Citation Nr: 21067674 Decision Date: 11/05/21 Archive Date: 11/05/21 DOCKET NO. 18-35 891 DATE: November 5, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1979 to June 1983. In November 2021, a Board hearing was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. In support of his claim for service connection for PTSD, the Veteran reported numerous stressor events from his military service. He reported feeling afraid while stationed on the USS Forrestal because they had to be on watch for enemy forces on a ship that was old and constantly caught fire or flooded. He reported witnessing shipmates fall overboard and get bitten by sharks, planes crash on the flight deck or fall off the ship, shipmates being sucked into the jet intake and exhaust blasts who were thrown into the air or killed, a shipmate falling down five to six flights of stairs to his death, and a shipmate cut in half by an arresting cable that snapped. He recalled one tour when six sailors were left at sea because they could not be found. He reported getting badly beaten while on shore leave. In September 1967 at Howard Air Force Base, Panama Canal Zone, he witnessed a plane crash. See February 2016 VA form 21-0781, June 2018 VA Form 9, November 2021 hearing transcript. There have been no attempts to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors. Accordingly, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) should attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors on remand. VA treatment records show that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of PTSD. Accordingly, if any of the Veteran's claimed stressors is verified, a VA examination must be provided to assess the etiology of the Veteran's claimed PTSD. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81-84 (2006). The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Contact any appropriate entity to attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors, as listed above. If any additional information from the Veteran is needed to complete this request, the Veteran should be notified. If the stressors cannot be verified, VA should issue a memorandum of formal finding. 2. If a stressor is verified, schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination with an appropriate examiner to determine the nature and etiology of any current acquired psychiatric disorder. The examiner must review pertinent documents in the Veteran's claims file in conjunction with the examination and specifically consider the diagnosis of PTSD in the Veteran's treatment history. All indicated studies should be completed. All findings must be fully reported. The examiner is asked to: (a.) Diagnose any acquired psychiatric disorder, and (b.) Opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., 50 percent probability or greater) that any diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder is etiologically related to the Veteran's active duty service. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report his symptoms/history and that such reports must be acknowledged and considered in formulating any opinion. If his reports are discounted, the examiner should provide a reason for doing so. A rationale for all requested opinions shall be provided. If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she shall provide a complete explanation stating why this is so. In so doing, the examiner shall explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information or that he or she has exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to that particular question. A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Fletcher, Kathleen 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.