Citation Nr: 18159981 Decision Date: 12/20/18 Archive Date: 12/20/18 DOCKET NO. 15-43 630 DATE: December 20, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran is diagnosed with coronary artery disease. 2. The Veteran’s duties at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base (Takhli) placed him on or near the base perimeter. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1972 to April 1976, with service in Thailand. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In December 2018, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease. Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection requires evidence showing: (1) a current disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a nexus between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated in service. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disability was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). A Veteran who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents, unless there is affirmative evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. § 3.307. Ischemic heart disease, including coronary artery disease, is a presumptive disease associated with exposure to herbicide agents. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). VA established a procedure for verifying a Veteran’s exposure to herbicide agents in Thailand during the Vietnam War era. Because there was significant use of herbicide agents on the fenced-in perimeters of Thailand military bases to eliminate vegetation and ground cover for security purposes, special consideration of herbicide agent exposure is extended on a facts-found or direct basis to those Veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases. Thus, presumptive service connection of the diseases associated with herbicide agent exposure may be warranted for Veterans who served in Thailand. See May 2010 Compensation and Pension Service Bulletin. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the merits of an issue, the benefit of the doubt shall be given to the Veteran. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. If the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, the claim is to be denied. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55 (1990). The Veteran is diagnosed with coronary artery disease. See, e.g., July 2013 VA treatment records. There is also no material dispute that he served in Thailand during the Vietnam War at Takhli as an aircraft mechanic. See, e.g., DD-214 Form; July 2013 military personnel records. The crux of this case centers on whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while stationed in Thailand. The Veteran testified that his work as an aircraft mechanic brought him in extremely close proximity to the base perimeter. See December 2018 Board hearing. He also stated that he was dispatched to the end of the flight-line on occasion, where aircraft was located on the perimeter. See August 2013 statement. Indeed, the Veteran submitted several maps of Takhli, which pinpoint where he worked and corroborate his statements. He identified and marked the flight line at the base and the recreation field, which was within 500 meters of the drip zone for herbicide agents. See December 2018 correspondence. The Veteran also testified that he would frequently walk the base perimeter. See December 2018 Board hearing. Where lay evidence is competent, the Board must weigh the competent lay evidence against the other evidence of record in determining credibility. Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1334-37 (Fed. Cir. 2006). However, the absence of corroborating records is an insufficient basis on which to find lay statements not credible. Id. at 1337. There is no evidence of record directly contradicting the Veteran’s competent and credible testimony that his duties included work near the base perimeter. In fact, there is only evidence corroborating his statements. Thus, the Board finds that the evidence of record establishes that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while serving at Takhli. Because the Veteran is diagnosed with a disease that is presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents, service connection is presumed. Thus, service connection for coronary artery disease is warranted. E. I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Sandler, Associate Counsel