Citation Nr: 18123713
Decision Date: 08/02/18	Archive Date: 08/02/18

DOCKET NO. 15-16 920
DATE:	August 2, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disability, currently diagnosed as tarsal tunnel syndrome, achilles tendonitis, and degenerative joint disease (DJD), is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran’s current right ankle disability is etiologically related to injuries during active duty service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for service connection for a right ankle disability, currently diagnosed as tarsal tunnel syndrome, achilles tendonitis, and DJD, are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from July 2003 to October 2004, from January 2005 to May 2006, and from March 2008 to October 2008. The Veteran served with the Air National Guard of New York from October 2004 to October 2010 and had service in Southwest Asia from April 2008 to September 2008. 
This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2013 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
The Veteran contends that service connection is warranted for a right ankle disability as it is related to injuries incurred during active duty service. The Veteran testified in June 2018 that she experienced recurring ankle sprains and other acute injuries while serving on active duty in Qatar in 2008. She attributed the injuries to running, marching, and hiking over uneven ground in Southwest Asia. The question before the Board is whether the Veteran has a chronic right ankle disability, and if so, whether it is etiologically related to an active period of military service.
The Board concludes that the Veteran’s right ankle disability, currently diagnosed as tarsal tunnel syndrome, achilles tendonitis, and DJD, is related to in-service ankle injuries. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a).
The Veteran served on active duty with the Air Force and Air National Guard of New York on three occasions. During her second period of active duty, she served in Qatar from April 2008 to September 2008. Although service records do not document any of the recurrent right ankle injuries reported by the Veteran, the Board finds that her reported history is credible and such injuries are consistent with the nature of her Southwest Asian service. The Board therefore finds that in-service injuries are established.
The medical evidence of record also establishes a current disability and link to active duty service. The Veteran first complained of pain and numbness in the right lower extremity in May 2009, approximately eight months after her return from Qatar. She began VA treatment in August 2009 and immediately reported experiencing right ankle pain. The Veteran has consistently reported a history of repetitive supination injuries while walking on uneven ground and rocks in Qatar with the onset of chronic pain during military service. VA records and an August 2012 VA examination contain diagnoses of right ankle DJD and achilles tendonitis in February 2010, bilateral ankle tendonitis in August 2012, and tarsal tunnel syndrome confirmed by a nerve conduction study in December 2012. The record also contains several medical opinions weighing in favor of service connection. The Veteran’s VA primary care physician and VA podiatrist provided medical opinions in support of service connection in October and December 2012, and the December 2012 nerve conduction study report also states that the Veteran’s condition is consistent with her reported in-service injuries. Although the August 2012 VA examiner provided a medical opinion against service connection in a September 2012 addendum report, the Board finds this opinion is of little probative value. The VA examiner only addresses whether the Veteran’s right ankle disability is related to “environmental hazards in Southwest Asia,” such as burning oil pits. The examiner did not address the Veteran’s history of recurrent ankle sprains and similar injuries. 
The Board therefore finds that all three elements of service connection are present in this case and the claim is granted.
 
M. H. HAWLEY
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Riley, Counsel