Citation Nr: 20004541 Decision Date: 01/21/20 Archive Date: 01/21/20 DOCKET NO. 18-13 902 DATE: January 21, 2020 ORDER The appellant is not a veteran and is therefore not entitled to benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). FINDING OF FACT The appellant served as a member of a state National Guard, and he had no periods of active duty service, active duty service for training (ACDUTRA), inactive duty service for training (INACDUTRA), federal service, or “full-time duty”. CONCLUSION OF LAW The appellant is not a veteran for the purpose of establishing basic eligibility to VA disability benefits. 38 U.S.C. §§ 101(2), (22)(A), (24) (2012). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The appellant served in the New Jersey Army National Guard (NJANG). This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2017 administrative decision of a VA Regional Office (RO). The appellant participated in a hearing before the undersigned in October 2019, and a transcript of this hearing has been associated with the record. As distinct from a military reservist, members of the National Guard only serve the federal military when they are formally called into the military service of the United States; at all other times, National Guard members serve solely as members of the state militia under the command of a state governor. Allen v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 54, 57 (2007). Therefore, to have basic eligibility for veterans’ benefits based on a period of duty as a member of a state National Guard, a member of the National Guard must have either been ordered into federal service by the president of the United States (10 U.S.C. § 12401), or performed “full-time duty” (32 U.S.C. §§ 316, 502, 503, 504, 505). Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from an injury, event, or disease occurring during active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303(a), 3.304. The term “active military, naval, or air service” includes active duty, any period of ACDUTRA during which the veteran was disabled or died from an injury or disease incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, and any period of inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA) during which the veteran was disabled or died from an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. 38 U.S.C. § 101(24). Turning to the facts in this case, the Board first observes that VA has undertaken all reasonable efforts to attempt to confirm the dates and circumstances of the appellant’s service. In July 2014, following the RO’s request for the appellant’s military personnel file, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) indicated that it could not identify any such records. In September 2014, the RO informed the appellant of the NPRC’s response and requested that the appellant provide any pertinent records. In March 2017, the Army Medical Department Record Processing Center indicated that it had no records for the appellant beyond that which had already been provided. With VA having undertaken all reasonable efforts to verify the dates and nature of the appellant’s claimed service, the Board notes that the evidence shows that the appellant served in the NJANG from June 1955 to June 1963. The appellant’s personnel records show no periods of active duty service, ACDUTRA service, INACDUTRA service, federalized duty, or full-time duty. The Board has otherwise searched the record for a suggestion that, notwithstanding the absence of proof of such duty in his personnel records, the appellant was ordered into federal service by the president of the United States or otherwise participated in “full-time duty” with the National Guard. The evidence does not show that the appellant had such service. In sum, while the Board has considered the appellant’s arguments that he is entitled to VA benefits based on his service with the National Guard, the weight of the evidence of record does not support a finding that the appellant had any periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, INDACDUTRA, federalized service, or full-time duty with the National Guard. The appellant is thus not a “veteran” for the purpose of establishing eligibility to VA benefits, and the claim is denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J.A. Flynn 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.