Citation Nr: 21070643 Decision Date: 11/24/21 Archive Date: 11/24/21 DOCKET NO. 17-52 112 DATE: November 24, 2021 ORDER Service connection for prostate cancer is granted. FINDING OF FACT It is as least as likely as not (50 percent or more probability) that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for prostate cancer have been met. 38 U.S.C.§§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R.§§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from February 1971 to January 1975, including service in Thailand. The matter has been previously remanded by the Board in April 2019. Service connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R.§ 3.303. Service connection requires competent evidence showing: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service (nexus). Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection can also be established based on herbicide exposure. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6). If a veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides or the evidence with respect to exposure is at least in equipoise, the veteran is entitled to a presumption of service connection for certain disorders listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). Prostate cancer is a type of disease listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e) that is presumptively caused by herbicide exposure. A VA examination in September 2015 diagnosed the Veteran with prostate cancer. The question is whether he is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides during his time in military service. The Veteran asserts that his prostate cancer resulted from exposure to herbicide agents while stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn) from August 1972 to August1973. His military personnel records confirm his service in Udorn and show that his military specialty (MOS) was Weapons Mechanic. The Veteran provided a statement in January 2016, stating that: While he stationed at Udorn for nearly one year, he lived in on base barracks which were located within approximately five (5) yards of the perimeter fence. He provided a photo (Exhibit A) showing the location of his barracks (designated as "MMS Barracks") His daily work locations ("shop' and "aircraft revetments") were located in close proximity to discolored and defoliated areas. He provided another photo (Exhibit B) showing his work locations. His duties at Udorn included arming and de-arming F-4 aircrafts. This work occurred at the end of the runway, which was within 20 to 40 yards of the based perimeter. He provided a photo (Exhibit A) showing the location of the end of runway. Each such shift lasted 12 hours and he performed this duty approximately 10 times in Udorn. Between the actual arming and de-arming, he waited in a shack located approximately 20 yards from the base perimeter. There were no bathroom facilities at the end of the runways or in the shack, so the only means of relieving himself during the 12-hour shift (happened about twice per shift) was to find a place close to the actual perimeter fence. He distinctively recalled that there was only brownish vegetation on each side of the fence in that location. Unfortunately, the two photos that the Veteran provided are not clear enough to show how far way his living quarters and working areas were from the base perimeter. In April 2019, the Board remanded the matter for further development to assess whether the Veteran's duties on runway or the location of his living quarters at Udorn would have placed him at or in close proximity to the base perimeter. In July 2019, VA obtained maps of Udorn (in general view as well as in section views). Upon reviewing the maps, and comparing them with the two photos provided by the Veteran, the Board finds that the locations of the living quarters and working areas marked by the Veteran on the two photos are consistent with the maps of Udorn, and it is plausible that his activities in his living quarters and working areas would have placed him at or in close proximity to the base perimeter. Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran's statement in January 2016 is credible, and it is as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that he was exposed to herbicide agents during service in Udorn. As the Veteran's herbicide exposure during service is established, service connection for prostate cancer is granted. MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Q. Wang, 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.