Citation Nr: 21075953 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/22/21 DOCKET NO. 18-00 529 DATE: December 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1979 to June 1982. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2016 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In November 2019, the Veteran testified before the undersigned at a Board hearing. A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the virtual file and reviewed. In February 2020, this matter was remanded for additional development. The February 2020 Board remand ordered development for verification of the Veteran's alleged stressor events. The RO was instructed to request his jump record during active service (June 1979 to June 1982) and verify his contention that he participated in a night jump exercise that resulted in the death of a fellow paratrooper while at Fort Bragg in October 1981. The RO was also instructed to verify whether the Veteran participated in Operation Gallant Eagle in March 1982 with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Irwin, California. In an August 2021 VA research response regarding the death of a fellow paratrooper, it was noted that a researcher reviewed the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) and Official Military Activities Report (OMAR) casualty databases. Further, NARA was unable to provide 1979 and 1980 unit records for review. The document shows that the dates requested from the RO for review were from December 1979 to February 1980. The researcher concluded that no evidence was located to support documentation of the claimed stressor incident. However, as noted above, the Veteran reported that the incident took place in October 1981. Regarding the research response for the Veteran's alleged participation in Operation Gallant Eagle in 1982, the reply indicated that the Military Records Research Center (MRRC) were unable to research the request because the Veteran's unit of assignment was not adequately provided. The RO was advised that if they had the information available, that the request should be resubmitted. The information was not submitted and there was no updated response. Based on the above, the development to verify the Veteran's alleged stressors (which is critical to the claim on appeal) has been less than exhaustive. As there was not substantial compliance with the Board's remand directives, additional development to verify the two stressor events is necessary. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). In sum, the Board finds that a remand is necessary for another attempt to verify the Veteran's reported stressors. The RO is to attempt to verify the stressors from any appropriate entity. This matter is REMANDED for the following action: Contact any appropriate entity to attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors including: a) Whether the Veteran participated in Operation Gallant Eagle in March 1982 with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Irwin, California. The RO is to request that the appropriate entity verify the Veteran's contention that he was deployed to Fort Ord, as well as Fort Irwin, where the Operation Gallant Eagle training exercise took place. b) The RO should also request the Veteran's jump record for his years of active service (June 1979June 1982) to verify the Veteran's contention that a female paratrooper was injured and died during a night jump training exercise at Fort Bragg in October 1981. **As needed, the AOJ is to break down the requested time period (June1979June1982) into 60-day increments for the appropriate entity to complete its search.** If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified, and this should be documented for the record. Required notice of unavailable records must be provided to the Veteran and his representative. Paul Sorisio Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Cruz, K. 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.