Citation Nr: 21062667 Decision Date: 10/08/21 Archive Date: 10/08/21 DOCKET NO. 13-31 985 DATE: October 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety disorder, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had honorable active service in the United States Marine Corps from April 1981 to December 1983. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2012 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In February 2018, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is of record. The Board remanded this claim for additional development in March 2018 which has not been completed. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and an anxiety disorder is remanded. The Veteran contends that he has a current acquired psychiatric disorder that is related to his active service. Specifically, he asserts that he boarded the USS Tarawa, LHA-1, in Subic May, Manila, Philippines, in mid-August 1983, and was sent in support of operations to Beirut, Lebanon. See February 2018 Hearing Transcript. The Veteran asserts that he left the USS Tarawa on a mike boat and landed on the beach on September 12, 1983. While on the beach, he reports that a command center was set up and he along with a forward observer and mortar team set up an observation position and observed tracer rounds flying above. During the Veteran's February 2018 Board hearing, the Veteran and his representative asserted that the record did not contain the Veteran's unit records from the 1st Marine Brigade BLT 3/3, the USS Tarawa's records, or payroll records. The Veteran's representative indicated that the aforementioned records could verify the Veteran's statements regarding his service in Lebanon detailed above. Accordingly, in March 2018 the matter was remanded for the AOJ to "search all appropriate repositories in an effort to obtain and associate with the record the Veteran's unit records from the 1st Marine Brigade BLT 3/3, unit records from the USS Tarawa, and his payroll records." See March 2018 Board Remand. Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board's previous remand directives regarding the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, depression, and an anxiety disorder. Another remand is required. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). In April 2020, the AOJ requested records from the Department of the Navy Historical Center. See April 2020 Correspondence. The Department of the Navy Historical Center responded to the request stating that since specific records or information were not requested, the archives were unable to locate or provide records relevant to the request. See October 2020 Correspondence. In June 2020, the AOJ requested records from the Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center. See June 2020 Letter. In July 2020, the Navy Naval Historical Center responded stating that the Marine Corps unit records from 1976 to the present are held by the Marine Corps History Division. See July 2020 Letter. No further requests for information from the Department of the Navy Historical Center, Navy Naval Historical Center, or Marine Corps History Division are associated with the Veteran's claims file. In February 2021, a records research response was uploaded to the Veteran's claims file. See February 2021 Records Research Response. The response stated that the AOJ "requested records from Marine Corps Archivist, Marine Corps History Division, the custody of command chronologies...[however,] the Marine Corps History Division was unable to locate records for the unit and dates the Veteran provided." Therefore, the AOJ found that no evidence was located to support documentation of the claimed stressor. The Board finds that further development is necessary concerning the Veteran's reported in-service stressor. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (2017); see also Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110 (2010). Notably, the AOJ successfully collected the USS Tarawa records and Veteran's payroll records. See Web/HTML Documents; see also DFAS Payment Worksheets. Unfortunately, the AOJ has not sufficiently assisted the Veteran in the development of his case, as the AOJ did not adequately attempt to obtain the Veteran's unit records from the 1st Marine Brigade BLT 3/3. Therefore, the matter is remanded for further development. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. In remanding this matter, the Board makes no finding, implicit or otherwise, as to the credibility of the Veteran's assertions. Neither the Veteran's credibility nor any lack thereof should be presumed in this remand. 2. The AOJ should undertake appropriate development to obtain any outstanding records pertinent to the Veteran's claim. Specifically, search all appropriate repositories in an effort to obtain and associate with the record the Veteran's unit records from the 1st Marine Brigade BLT 3/3. If any requested records are unavailable, or the search for such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact should clearly be documented in the record and the Veteran so notified in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). 3. The AOJ should conduct any further evidentiary development suggested as a result of this remand. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board V. Schmidt 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.