Citation Nr: 21028799 Decision Date: 05/12/21 Archive Date: 05/12/21 DOCKET NO. 15-45 879 DATE: May 12, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from July 1976 to July 1980. He also had subsequent service in the Naval Reserves and Air National Guard until his retirement in October 2013. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Buffalo, New York, which denied the claims on appeal. The Veteran is seeking service connection for sleep apnea, hypertension, and bilateral knee disabilities, which he contends either developed during service or are due to in-service injuries. As previously noted, the Veteran had period of active duty service from 1976 to 1980. He also served several periods of active duty for training from the time of his 1980 discharge to his October 2013 medical retirement. This appeal was previously before the Board in September 2018. At that time, the Board noted that a significant portion of the Veteran's military personnel records and service treatment records were missing. The Board acknowledged that at the time, the record established that the Veteran served on both inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA) and active duty for training (ACDUTRA) many times, but unfortunately, the record did not provide specific start and end dates of the Veteran's periods of training service. Accordingly, the Board remanded the appeal in order to obtain clarification as to the dates of the Veteran's active duty, inactive duty for training, and active duty for training, in addition to his missing treatment records for the time he was in the National Guard and the Reserves. Upon remand, in June 2019, the AOJ submitted two Personal Information Exchange System (PIES) requests, one for the Veteran's entire National Guard record and one for the Veteran's entire Reserves record. In response, various service treatment records dated from 2005 to 2013 were added to the claims file. Some of these records were duplicative of records already in the file. These records document consistent treatment for hypertension, sleep apnea, and bilateral knee disabilities. In addition, an "Information Report" was associated with the claims file in June 2019. This Information Report merely indicated that the Veteran served in the Navy Reserve for several periods from February 2002 to December 2006 and the Air Force National Guard for several periods from September 2007 to March 2013. Notably, the Information Report added the claims file in July 2014 notes that the Veteran was discharged from the National Guard in October 2013. Significantly, however, this additional Information Report did not include a list of the Veteran's period of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA, as specifically requested in the Board's remand. A review of the Veteran's medical records from the National Guard and Reserves reveals many notations referencing regular periods of duty, although these notations are by no means complete or exhaustive. For instance, in October 2005, the Veteran sought treatment for knee pain. He indicated he injured his knee three months ago while playing softball. At the time of the evaluation, the examiner noted that the Veteran was "recently activated in the Reserves." However, it is unclear whether the Veteran was on either INACDUTRA or ACDUTRA when the injury occurred. Therefore, the Board finds that remand is necessary in order for the RO to verify through official sources any periods of service the Veteran served between his July 1980 discharge from active service and October 2013. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (holding that a remand confers on the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand orders). The RO did not comply with the prior Board remand directive requesting a copy of the Veteran's Military Master Pay Account. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Verify through official sources any period(s) of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and/or inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA) the Veteran served between July 1980 and 2013. The RO should seek any financial records available through the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) and the state National Guard and Naval Reserve Headquarters the Veteran's Military Master Pay Account. T. MAINELLI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Orie, 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.