Citation Nr: 20032826 Decision Date: 05/11/20 Archive Date: 05/11/20 DOCKET NO. 18-27 550 DATE: May 11, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer, status post prostatectomy is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1966 to February 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2017 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer, status post is remanded. The Veteran contends that his prostate cancer is the result of herbicide exposure. Service Personnel Records shows that he served in Korea, stationed at Camp Casey. The Veteran was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2009. A DPRIS search reviewed the 1967 unit histories submitted by the 1st Battalion, 31st Artillery (1st Bn, 31st Arty), and the Headquarters, 7th Infantry Division Artillery (7th ID Arty), the 1967 United States Army unit station list, and the 1967 Chronology submitted by the 8th United States Army. The records document the unit was located at Camp Casey (Tongduchon-ni). However, the records do not document the use, storage, spraying, or transportation of herbicides to include Agent Orange. In addition, the records do not mention or document any specific duties performed by the 1st Bn, 31st Arty unit members on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In light of this, a remand is warranted for Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) and/or other appropriate sources for a determination as to whether the Veteran was exposed to qualifying herbicides while stationed at Camp Casey; Korea, or to explain why the identifying information provided to the Veteran was insufficient to conduct that development. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Contact the United States Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) and/or any appropriate service entity and request that a search be made of the records of Camp Casey Army Base for the period from 1969 to 1970 to determine (1) the exact location of documented herbicide agent testing or disposal at the base, and (2) whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while at the base, if any, for the entire period of being stationed there from 1969 to 1970. The unit histories of the Veteran’s unit the 1st Battalion, 31st Artillery, of the 7th Infantry Division should be consulted to determine whether personnel from that unit served or had duties on or near the DMZ during the Veteran’s time assigned to that unit. That review should include a determination of whether personnel assigned to that unit at least as likely as not had duties on or near the DMZ. If no documentation is located, a written statement to that effect should be incorporated into the record. See M21-1MR, pt. IV. Subpt. ii, ch. 2, Section C. 10.p. Any response should be in writing and associated with the claims file. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the etiology of prostate cancer. The examiner must review the claim file and must note that review in the report. The examiner should provide a rationale for all opinions provided. The examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any prostate disability is related to active service, to include possible herbicide agent exposure. 3. Then, readjudicate the claims. If any decision is adverse to the Veteran, issue a supplemental statement of the case and allow the applicable time for response. Then, return the case to the Board. 4. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). David Gratz Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Asare, 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.