Citation Nr: 21076108 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/22/21 DOCKET NO. 17-62 207 DATE: December 22, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressed mood, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, anxiety, and depressed mood, is as likely as not the result of his military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving all reasonable doubt in his favor, the criteria are met for his entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, anxiety, and depressed mood. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1968 to July 1970. In March 2021, in support of this claim, the Veteran and his wife testified at a "virtual" teleconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge of the Board. A transcript of the proceeding is of record. In June 2021, the Board remanded this claim back to the local Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which is the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), to obtain a supplemental VA medical opinion concerning the etiology of the Veteran's claimed acquired psychiatric disorder. To this end, the Veteran underwent a VA examination in September 2021, and the report provides the needed additional information, so the additional development directed to occur on remand regarding this claim has been accomplished. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Service connection is granted on a direct basis for disability directly resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated during active military service in the line of duty. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Generally, service connection on this basis requires: (1) the existence of a present disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a relevant injury or a disease, and (3) a causal relationship ("nexus") between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004). It is not in dispute that the Veteran has an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and depressed mood. See, e.g., September 2021 VA Examination Report (Veteran has diagnoses of PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder). Resolution of this appeal therefore turns, instead, on whether there also is the required attribution of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder to his military service, i.e., the necessary "nexus". See Watson v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 309, 314 (1993) ("A determination of service connection requires a finding of the existence of a current disability and a determination of a relationship between that disability and an injury or a disease incurred in service."). On this determinative issue of causation, the Board finds that the evidence supports the Veteran's claim, as there is indeed the required correlation ("nexus") between his mental illness and what occurred during his time in service. Notably, the September 2021 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder was at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by his military service. This examiner pointed out the Veteran has a long history of documented psychiatric symptoms and that they likely developed following the combat trauma he experienced in Vietnam including exposure to enemy fire, experiencing the loss and injury of friends, and anti-war protests. Certainly then, when resolving all reasonable doubt concerning the origins of this disability in his favor, it is as likely as not he has this claimed disability and because of his service. Thus, service connection is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. KEITH W. ALLEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Mukherjee, Cameron B. 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.