Citation Nr: 21010170 Decision Date: 02/24/21 Archive Date: 02/24/21 DOCKET NO. 16-26 523 DATE: February 24, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has PTSD that resulted from combat-related stressors that occurred during active duty. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for PTSD are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty from June 1966 through June 1969, to include service in Vietnam from February 1967 through February 1968. The Veteran testified during a July 2019 Board hearing. According to a September 2020 letter to the Veteran, a complete transcript of the proceedings could not be created because of audio malfunctions that occurred during the hearing. The Veteran was given the opportunity to request a new hearing; however, he declined. 1. Entitlement to service connection for PTSD. The Veteran contends in an August 2012 claim that he has PTSD that resulted from in-service stressors. Notably, the claims file contains references by the Veteran to various combat-related stressors, made even before he filed his initial PTSD claim in 2012. In a June 2004 statement submitted to support a previous claim for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, he reported that he was subjected to an enemy mortar attack while performing duties at An Khe, Vietnam. In an August 2008 statement, he recalled that he performed duties that required him to travel to different camps and bases throughout Vietnam and that he was exposed to frequent enemy artillery and small arms fire. In a November 2012 PTSD stressor statement, the Veteran elaborated that although his military occupational specialty is listed as cook, he was required to perform duties to visit different bases and camps to deliver and swap supplies. He recalled that he witnessed the bodies of executed prisoners, and indeed, witnessed firsthand the execution of a prisoner who was beaten with a shovel. He related again that he and his unit were attacked while performing these duties by the enemy with mortar rounds and small arms fire. He stated that he witnessed several casualties, however, admitted that he could no longer recall any names. The service department records corroborate that the Veteran was deployed to Vietnam from February 1967 through February 1968. Although there is no direct evidence or documentation that corroborates the duties and stressors described by the Veteran, the nature of his described duties is consistent with the Veteran’s deployment and the Veteran finds the Veteran credible in his description of his in-service stressors. Certainly, those stressors are related to the Veteran’s fear of hostile military activity. In conjunction with the foregoing, the Veteran’s post-service VA treatment records show that the Veteran has remained under treatment for diagnosed PTSD since June 2012. A comprehensive July 2013 psychodiagnostic evaluation conducted by the Veteran’s primary treating VA psychiatrist confirms the PTSD diagnosis based on detailed findings from a complete interview with the Veteran that included a thorough discussion of the Veteran’s childhood, social history, in-service history, occupational history, and history of mental symptoms and treatment. The Board observes also that the evaluation included the administration of two batteries of tests which confirmed the presence of symptoms that met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Notably, the subsequent VA mental health treatment records reflect that the Veteran’s PTSD diagnosis has remained unchanged, and that the Veteran remains under treatment for PTSD to this day. Indeed, a July 2019 letter from the Veteran’s VA psychiatrist relates that the Veteran is under treatment for “combat-related PTSD.” The foregoing longstanding diagnosis is rebutted in the record by the findings expressed in a September 2013 PTSD examination report. The examiner comments that the earlier PTSD diagnoses should be discounted because they are not based on the findings of a “structured interview.” Notably, the examiner does not comment upon or address specifically the diagnosis and opinions expressed in the previous July 2013 psychodiagnostic evaluation report, which does appear to be based on the detailed findings from the Veteran’s psychiatrist’s complete and thorough interview of the Veteran along with appropriate mental health testing. In the absence of such discussion, the Board finds that the September 2013 examiner’s opinion is lacking in probative value and speculative. For this reason, the Board is persuaded instead by the PTSD diagnosis given by the Veteran’s VA psychiatrist and shown in the Veteran’s VA treatment records since 2012. (Continued on the next page)   The evidence shows that the Veteran has PTSD that was caused by in-service stressors related to the Veteran’s fear of hostile military activity. He is therefore entitled to service connection for PTSD. This appeal is granted. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D.S. Lee 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.