Citation Nr: 20007255 Decision Date: 01/28/20 Archive Date: 01/28/20 DOCKET NO. 13-19 261 DATE: January 28, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from December 1971 to December 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the Board) from a February 2013 rating decision. The appeal was last denied in a July 2016 Board decision. In June 2019, the Court vacated the decision and remanded the appeal in accordance with the parties’ Joint Motion for Remand. On July 1, 2019, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs directed the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) to stay adjudication of all cases, including this one, which may be affected by the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (the Act), until the effective date of the Act, January 1, 2020. The stay has been lifted, thereby resuming the processing of pending appeals that have been affected by this stay of adjudication. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus is remanded. The Veteran asserts that he was exposed to herbicide agents in the Republic of Vietnam while serving aboard the USS Hector (AR-7) when it was anchored in Da Nang Harbor from April to July 1972, and while it was anchored in Vung Tau Harbor. Evidence in the file shows the USS Hector (AR-7) was anchored in Da Nang Harbor between April 1972 and July 1972. The Veteran also submitted an April 2012 statement from a USS Hector (AR-7) historian who indicates the ship was also anchored in Vung Tau in 1972. In Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) held that veterans who served in the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam are entitled to presumptive service connection if they meet the other requirements of 38 U.S.C. § 1116. Procopio, 913 F.3d at 1380-81. Remand is warranted for RO development as to whether the Veteran served in the territorial sea of Vietnam pursuant to Procopio. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Take appropriate steps to attempt determine whether, in 1972 or at any point during the Veteran’s service aboard the USS Hector, such vessel was within 12 nautical miles (in the territorial sea) of the Republic of Vietnam based on deck logs, ship logs, or any other appropriate evidence detailing the movements and operations of the vessel. Issue a formal finding outlining the steps taken to verify herbicide agent exposure in the Republic of Vietnam and also notify the Veteran prior to readjudication of the appeal. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Vuong, Associate Counsel 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.