Citation Nr: 18158214 Decision Date: 12/14/18 Archive Date: 12/14/18 DOCKET NO. 16-61 470 DATE: December 14, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force (USAF) from March 1982 to March 1986. The Veteran was also a member of the United States Air Force Reserve (USAFR) with periods of active duty from December 1990 to July 1991, October 2001 to September 2002, February 2003 to March 2004, and April 2007 to May 2007 as well as additional periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA) from 1986 to 2018. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision. 1. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded. As an initial matter, the Veteran has alleged that not all of his military service has been fully accounted for in terms of a period of service in the USAFR in a dual status under 10 U.S.C. § 10216 as both an employee of the Federal government and as a member of the Selected Reserve, serving as a military technician. The Veteran reported that he has been an Air Reserve Technician since 1987, which means he has been employed by the Department of Defense as a civilian employee and is also member of the USAFR as well. See, e.g. 10 U.S.C. §§ 10216, 10217 (2012). In his reserve status, he has served periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA. The Board notes that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has held that there is no legal basis upon which to establish service connection for diseases or injuries incurred during civilian employment. See, e.g., Venturella v Gober, 10 Vet. App. 340 (1997). The AOJ should verify all service dates of the Veteran, to include each period of active duty, ACDUTRA, INACDUTRA, and all periods of dual service as well as discuss the significance, if any, of the Veteran’s “dual status” service as an Air Reserve Technician while in the USAFR, and specifically, as to whether such service constituted active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA. In an October 2016 statement, the Veteran identified relevant outstanding private treatment records from C. E., M. D. at Riverbend Medical Group. A remand is required to allow VA to obtain authorization and request these records. In addition, the Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on this matter, as no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran’s claimed hypertension onset during or was casually related to his periods of active service, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for C. E., M. D. at Riverbend Medical Group. Make two requests for the authorized records from C. E., M. D. at Riverbend Medical Group, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. Compile a complete list of any verified period of active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA during the Veteran’s USAFR service from 1986 to 2018 and include it in the electronic claims file for review. If necessary, obtain the Veteran’s earnings records from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) that indicate his duty status. 3. Thereafter, the Veteran should be afforded an appropriate VA medical opinion to clarify the etiology of his claimed hypertension. If an opinion cannot be provided without an examination, one should be provided. The electronic claims file must be made available to the examiner, and the examiner must specify in the medical opinion that the file has been reviewed. Based on a review of the evidence of record and with consideration of the Veteran’s lay statements, the examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any currently or previously diagnosed hypertension had its onset during a verified period of active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA or was causally related to active military service, to include documented elevated blood pressure readings during service. To the extent that it is possible, provide a likely date for the onset of the Veteran’s claimed hypertension. In doing so, the examiner should discuss and acknowledge the findings contained in the Veteran’s service treatment records, post-service VA and private treatment records, and the September 2015 VA hypertension examination report and medical opinion. Rationale for all requested opinions shall be provided. If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she shall provide a complete explanation stating why this is so. In so doing, the examiner shall explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information or that he or she has exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to that particular question(s). The Veteran is hereby advised that failure to report for any scheduled VA examination without good cause shown may have adverse effects on his claim. 4. After completing the above actions, and any other necessary development, the claim on appeal must be re-adjudicated, taking into consideration all relevant evidence associated with the evidence of record since the October 2016 statement of the case. Such consideration should include the Veteran’s assertions that his period of dual status as an Air Reserve Technician should be considered active duty or its equivalent. If the benefit on appeal remains denied, a supplemental statement of the case must be provided to the Veteran and his representative. After the Veteran has had an adequate opportunity to respond, the appeal must be returned to the Board for appellate review. MICHAEL MARTIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. D. Deane, Counsel