Citation Nr: 21000455
Decision Date: 01/05/21	Archive Date: 01/05/21

DOCKET NO. 11-05 477A
DATE: January 5, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an annual clothing allowance is remanded in order for the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1977 to September 1997.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2010 decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which denied the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to a clothing allowance.  

Testimony was received from the Veteran during a May 2011 Board hearing held at the Board’s Central Office in Washington, D.C.  A transcript of that testimony is associated with the claims file.

The Board previously remanded this matter in October 2012 and May 2015 for development.  

1. Entitlement to an annual clothing allowance is remanded in order for the AOJ to reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file. 

In the instant matter, the paper file for the claim of entitlement to an annual clothing allowance cannot be located, and documentation pertinent to the appeal is not in the electronic record.  In this regard, the October 2012 and May 2015 Board remands cite evidence not of record.  Therefore, it must be remanded in order for the AOJ to reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file.  If such records are unable to be obtained, the AOJ should make a formal finding of unavailability. 

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the claim for clothing allowance to the electronic claims file. 

2. If such records are unable to be associated with the record, make a formal finding of unavailability. 

 

 

DAVID L. WIGHT

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Schick, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.