Citation Nr: 20030516 Decision Date: 04/30/20 Archive Date: 04/30/20 DOCKET NO. 15-33 126 DATE: April 30, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a neck disorder (previously denied as arthritis of the neck) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from October 1976 to September 1992. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This matter was previously before the Board in August 2018 and August 2019. Entitlement to service connection for a neck disorder (previously denied as arthritis of the neck) is remanded. The Board cannot make a fully informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for a neck disorder because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran’s condition is directly related to service, including her in-service primary specialty of personnel records specialist. A December 2019 opinion shows that the Veteran did not develop her current cervical degenerative disc disease in service, but this opinion did not address whether it is otherwise related to her military service. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran’s neck disorder is at least as likely as not related to service, to include “stiffness in neck” in conjunction with a sore throat noted in a January 1977 service treatment record (STR) (see STR – Medical, received September 20, 2013, at page 60). In providing this opinion, the clinician should address the medical journal abstracts submitted by the Veteran in May 2019, considering her primary specialty in service of personnel records specialist. The clinician should also address that the first post-service indications of neck symptoms come before 2002, as in a March 1994 treatment record (see STR – Medical, received March 30, 2015, at page 31); a November 1996 VA Medical Center (VAMC) treatment record (see Medical Treatment Record – Government Facility, received September 3, 1998, at page 6); and another November 1996 VAMC record (see CAPRI, received September 30, 1997, at page 1). L. BARSTOW Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board W. Ripplinger, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.