Citation Nr: 21071993 Decision Date: 12/02/21 Archive Date: 12/02/21 DOCKET NO. 17-52 238 DATE: December 2, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is denied. FINDING OF FACT A psychiatric disability was not shown during active service or at any time thereafter. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from September 1985 to December 1989 and from February 2003 to July 2003. Service connection for a Psychiatric disability The Veteran contends that service connection for a psychiatric disability is warranted as he has manifested PTSD as the result of his in service stressful experiences. Service connection may be granted for recurrent disability arising from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C § 1131. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The service treatment records do not refer to a psychiatric disability or other abnormality. The post service Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and private clinical documentation of record do not convey that the Veteran has been diagnosed with a psychiatric disability. The Veteran was scheduled for a VA psychiatric examination which was subsequently cancelled at the Veteran's request. In a February 2020 written statement, the Veteran advanced that he had been aboard the USS Coral Sea when the ship was involved in assisting the crew of the USS Iowa following an explosion aboard that vessel. He reported that he had intrusive thoughts of the accident and it bothered him. The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) observes that no competent medical professional has concluded that the Veteran has a psychiatric disability. The Veteran's claim is supported solely by his own statements on appeal. Lay assertions may serve to support a claim for service connection by establishing the occurrence of observable events or the presence of disability or symptoms of disability subject to lay observation. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a); Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007); Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F. 3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2006). Lay evidence can be competent and sufficient to establish a diagnosis or etiology when (1) a lay person is competent to identify a medical condition; (2) the lay person is reporting a contemporaneous medical diagnosis, or (3) lay testimony describing symptoms at the time supports a later diagnosis by a medical professional. Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). The Board finds that the Veteran's lay statements do not constitute competent evidence to establish a psychiatric diagnosis. The Veteran has not offered any medical qualifications. The Veteran is not competent to diagnose a psychiatric disability. The question of such a diagnosis requires medical training and specific clinical testing and is too complex to be addressed by a layperson. A psychiatric disability was not manifested during active service or at any time thereafter. Accordingly, service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, is denied. . J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Emily A. Kotroco 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.