Citation Nr: 21067186 Decision Date: 11/03/21 Archive Date: 11/03/21 DOCKET NO. 19-31 819 DATE: November 3, 2021 ORDER Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's PTSD is related to stressors he experienced as a combat engineer during service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the Army from December 1965 to December 1967, with service in the Republic of Vietnam. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2018 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In November 2020 and June 2021 correspondence, the Veteran's attorney waived consideration by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in the first instance of any additional evidentiary submission (e.g., VA examination) associated with the claims file after the issuance of the Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) and after certification and transfer of the appeal to the Board. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1305(c). Accordingly, the Board may consider the new evidence associated with the claims file since the November 2019 SSOC. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.902(c). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2). Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The Veteran's attorney contends that the Veteran has a diagnosis of PTSD that is due to his combat service in the Vietnam War. See Third Party Correspondence (November 2020). Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a); a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor; and credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). The Veteran has a current diagnosis of PTSD in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as evidenced by September 2019 VA treatment records and a June 2019 VA examination. The Board acknowledges that the May 2018 VA examiner determined the Veteran did not have PTSD. However, the Veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD by mental healthcare providers on several occasions during the period of the claim. Under these circumstances, and after having resolved all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds the evidence establishes a PTSD diagnosis for purposes of 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). The DD214 shows that the Veteran served as a combat engineer with over one year of service in the Republic of Vietnam. He has reported that he was exposed to enemy fire and mine field explosions as a combat engineer, and that he had to transport wounded service members following contact with enemy fire and mine field explosions. See, e.g., Statement in Support of Claim for PTSD (April 2018). The Board finds his recollection of in-service stressor events competent and credible, and consistent with the circumstances, conditions, and hardships of his service and military occupational specialty (MOS) as a combat engineer. Thus, his lay testimony alone establishes the occurrence of the in-service stressors. See 38 U.S.C. § 1154 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (f)(2). The June 2021 VA examiner, a psychologist, opined that the Veteran's reported exposures during the Vietnam War (stressors) are sufficient to diagnose PTSD. In a July 2021 addendum opinion, the examiner linked the Veteran's diagnosed PTSD to his in-service stressors and opined that his PTSD is "at least as likely as not" due to the combat-related experiences he went through in Vietnam. Similarly, in September 2019 a VA treating psychologist diagnosed PTSD and noted that the Veteran's severe PTSD symptoms and mild depressive symptoms are largely related to his past combat/military experiences in Vietnam. (Continued on the next page) There is no competent nexus opinion to the contrary. Accordingly, the Board finds that service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, is warranted. REBECCA N. POULSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Thaddaeus J. Cox, 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.