Citation Nr: 21073487 Decision Date: 12/08/21 Archive Date: 12/08/21 DOCKET NO. 19-09 761 DATE: December 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a sinus disability, to include sinusitis, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had certified active service from September 1982 to September 1992 and from September 22, 2001 to September 23, 2001. He served in Southwest Asia. The Veteran had additional duty with the Florida Air National Guard. In June 2019, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) denied service connection for bronchitis, an acquired psychiatric disability, a left index finger disability, and chronic fatigue syndrome and remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction for additional development of the record. The Veteran subsequently appealed the denial of service connection for a left index finger disability and chronic fatigue syndrome to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In August 2020, the Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability and sinusitis and remanded the issues of service connection for a left foot disability and a left ankle disability to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction for additional development of the record. The Veteran subsequently appealed to the Court. In March 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims affirmed the Board's denial of service connection for a left index finger disability; vacated that portion of the June 2019 Board decision which denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome; and remanded the issue to the Board for additional action. In July 2021, the Court granted the Parties' Joint Motion for Partial Remand; vacated the August 2020 Board decision; and remanded the issues to the Board for additional action. In October 2021, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction granted service connection for a left foot calcaneal spur and plantar fasciitis. In the November 2021 Written Brief Presentation, the accredited representative advances that service connection for a left index finger disability, bronchitis, and a psychiatric disability is warranted. The Board notes that those issues have been denied by final Board decisions and are not on appeal. If he wishes to further pursue service connection for those disabilities, the Veteran should file an appropriate supplemental claim. The accredited representative contends further that a higher initial rating is warranted for the service connected left foot disability. The issue of the initial rating for the left foot disability is not presently on appeal. The Veteran should submit the appropriate form to express his disagreement with the initial rating for the left foot disability. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability, a sinus disability to include sinusitis, and a left ankle disability is remanded. The July 2021 Joint Motion for Partial Remand conveys that the June 2019 Remand instructions to verify the Veteran's periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty for training with the Florida Air National Guard have not been properly addressed. The Board notes that the Veteran's periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty for training with the Florida Air National Guard have not been verified. 2. Entitlement to service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome. The Veteran asserts that service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome is warranted as the disability originated during active service as the result of "a tainted anthrax vaccination." The Veteran has not been afforded a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) chronic fatigue syndrome examination. VA's duty to assist includes, in appropriate cases, the duty to conduct a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination which is accurate and fully descriptive. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 124 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the National Personnel Record Center and/or the appropriate service entity and request that: it (1) verify the Veteran's periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty for training with the Florida Air National Guard and (2) forward all available service medical records associated with that duty for incorporation into the record. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination conducted by the appropriate physician to assist in determining the nature and etiology of any chronic fatigue syndrome and any relationship to active service. The examiner must review the record, including the Veteran's written statements as to having received "a tainted anthrax vaccination" during active service, and should note that review in the report. A rationale for all opinions should be provided. The examiner should: (a) Identify all chronic fatigue syndrome related disabilities found. The examiner should discuss the diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome and whether or not the Veteran meets those criteria. (b) Opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified chronic fatigue syndrome had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service including the Veteran's service in Saudi Arabia and his reported in service "tainted anthrax vaccination." J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Smith, 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.