Citation Nr: 20022596 Decision Date: 04/01/20 Archive Date: 04/01/20 DOCKET NO. 19-36 149 DATE: April 1, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease as due to herbicide exposure is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The evidence of record shows that his duties placed him at or near the base perimeter of Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base and Camp Friendship in Thailand; accordingly, his exposure to herbicides is conceded. 2. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of coronary artery disease, which is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease are met. U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served as a member of the United States Army, with active duty service from March 1968 to October 1969. This appeal comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a rating decision, dated June 2017, issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to service connection for a heart disability The Veteran seeks service connection for a heart disability, which he asserts is related to Agent Orange exposure during his service in Thailand. The Veteran representative contends that there is credible lay evidence that the Veteran was on the perimeter of Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. In an affidavit in support of his claim, the Veteran indicated that the Veteran was stationed at Camp Friendship and worked in a mess hall near the perimeter of the base. The Veteran stated that he typically traveled to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base to walk around and exercise, including along the perimeter. See Brief, June 10, 2019. The RO found that the Veteran’s military occupational specialty as a cook did not place him on the perimeter of a military base in Thailand. Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Establishing service connection generally requires competent evidence of three things: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship, i.e., a nexus, between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a). Service connection may be established on a presumptive basis for certain disabilities resulting from exposure to an herbicide agent. Those diseases include ischemic heart disease (to include coronary artery disease). 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e). VA has determined that a special consideration of herbicide exposure on a factual basis should be extended to Veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases. VBA's guidance document provides that herbicide exposure may be conceded on a direct/facts-found basis if the Veteran served with the U.S. Air Force in Thailand during the Vietnam Era at one of the Royal Thai Air Force Bases (RTAFBs) at U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, or Don Muang, and as an Air Force security policeman, security patrol dog handler, member of the security police squadron, or otherwise near the air base perimeter as shown by evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence. In a May 2010 bulletin, VA's C&P Service indicated that it had determined that there was significant use of herbicides on the fenced in perimeters of military bases in Thailand intended to eliminate vegetation and ground cover for base security purposes. VA has determined that there was significant use of herbicides on the fenced-in perimeters of military bases in Thailand intended to eliminate vegetation and ground cover for base security purposes, as evidenced in a declassified Vietnam era Department of Defense document titled "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report: Base Defense in Thailand." Special consideration of herbicide exposure on a facts-found or direct basis should be extended to those Veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases. That allows for presumptive service connection of the diseases associated with herbicide exposure. See VBA guidance document. Personnel records reflect that the Veteran was stationed in Thailand from October 1968 to October 1969. Personnel records show his assignment to Camp Friendship during that period. The CHECO report confirms that Camp Friendship bordered the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base on a section of the perimeter. See Parseeya-Picchione v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 171, 177 (2016). The Board finds that there is credible evidence that the Veteran was on or near the perimeter of Camp Friendship and Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. Thus, his herbicide exposure during service is conceded. The Veteran’s VA treatment records reflect a current diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Therefore, service connection for coronary artery disease is warranted on a presumptive basis. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. CATHERINE CYKOWSKI Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Bristor 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.