Citation Nr: 21067049 Decision Date: 11/03/21 Archive Date: 11/03/21 DOCKET NO. 19-27 263 DATE: November 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for pulmonary condition, to include as due to asbestos exposure, is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran is not shown to have a pulmonary condition. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for pulmonary condition have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1962 to September 1966. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2018 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office (RO). The Board notes that the Veteran had requested a Board hearing. See September 2019 VA Form 9, Substantive Appeal. However, he withdrew that request in July 2021. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated during service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. In order to establish entitlement to service connection, there must be (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) medical, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal connection between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The Board must determine whether the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, with the appellant prevailing in either case, or whether the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, in which case, service connection must be denied. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Pulmonary Condition The Veteran seeks entitlement to service connection for a pulmonary condition. Specifically, he asserts entitlement to a pulmonary condition due to in-service asbestos exposure. See January 2018 Claim. Apart from the Veteran's claim for a pulmonary condition, he has not asserted being in receipt of, or being treated for, a diagnosed pulmonary condition, to include any associated symptoms. He has additionally not identified any treatment for a pulmonary condition. In fact, the record is devoid of any treatment records apart from VA medical records concerning an examination related to service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. Moreover, a review of the STRs does not reveal any in-service treatment related to a pulmonary condition. In the event he is claiming service connection for exposure to asbestos, the Board notes that an award of service connection is predicated upon the existence of a current disability and not the mere occurrence of an event, such as asbestos exposure. The threshold requirement that must be met with respect to any service connection claim is competent evidence of a current disability during the pendency for which service connection is being sought; in this case, an identified pulmonary condition. See 38 U.S.C. § 1110. The record does not include any such evidence and he has not identified any relevant treatment records, or any signs or symptoms related to a pulmonary condition. As such, a pulmonary condition is simply not shown and he has not presented a valid claim. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018); see also Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992). Accordingly, the claim is denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 58 (1990). S. HENEKS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Lamb, 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.