Citation Nr: 20021490 Decision Date: 03/26/20 Archive Date: 03/26/20 DOCKET NO. 17-11 931 DATE: March 26, 2020 REMANDED The issue of service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease of unspecified joints, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for psoriatic arthritis, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post total hip replacement, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for compromised immune system, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for high blood pressure, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for prostate cancer status post prostatectomy, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. The issue of service connection for enlarged liver, to include as due to exposure to herbicides and/or as due to smallpox vaccination, is remanded. The issue of service connection for fever sores over the body claimed as due to smallpox vaccination, is remanded. The issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1966 to March 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an April 2013 rating decision. In January 2020, the Veteran and his spouse testified at a Board hearing; a transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. 1. Service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 2. Service connection for osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease of unspecified joints, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 3. Service connection for psoriatic arthritis, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 4. Service connection for right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post total hip replacement, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 5. Service connection for compromised immune system, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 6. Service connection for high blood pressure, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 7. Service connection for prostate cancer status post prostatectomy, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. 8. Service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is remanded. Regarding the Veteran’s claims based on exposure to herbicides, he contends that while stationed in Darmstadt, Germany from 1966 to 1969, he was an ammo sergeant and in 1968 flew from Frankfurt, Germany to Crete to launch the sergeant missile for a training mission. He relates that the planes he and fellow soldiers flew in had arrived in Germany from Vietnam and “these same planes are the one who [sic] transported Agent Orange and sprayed the Agent Orange.” In February 2012 correspondence, he recalled he was in a C-123K, and the men that flew the plane said they had used the plane to spray Agent Orange in Vietnam. In his original application for VA compensation benefits received in July 2007, he denied having been exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides. The Veteran also asserts that he was exposed to chemicals from being around explosives during active duty service and that exposure to such chemicals may have caused his claimed disabilities. The Veteran’s records associated with a June 2005 claim for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) reflect that after separation from service, he worked as a millwright mechanic in a phosphate mine for 30 years, then as a millwright foreman in a power plant construction business, and finally as a millwright welder in a phosphate mine until he stopped working in 2004. The Veteran’s service personnel records associated with the claims file shows he was stationed in Germany from August 1966 to March 1969. His principal duties were missile crewman from August 1966 and security section chief from April 1967 until March 1969. The AOJ attempted to verify the Veteran’s reported exposure to herbicides, including sending requests to the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC). The JSRRC was unable to document the Veteran’s claimed exposure to herbicides including Agent Orange during the period from August 1968 to March 1969 while stationed in Darmstadt, Germany. During the January 2020 hearing, the Veteran recalled he had contact in April 1968 with an unknown type of airplane that was covered in residue, which he believed to be Agent Orange. The AOJ should ask the JSRRC to attempt to verify the reported exposure to herbicides from March 1968 to May 1968. 9. Service connection for enlarged liver, to include as due to exposure to herbicides and/or as due to smallpox vaccination, is remanded. 10. Service connection for fever sores over the body claimed as due to smallpox vaccination, is remanded. The Veteran contends he has fever sores over his entire body and an enlarged liver due to a smallpox vaccination he received during military service. Subsequently, he asserted he has an enlarged liver due to exposure to herbicides while stationed in Germany. A record of military vaccinations is not currently associated with his service treatment records. 11. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran’s DD Form 214 identifies his military occupational specialty (MOS) as missile crewman in an artillery division. The agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) previously conceded his military noise exposure and granted service connection for tinnitus. Regarding all the claims on appeal, additional development is required to attempt to obtain the Veteran’s complete service treatment records. At present, the Veteran’s service treatment records associated with the claims file include reports of medical history and medical examination at enlistment and separation, a Health Record—Abstract of Service (DD Form 2658), dental records, and a statement of medical condition. In August 2012 correspondence, the AOJ notified the Veteran that his service treatment records were incomplete and asked him to submit any service treatment records he had in his possession. He did not provide any records. In October 2012, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) advised VA that there were no records of the Veteran being exposed to herbicides. The NPRC added, “We are also mailing miscellaneous [service treatment records] found in the Veteran’s personnel jacket.” It does not appear that additional service treatment records were added to the Veteran’s electronic claims file. The AOJ should obtain the Veteran’s complete service personnel records because they may contain service treatment records pertinent to his claims. Finally, VA has a duty to notify a claimant of the inability to obtain records, including an explanation of the efforts made to obtain the records, any further action VA will take regarding the claim, and when VA concludes after continued efforts to obtain Federal records that it is reasonably certain they do not exist or further efforts to obtain them would be futile. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). The AOJ should notify the Veteran of any inability to obtain his complete service treatment records after undertaking additional development to locate them. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s complete service personnel records. Review the records to determine whether “miscellaneous service treatment records” are associated with his service personnel records as reported by the NPRC in October 2012. After undertaking any additional development that may be warranted to locate the Veteran’s complete service treatment records, provide any necessary notice to him regarding the inability to obtain such records in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). 2. Submit an additional request to the JSRRC regarding the Veteran’s claimed exposure to herbicides while stationed in Darmstadt, Germany for the period from March 1968 to May 1968. The Veteran now believes he was exposed to aircraft in April 1968 that arrived in Germany from Vietnam after spraying or transporting herbicides, including Agent Orange. JAMES L. MARCH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Laura Kirscher Strauss 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.