Citation Nr: 21027648 Decision Date: 05/06/21 Archive Date: 05/06/21 DOCKET NO. 18-13 584 DATE: May 6, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. Entitlement to nonservice connected pension benefits is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2013 decision. The claim of service connection for right knee disability was previously denied in February 1980. Subsequent to that decision, additional relevant service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file in 1980 were received. Consequently, the claim will be reviewed on a de novo basis. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c). The Appellant presented testimony before the Board in March 2021 and a transcript of the hearing has been obtained. The Appellant contends that he is entitled to service connection for PTD and right knee disability, as well as nonservice-connected pension benefits. He has indicated through statements and testimony that PTSD and right knee disability may have had their onset and/or were aggravated during his service in the Reserves. The Appellant's claims file does not appear to contain his complete service treatment or personnel records for his period of Reserve service. The Board notes that while the RO made a formal finding on the unavailability of the Appellant's complete service treatment records in September 2013, the memorandum indicated that records were only requested from the National Personnel Records Center. There is no indication that a request for records was made from the Department of the Air Force in Maxwell, Alababama, where he served or the Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, Colorado. It also does not appear the Appellant's complete service personnel records have been obtained. An October 1974 letter from the Depratment of the Air Force, Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center, indicated that the Appellant was being discharged in lieu of action under Air Force Regulation (AFR) 35-41. The letter indicated that a copy of the specific reasons for taking the action and supporting documentation were attached. However, a review of the record does not contain these attachments. The Board further notes the Appellant was provided "information for medically disqualified reservists being considered for discharge by an administrative board." There is no documentation or indication of the medical condition considered to be disqualifying. As the service personnel and treatment records may contain pertinent information to the Appellant's claims, a remand is required to obtain them. Regarding VA pension benefits, nonservice-connected pension benefits are payable to a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from nonservice-connected disability or disabilities, which is not the result of willful misconduct, but only where the veteran has the requisite active wartime service. 38 U.S.C. § 1521 (a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.3, 3.14(b). A veteran meets the applicable service requirements if he or she served in active military, naval, or air service: (1) for 90 days or more during a period of war; (2) during a period of war and was discharged or released from service for a service-connected disability; (3) for a period of 90 consecutive days or more and such period began or ended during a period of war; or (4) for an aggregate of 90 days or more in two or more separate periods of service during more than one period of war. 38 U.S.C. § 1521(j); 38 C.F.R. § 3.3 (a)(3). The term "active military, naval, or air service" includes active duty, and "any period of active duty for training during which the individual concerned was disabled or died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty." 38 U.S.C. § 101 (24); 38 C.F.R. § 3.6 (a). Thus, when a claim is based on a period of active duty for training, there must be evidence that the individual concerned died or became disabled during the period of active duty for training because of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. In the absence of such evidence, the period of active duty for training will not qualify as "active military, naval, or air service," and the Appellant will not achieve "veteran" status for purposes of that claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 101 (22), (24); Mercado-Martinez v. West, 11 Vet. App. 415, 419 (1998). Here, the record reflects that the Appellant served on active duty for training for a period of 90 days or more during the Vietnam era. Such a period of service may qualify as active military service and trigger pension eligibility if the Appellant was disabled by a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during that period. As delineated above, the Appellant's service connection claims have been remanded for further development. A decision on these issues could significantly impact a decision on the issue of entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits. Thus, the Board finds that the question of pension entitlement is intertwined with the pending service connection claims, and therefore must be remanded pending the adjudication of the inextricable intertwined claims. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request the Appellant's complete service personnel and treatment records from appropriate sources, including the Department of the Air Force in Maxwell, Alabama, and the Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, Colorado. All attempts to obtain such records should be documented in the case file. 2. Thereafter, readjudicate the Appellant's claims for service connection for PTSD and right knee disability and eligibility for nonservice-connected pension benefits. If upon completion of the above action any issues remain denied, the matters must be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures. M. Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. L. Wallin, 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.