “service-connected” disability was the principal or contributory cause of the Veteran’s death. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.312. Here, the Veteran’s death certificate reflects that he passed away in February 2016 from IHD. See Death Certificate. However, in an August 2016 rating decision, the rating office (RO) denied the appellant’s claim for service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death (IHD) as a result of exposures to herbicides. Determinative of the RO’s denial of these claims is the lack of evidence in the record that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents, including Agent Orange, at these locations. Turning to the issue of exposure evidence, Veterans Benefits Administration policy provides a procedure for verifying exposure to herbicides in locations other than the Republic of Vietnam or along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea. This procedure requires: (1) asking the Veteran for the approximate dates, location, and nature of the alleged exposure; (2) furnishing the Veteran’s detailed description of exposure to Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service for confirmation; and (3) requesting a review of the Department of Defense (DOD) inventory of herbicide operations to determine whether herbicides were used as alleged. If C&P Service’s review confirms that herbicides were used as alleged, then a determination must be made as to whether service connection is in order. If C&P Service’s review does not confirm that herbicides were used as alleged, then a request should be sent to the Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) for verification of exposure to herbicides. In this case, the Board finds that the record contains sufficient information regarding the approximate dates, location, and nature of the alleged exposure: The Veteran’s service personnel records confirm that he had foreign service at an Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. See Military Personnel Records (temporary duty orders showing Veteran was ordered to the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam in November 1969 and to Air Force Bases in Okinawa in January 1954, July 1957, August 1958, and September 1959). It is also contended that although his specialty code in the U.S. Air Force was aircraft electrician, the Veteran spent much time working on aircrafts that were used to transport and disperse defoliants, to include Agent Orange. See August 2018 hearing testimony. The record also contains articles submitted by the appellant indicating that barrels of what is believed to be herbicides were used at the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, where the Veteran was stationed. However, while the Board acknowledges that the RO issued a formal finding of inability to verify herbicide exposure for the Veteran in an August 2017 Memorandum, it does not appear that there was compliance with all VBA policy provisions. Specifically, it does not appear that the Veteran’s detailed description of exposure was ever furnished to C&P for confirmation, or that a review of the DOD inventory of herbicide operations was requested. Moreover, the August 2017 Memorandum itself does not show the steps that were specifically taken to determine whether herbicides were used at the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam when the Veteran was stationed there. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s federal records pertaining to his participation in the Air Force Health Study from the Department of the Air Force. It appears from a January 2018 submission that there is a record of the Veteran’s medical study documents; however, this record is not on file. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file. 2. The AOJ must attempt to verify the Veteran’s alleged exposures to herbicides at the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, on a factual basis. To do this, the AOJ must follow the appropriate VBA guidance on this matter to include the following: (a.) Send an inquiry with the dates, location, and circumstances of the claimed herbicide exposure in Okinawa, Japan and Guam to the Compensation Service at (VAVBAWAS/CO/211/AGENTORANGE) (mailto:AGENTORANGE.VBACO@va.gov) and request a review of DoD’s inventory of herbicide operations to determine whether herbicides were used as claimed at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam during the dates the Veteran was stationed there. (b.) Then, the AOJ should send a request to the JSRRC for verification of alleged exposure to herbicides for the Veteran at the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam during the dates the Veteran was stationed there. (c.) To effectuate the above requests, the AOJ must send the following summary of the circumstances of the Veteran’s alleged herbicide exposures in Okinawa, Japan and Guam, along with the articles regarding Agent Orange exposure submitted by the appellant, to the Compensation Service at the Agent Orange Mailbox, the DOD, and to the JSRRC. The summary of the circumstances is as follows: It is contended that the Veteran developed ischemic heart disease as a result of exposure to herbicides, including Agent Orange, during his active duty service at the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. See August 2018 hearing testimony; June 2017 statement; March 2016 claim; articles submitted in August 2015 and October 2016. The Veteran’s service personnel records confirm that he had foreign service at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Temporary duty orders showing the Veteran was ordered to the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam in November 1969 and to Air Force Bases in Okinawa in January 1954, July 1957, August 1958, and September 1959. It is also contended that although his specialty code in the U.S. Air Force was aircraft electrician, the Veteran spent much time working on aircrafts that were used to transport and disperse defoliants, to include Agent Orange. See August 2018 hearing testimony. The record also contains articles submitted by the Veteran indicating that barrels of what is believed to be herbicides were used at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, where the Veteran was stationed. All documentation sent and received by the AOJ must be associated with the claims file. The AOJ should also ensure that the contentions made in the summary and the articles that were submitted by the appellant that are in the record are specifically addressed in any formal finding memorandum. The AOJ is also advised that, pursuant to Gagne v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 397 (2015), several sequential requests may be required until the entire period is covered. As set forth in 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (b)(3) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c)(2), the AOJ should continue efforts to locate such records until it is reasonably certain that such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain those records would be futile. S. L. Kennedy Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Costello, Associate Counsel