Citation Nr: 21014534 Decision Date: 03/12/21 Archive Date: 03/12/21 DOCKET NO. 17-62 456A DATE: March 12, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder is etiologically related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder have been met. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1965 to October 1967. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a November 3, 2016, rating decision which, in pertinent part, denied service connection for PTSD. A decision on service connection for other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder was deferred. A November 22, 2016, rating decision denied service connection for PTSD. In January 2021, the Veteran and his witness testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is of record. Although the claims file contains a VA Form 21-22 identifying the Veteran’s representative as American Ex-Prisoners of War, the representative did not attend the January 2021 hearing. The Veteran indicated that his representative had retired. The Veteran stated that he wanted to proceed on his own. Service connection for other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from an injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Generally, a veteran must establish: (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of an injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the injury incurred or aggravated during service. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The standard of proof is set forth in 38 U.S.C. § 5107. A veteran is entitled to the benefit of the doubt when there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. When a veteran seeks benefits and the evidence is in relative equipoise, the claimant prevails. See Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). The preponderance of the evidence must be against the claim for benefits to be denied. See Alemany v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 518 (1996). A July 1965 pre-induction examination showed no psychiatric abnormalities. The Veteran’s DD 214 confirmed foreign service with awards, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Marksmen (Rifle M-14). The DD 214 identifies a military occupational specialty (MOS) of general supply specialist. The Veteran’s military personnel records show the Bronze Service Star and the expert badge with rifle bar. The Veteran’s awards do not establish combat service. In a May 2016 VA treatment record, the Veteran reported that he was a machine gunner and was either carrying heavy firepower out on patrol or escorting aviation fuel tankers. He reported a number of traumatic wartime events, to include seeing a fellow soldier snap under the pressure and shoot off his own knees, and retrieving a burned soldier whose legs came off in the Veteran’s hands. The psychiatrist stated the Veteran presented with substantial elements of PTSD, and noted a prior diagnosis of anxiety reaction. In a June 2016 VA Form 21-0781, the Veteran reported the stressful incidents of the burned soldier and the soldier who shot off his knees. At a September 2016 VA examination, the Veteran reported experiencing, among other things, three or four nightmares per month, ongoing insomnia, and intrusive memories. The Veteran reported being a machine gunner in Vietnam and traveled with convoys clearing a path for traveling tankers. The examiner concluded that the Veteran was exposed to direct and indirect fire. It was also noted that the Veteran’s stressor was related to the Veteran’s fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. The VA examiner stated that the Veteran did not meet the DSM-IV or DSM-V criteria for PTSD, but did meet the DSM-V criteria for other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder. The VA examiner further opined that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s diagnosis of other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder was related to his deployment to Vietnam. In November 2016, the Veteran was sent a notice that the information provided in the June 2016 VA Form 21-0781 did not meet the minimum level of detail needed to verify the claimed stressful incidents. In a December 2017 VA Form 21-4138, the Veteran reported that he had combat PTSD. He reported that he was a machine gunner in Vietnam and was on convoys with 5,000-gallon tanks of aviation fuel. He reported that the fuel tankers were targets of the Viet Cong and that he was constantly terrified because he was completely exposed on the top of the vehicle. He reported that he lost a lot of buddies toward the end of his tour. He reported the incident of the soldier who shot off his knees. At the January 2021 hearing, the Veteran stated that he had been informed by three psychiatrists that he did not have PTSD, but that he had anxiety. He reported experiencing, among other things, monthly nightmares and dreams and nervousness due to service in Vietnam. The Veteran reported that his MOS was as a supply clerk, but that he was an expert marksman on a gun jeep carrying aviation fuel in Vietnam. He reported experiencing combat in Vietnam and being shot at because the aviation fuel truck was a target. He also reported the incident with the burned soldier. As a preliminary matter, the Board finds that the Veteran was presumed sound at entrance to service because the pre-induction examination did not show any psychiatric abnormalities. For the reasons stated below, the Board finds that service connection is warranted for other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder. The Board assigns probative weight to the September 2016 VA examination. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder. The VA examiner also opined that this current diagnosis was related to the Veteran’s deployment to Vietnam. This opinion is consistent with the Veteran’s statements of fear related to service in Vietnam. The Board notes that the evidence of record does not support a diagnosis of PTSD. The Board has considered the Veteran’s lay statements that he has PTSD. While the Veteran is competent to report lay observations about his symptoms, the question of whether the Veteran has PTSD does not lie within the range of common experience or common knowledge but requires medical experience. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Board instead assigns probative weight to the September 2016 VA examiner’s opinion that the Veteran did not meet the DSM-IV or DSM-V criteria for PTSD. This conclusion is consistent with the Veteran’s testimony that three psychiatrists have informed him that he does not have PTSD. In weighing the evidence of record, and resolving any reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that the Veteran has a current disability which has been linked to service. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Because the preponderance of the evidence supports the Veteran’s claim for service connection, the claim for service connection for other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder is granted. K. Parakkal Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Ormson, 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.