Citation Nr: 21074028
Decision Date: 12/14/21	Archive Date: 12/14/21

DOCKET NO. 17-50 858
DATE: December 14, 2021

REMANDED

The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include bipolar disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is remanded.

The claim for service connection for a left knee condition as secondary to a service-connected right knee condition is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

Service Connection Acquired Psychiatric Disorder and Left Knee Condition

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from June 1977 to June 1980 and from December 1980 to November 1982.  The Veteran also served on active duty in the Army National Guard from February 2003 to April 2003, and had additional periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA).

The matter is on appeal before the Board from March 2015 and September 2017 rating decisions.  The Board notes that in the September 2017 rating decision the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) found the claim for service connection for a left knee condition to be reopened.  In addition, the AOJ found the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to be reopened in a September 2017 Statement of the Case (SOC).  The Board finds no reason to overturn the AOJs findings, and therefore the claims for service connection for a left knee condition and an acquired psychiatric disorder are considered reopened and are captioned as such. 

In statements submitted by the Veteran's VA psychiatrist, the Veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar disorder.  In a statement submitted in April 2017, the psychiatrist states that the Veteran's PTSD is due to his experiences in the Gulf War.  In a statement from February 2014 contained in the Veteran's VA treatment records, the psychiatrist further elaborated, and stated that the Veteran's PTSD is from witnessing a scud missile attack on a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in 1991.  It was noted that the Veteran reported having seen death, injuries, and destruction, and lost a friend in the attack.  The psychiatrist indicated in both statements, that he had no reasonable means of verifying the Veteran's stated stressor, but that it was plausible, and therefore the psychiatrist found that it was more likely than not that the Veteran's PTSD was related to his claimed stressor.  A review of the Veteran's record does not provide any evidence of the Veteran having served in the Gulf War.  However, after reviewing the Army National Guard Retirement Points History Statement, there are some years where the Veteran is shown to have a higher number of active-duty points, and therefore active-duty days, than are reflected within his military personnel record and on his DD 214s.  Thus, the Board finds that a remand is warranted to verify that all of the Veteran's military personnel records are associated with his file, specifically those pertaining to his periods of active-duty service and the locations of his service, as those records may have a determinative effect on his appeal.

As a remand for military personnel records is warranted, both the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and the issue of service connection for a left knee condition will be remanded.  

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The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain and associate with the Veteran's file any military personnel records are not already be of record.  Specifically, obtain records to verify the Veteran's active-duty service and the locations of his service, particularly during 1991.

 

 

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Lutgens-Staley, 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.