Citation Nr: 20026060
Decision Date: 04/15/20	Archive Date: 04/15/20

DOCKET NO. 19-10 409
DATE: April 15, 2020

REMANDED

The issue of whether the character of the appellant’s service is a bar to receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The appellant served in the Army National Guard of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (ANGPR) and as a Reserve of the Army (Reserve) from March 1988 to June 1994.  The appellant had additional service in the Reserve from June 1994 to November 1999.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2017 administrative decision of the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) finding that the character of the appellant’s service from June 1994 to November 1999 was a bar to the receipt of VA benefits.  

The appellant served an initial period of active duty for training from October 28, 1988, to February 10, 1989, at which time he was honorably discharged.  The available records indicate that the appellant served in the ANGPR/Reserve until June 10, 1994, at which time he was honorably discharged.  The available records indicate that the appellant had an additional period of Reserve service that ended in 1999 pursuant to the sentence of a general court-martial.  

In December 2016, the AOJ requested that the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) provide all of the appellant’s Army records from the periods October 1988 to February 1989, and from June 1994 to November 1999.  The appellant’s personnel records are incomplete.  The AOJ did not request records relating to the appellant’s service from March 1988 to June 1994, nor did it attempt to obtain records from the appellant’s ANGPR/Reserve units.  The AOJ must undertake additional efforts to obtain a full copy of such records before the Board may render a decision.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following actions:

1. Undertake all appropriate efforts to obtain and associate with the claims file all of the appellant’s service personnel and treatment records for his entire period of service with the ANGPR/Reserve from March 1988 to November 1999.  The AOJ should contact all possible repositories of the appellant’s ANGPR/Reserve records, including the Puerto Rico Adjutant General.  The AOJ should document all requests for information and responses in the claims file.

2. Then, confirm the appellant’s dates of active duty service, ACDUTRA service, and INACDUTRA service, and enumerate such dates to the extent possible by month, day, and year.  This enumeration must be clear and should consist of more than simply the appellant’s pay records or retirement points.  

 

MICHAEL A. HERMAN

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.