Citation Nr: 21063515 Decision Date: 10/14/21 Archive Date: 10/14/21 DOCKET NO. 17-66 333 DATE: October 14, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II (DM II), to include as due to herbicide exposure, is remanded. Service connection for right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. Service connection for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. Service connection for right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. Service connection for left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably on active duty in the United States Navy from October 1966 to July 1970. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. In October 2021, the Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the undersigned. 1. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II (DM II), to include as due to herbicide exposure, is remanded. 2. Service connection for right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. 3. Service connection for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. 4. Service connection for right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. 5. Service connection for left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, to include as due to herbicide exposure and as secondary to DM II, is remanded. The Board finds that further development is necessary to comply with VA's duty to assist the Veteran to obtain evidence needed to substantiate his claim. The Veteran asserts that his DM II is related to his active military service, to include exposure to Agent Orange while aboard the USS Chemung (AO-30) or the USS Rainer (AE-5). He has also asserted that his bilateral upper and lower peripheral neuropathy is related to his active military service, to include exposure to Agent Orange while aboard the USS Chemung (AO-30) or the USS Rainer (AE-5), or related to his DM II. Specifically, the Veteran advanced the argument that he was exposed to Agent Orange while his ship was docked in Cam Ranh Bay or from handling mail bags that came aboard his ships from Vietnam. See December 2017 VA-9 and January 2020 Statement. He also testified that he was exposed to Agent Orange while swimming in the water around his ships. The Board notes that the Veteran's personnel records show the Veteran served aboard the USS Chemung (AO-30) from July 1967 to April 1968 and aboard the USS Rainier (AE-5) from April 1968 to July 1970. Therefore, a remand is needed to confirm if the USS Chemung or USS Rainier served off the coast of Vietnam, as asserted by the Veteran, at any point from July 1967 to April 1968 and April 1968 to July 1970, respectively. See Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (en banc); see also 38 U.S.C. § 1116A. As such, remand is necessary for further development of the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents. Additionally, during his October 2021 hearing, the Veteran testified that he continued to receive treatment at St. John's Hospital in Longview, Washington. Those treatment records have not been associated with the file. Because the clinical records of the treatment, if obtained, could bear on the outcome of the Veteran's appeal, efforts must be made to procure them. 38 U.S.C. § 5103; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c). See also 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e)(2) (if VA becomes aware of the existence of relevant records before deciding a claim, VA will, among other things, request that the claimant provide a release for the records). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. All appropriate steps should be taken to determine whether the Veteran's sea service during the Vietnam War included any presence within the 12-nautical mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam as outlined in the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. It is noted, the Veteran's service records confirm service aboard the USS Chemung (AO-30) from July 1967 to April 1968 and aboard the USS Rainier (AE-5) from April 1968 to July 1970. 2. Ask the Veteran to provide a release for relevant records of treatment from any private practitioners or, and to identify, and provide appropriate releases for, any other care providers who may possess new or additional evidence pertinent to the issue on appeal. Specifically, treatment records from St. John's Hospital in Longview, Washington should be sought. If he provides the necessary release(s), assist him in obtaining the records identified, following the procedures set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. Any new or additional (i.e., non-duplicative) evidence received should be associated with the record. If any of the records sought are not available, the record should be annotated to reflect that fact, and the Veteran should be notified. 3. If upon completion of the above the issues remain denied, the appeal should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures. E. I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Gandhi, 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.