Citation Nr: A21016704 Decision Date: 10/13/21 Archive Date: 10/13/21 DOCKET NO. 180626-258 DATE: October 13, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. 2. The Veteran was diagnosed with prostate cancer after separation, following his in-service exposure to herbicide agents at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1113, 1116, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from September 1968 to April 1989. The Veteran was originally denied service connection for prostate cancer in a February 2011 rating decision. He followed the traditional appeal process until February 2018 when he chose to participate in RAMP, the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program, VA's test program for the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), and selected higher-level review. Following higher-level review, a RAMP rating decision was issued in March 2018, which, in pertinent part, continued the denial of entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer. The Veteran appealed, requesting a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). In March 2021, the Veteran testified in a Board virtual hearing before a VLJ. A copy of the hearing transcript has been associated with the claims file. The Board notes that, under the AMA, the VLJ who held the hearing is not required to adjudicate the claims. The Board also notes that, under the Hearing docket, it only may consider the evidence of record at the time of the March 2018 rating decision as well as any evidence submitted by the Veteran or his representative at the hearing or within 90 days thereafter. 38 C.F.R. §20.302(a). Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer is granted. The Veteran maintains entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer. He avers that he was exposed to herbicide agents at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB) during his active duty service in Thailand and that this exposure led to his later development of this disability. A Veteran who during active military, naval, or air service served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence establishing that the Veteran was not exposed to any such agent. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f); 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6). To benefit from the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with herbicide agent exposure, the Veteran must have one of the diseases enumerated in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e), which includes prostate cancer. Although a Veteran who served in Thailand during the Vietnam era is not entitled to the legal presumption of exposure to an herbicide agent, such exposure may be considered on a "direct/facts-found basis" if a Veteran served with the U.S. Air Force in Thailand during the Vietnam Era at one of the RTAFBs as an Air Force security policeman, security patrol dog handler, member of the security police squadron, or otherwise near the air base perimeter as shown by evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence. Importantly, presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure extends to those Veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeter of Thailand military bases. As an initial matter, the Veteran's prostate cancer diagnosis is settled in the record. Further, the Veteran's military personnel records confirm that he served in the U.S. Air Force in Thailand during the Vietnam era. The Veteran does not claim, nor does the record reflect, that he served at one of the RTAFBs as an Air Force security policeman, security patrol dog handler, or a member of the security police squadron. He instead asserts that his daily work duties placed him on or near the air base perimeter, and that he was thus exposed to herbicide agents there. The Veteran reports that he was assigned to a squadron located at Ramasun Station, Thailand, located about 12 miles south of Udorn RTAFB, the primary base, and that he made frequent trips on or near the perimeter of the base to perform his duties. The Veteran's assignment to this location is confirmed in military personnel records. His military personnel records also document that his primary military operational specialties were supply operations officer and inventory management specialist. He maintains that his duties included receiving, storing, issuing, and turning-in of all parts, tools, and equipment assets for the unit; such duties are confirmed by military personnel records, including his stellar personnel evaluations. In performing his duties, the Veteran avers that he made trips to Udorn RTAFB two to three times a week to drop off and pick up calibrated equipment, supplies, and management listings. Logic dictates that these drop-offs and pick-ups were likely performed on or near the perimeter of the base for expediency. Thus, the Board finds that the Veteran's description of his duties, to include frequent trips to Udorn RTAFB, is credible, as it is consistent with the circumstances of his service. The Board finds the Veteran credible with respect to his claims of frequently working on or near the perimeter of the Udorn RTAFB. As such, the Board finds that he was exposed to herbicide agents based on his duties and time spent at or near the base perimeter. Because the Veteran was exposed to herbicides at Udorn RTAFB and later developed prostate cancer, service connection for prostate cancer is presumed. The appeal is granted. M. Mills Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Bush 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.