Citation Nr: 19179079 Decision Date: 10/17/19 Archive Date: 10/16/19 DOCKET NO. 16-27 022 DATE: October 17, 2019 REMANDED Service connection for a cervical spine disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 2003 to July 2007, with combat service from March 2005 to September 2005 and June 2006 to April 2007. He is in receipt of the Combat Action Ribbon. The Veteran was originally scheduled for a Board hearing in June 2019, which was rescheduled due to a change of representative, to October 2019. VA records report that the October 2019 hearing was canceled by the Veteran and therefore the hearing request is deemed withdrawn. The Veteran seeks service connection for neck pain. The Board finds that a new examination is warranted so that the examiner adequately considers the combat presumption. The June 2015 VA examiner provided a negative nexus opinion based on there being “no records or other evidence to support a military onset” of the claimed condition. The combat presumption under 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b) provides that veterans who engaged in combat with the enemy can prove that a disease or injury was incurred or aggravated in service by lay evidence alone, as long as the evidence is consistent with circumstances of service and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b); Bardwell v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 36, 40 (2010). The Veteran is a combat veteran during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Significantly, at the June 2015 VA examination, the Veteran related that his neck problems were due to heavy levels of rucking and other physical activities in the military. His MOS was LAV crewman and he had two combat tours as identified above. Although the Veteran has not alleged any injury actually occurring during combat actions, the presumption under 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b) could allow for the Veteran’s lay statements alone to establish that an in-service neck injury did occur, if it were found to be consistent with the circumstances of his service. The Board finds that the Veteran’s statements about rucking as an in-service cause of his neck pain is consistent with the circumstances of his service and therefore an in-service event is satisfied. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain updated VA treatment records. 2. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of any cervical spine disability. The examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The examiner should fully document the Veteran’s contentions in the examination report. The examiner is advised that the Veteran served in combat and his statements regarding an in-service occurrence are conceded. Therefore, lack of official records of an in-service occurrence is not dispositive in this case and cannot be the basis of a negative nexus opinion. The examiner must provide a complete rationale on which his/her opinion is based, and must include a discussion of the medical principles as applied to the medical evidence and facts used in establishing his/her opinion. Nathaniel J. Doan Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board AD The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.