Citation Nr: 21028288
Decision Date: 05/10/21	Archive Date: 05/10/21

DOCKET NO. 12-28 692
DATE: May 10, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include schizophrenia, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from August 1984 to September 1984.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  The Veteran testified before the undersigning Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in an April 2017 Board hearing.  This matter was previously remanded in July 2017.

The Board finds a remand is necessary for further development.  Specifically, the Veteran's military personnel records are not within the claims file.  It is noted that the Veteran was discharged shortly after enlistment, and the reason is unknown.  During the April 2017 Board hearing, the Veteran asserted that he was discharged from service due to getting into a fight.  The military personnel records are necessary to determine the reason behind the Veteran's discharge from service.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain a complete copy of the Veteran's military personnel file, to include those documents relevant to his discharge.  Development should include contacting the United States Army and any other relevant entities, using any detailed information provided by the Veteran upon request after this remand, as well as any information available in the Veteran's military personnel records.

If any requested records are not available after thorough search efforts are made, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file.  The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified, and this should be documented for the record.  Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his representative.

Based upon these records, after careful consideration, the RO should determine whether further examination or medical opinion is necessary to address the etiology of the claimed disability.

 

 

A. C. MACKENZIE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Glaeser, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.