Citation Nr: 21006117 Decision Date: 02/03/21 Archive Date: 02/03/21 DOCKET NO. 18-10 633 DATE: February 3, 2021 ORDER Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, to include as due to exposure to Agent Orange, is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the evidence is at least relatively even as to whether the Veteran served on active duty in close proximity to an area in which herbicide agents were used on or near the perimeter of the U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Base during the Vietnam War. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, to include as due to direct exposure to herbicide agents, are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from November 1970 to February 1977. This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a April 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama. In June 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) vacated the Board’s June 2019 denial and remanded the issue back to the Board. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, to include as due to exposure to Agent Orange, is granted. The Veteran asserts that that he has diabetes mellitus, type II, due to herbicide agent exposure in Thailand during military service. As the Veteran reported in October 2012, April 2013, February 2018, January 2019 uncontroverted lay statements, he worked as a Materiel Facilities Specialist in the Air Force while stationed at U-Tapao in Thailand. A veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 is presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent if a listed chronic disease becomes manifest to a degree of 10 percent disabling or more, unless there is affirmative evidence to the contrary. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a). If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active military, naval, or air service, certain diseases are presumed to be service connected if the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6) are met, even though there is no record of the disease during service. These diseases include diabetes mellitus and early onset neuropathy. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). The presumption is rebuttable. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(d). The VA’s Adjudication Procedures Manual, M21-1MR, advises that the Compensation Service has determined that a special consideration of herbicide exposure on a factual basis should be extended to Veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases during the Vietnam era. See M21-1 at IV.ii.1.H.5.a. The M21-1 notes that most troops in Thailand during the Vietnam Era were stationed at the Royal Thai Air Bases of U-Tapao, Ubon, NKP, Udon, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang. If a Veteran served on one of these air bases as a security policeman, security patrol dog handler, member of a security police squadron, or otherwise served near the air base perimeter, as shown by MOS, performance evaluations, or other credible evidence, then herbicide exposure should be acknowledged on a facts-found or direct basis. See M21-1 at IV.ii.1.H.5.b. The Veteran’s military personnel records indicate that his military occupational specialty was Materiel Facilities Specialist and he was stationed at U-Tapao Airforce Base in Thailand in December 1972. The Veteran reported that while stationed there, he worked primarily at a warehouse within approximately 0.5 miles of the flight line, crossed the perimeter almost every day to deliver parts or transport fellow servicemembers arriving from Vietnam by taxi, which required exiting and entering the main gate by foot. These statements are uncontroverted by the evidence of record. The Board finds that entering and leaving the front gate of the facility entails crossing the perimeter of the facility. Based on the above, the Board finds the Veteran served on active duty in “close proximity” to an area in which herbicide agents were used on or near the perimeter of the U-Tapao Air Force Base during the Vietnam War. Accordingly, service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II is warranted based on presumptive exposure to herbicide agents. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board James Hekel, 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.