Citation Nr: 18157947 Decision Date: 12/13/18 Archive Date: 12/13/18 DOCKET NO. 14-42 192 DATE: December 13, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from July 1972 to November 1980. The Board has expanded the claim for service connection for PTSD to include other psychiatric disorders of record. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). 1. Entitlement to service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder, is remanded. The competent medical evidence of record reflects that the Veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD. See June 2013 VA psychiatric examination. He has also been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and adjustment disorder. See November 2014 medical statement from treating VA psychiatrist. The Veteran contends that his acquired psychiatric disability is related to various stressors that he incurred in service. In October 2011 and February 2012 statements, the Veteran reported in-service stressors which he believes resulted in PTSD. In the October 2011 statement, the Veteran explained that about April 1980, while he was stationed in Mannheim Germany, his unit was placed on red-alert and he was issued weapons with live ammunition. He stated that he had participated in training during his deployment, but this incident was different from training activities because he had been issued live ammunition. He and his fellow unit members believed that an attack from Russia was imminent and that they were there to slow the oncoming attack and would not likely survive. The Veteran reports that he felt intense fear during this incident. He does not recall how long they remained on red-alert status until his commander informed it was over and to return the weapons to storage. In the February 2012 statement, he reported that the red-alert incident occurred around July 1976. With respect to the second stressor event, the Veteran reports that sometime during the fall of 1975, while he was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, and out on duty walking the street, he witnessed an American soldier get tossed out of a bar by a German bouncer, and then kicked in the head. The American soldier’s head hit the pavement and he laid motionless and bleeding on the ground. The Veteran believed he looked dead. The German police arrived before the Veteran could assist the American soldier. The Veteran does not the name of the American soldier involved in the incident. The Veteran reports that the onset of his mental health symptoms occurred after these incidents, and he exhibited a change in behavior with sleep impairment and violence towards his wife. He says that he requested help from his commanding officer but his complaints were ignored and he was told to return to duty. The Veteran has also submitted a statement from a fellow soldier who observed a change in the Veteran’s behavior in 1979 while they were both stationed in Germany. The Veteran reports that he received a single session of mental health treatment in 1978 after he had been involved in a drinking incident, and he had been anxious, irritable, and withdrawn at that time. The available service treatment records (STRs) and service personnel records do not document the reported red-alert or the incident between the American soldier and German bouncer. The Board notes the personnel records indicate the Veteran serve in Germany from December 1974 to July 1976 as a member of Company C 97th Signal Battalion and again in Germany from August 1978 to November 1980 as member of Company C 11th Signal Battalion. His service treatment records do show that in August 1978, the Veteran was seen at CMHA for a situational disturbance, but he was not considered a security risk. A noncombat veteran seeking service connection for PTSD must establish (1) a current medical diagnosis of PTSD; (2) medical evidence of a causal nexus between current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor; and (3) credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (f) (2018). The Veteran cannot establish the occurrence of an in-service stressor through lay testimony alone - rather, VA must have credible supporting evidence in corroborating the claimed event. Doran v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 283, 290 (1996). The Board finds it highly unlikely that the incident between the American soldier and German bouncer would be verifiable given the limited information about the individuals involved provided by the Veteran. However, the Board finds that a remand is required to contact the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) to attempt to verify the claimed in-service stressor of the red-alert incident in 60-day increments for the period around July 1976 and for the period around April 1980. A remand is also needed to attempt to obtain any outstanding service mental health treatment record dated in August 1978 while the Veteran was stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The Board notes that mental health treatment records are frequently kept separately from other service outpatient records. It is therefore necessary to further attempt to obtain any outstanding mental health treatment records from the Veteran’s time at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Finally, a remand is needed to determine whether the Veteran has a diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD, that had its clinical onset in service based on review of the medical and lay evidence of record. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Prepare a summary of the in-service stressor identified by the Veteran involving the incident of a red-alert while he was stationed in Mannheim, Germany and assigned to Company C 97th Signal Battalion and occurred around July 1976, and while he was assigned to Company C 11th Signal Battalion and occurred around April 1980. This summary along with a copy of the Veteran’s DD Form 214 and any pertinent service personnel records shall be sent to the JSRRC or other appropriate service department entity to attempt to verify the reported stressors in 60-day increments around July 1976 and April 1980. Make as many requests as needed to obtain these records or until it is clear further efforts would be futile. Document all correspondence. If any portion of the records cannot be obtained, create a formal finding of unavailability with notice to the Veteran. Inform the Veteran that he may also submit any records in his possession. 2. Contact the appropriate records repositories, to include the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), and search for any separately stored service psychiatric or mental health records from Fort Huachuca, Arizona in 1978. The AOJ must follow the procedures set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c) regarding requesting records from Federal facilities. Any other sources of treatment records identified by the Veteran should also be contacted. All records and/or responses received should be associated with the claims file. If any records sought are determined to be unavailable, the Veteran must be notified of that fact pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e). 3. Obtain a supplemental VA medical opinion that addresses whether the Veteran’s current diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD, at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) had its clinical onset in service. K. J. ALIBRANDO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Murray, Counsel