Citation Nr: 21042037 Decision Date: 07/11/21 Archive Date: 07/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-03 053 DATE: July 11, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty service from May 1985 to September 2006. This appeal comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a rating decision dated July 2014 issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran timely appealed. The Veteran's appeal has previously been before the Board. In January 2019, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for additional development. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus is remanded. Although the Board regrets the additional delay, the Veteran's claim must be remanded before the Board is able to make a determination on the merits. Specifically, the Board finds that additional supporting evidence is required in developing the Veteran's claim. The Veteran contends that his diabetes mellitus is due to his service and began while he was in service. Specifically, the Veteran contends that following his June 2006 pre-deployment assessment, his lab work showed that he had diabetes mellitus, resulting in the cancellation of his deployment orders to Afghanistan in 2006. See Lay Statement dated June 2015; Notice of Disagreement (NOD) dated June 2015; Lay Statement dated December 2015; Form 9 dated January 2017; and Correspondence dated July 2020. The Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) show that he had a pre-deployment assessment on June 4, 2006, which noted, "Concerned about diabetes" and "Has pending diabetic workup due to elevated random glucose." See STR dated June 2006. In this case, the lab results following the Veteran's June 2006 pre-deployment assessment are missing from his record. While the record contains some of the Veteran's STRs, the records are incomplete. Additionally, the record does not contain any of the Veteran's military personnel records. As the results of the pending diabetic workup and any medical evaluation board (MEB) or physical evaluation board (PEB) documentation may establish that the Veteran's diabetes had its onset in service, these records must be obtained. Thus, additional efforts are needed to obtain complete service treatment records and personnel records and if they are unavailable, a formal finding must be made and the Veteran must be notified. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c), (e). Remand is necessary to correct this duty to assist error. Accordingly, the matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Exhaust all efforts to obtain the Veteran's complete service treatment records and personnel records. Take special care to include all labs, to find the diabetic workup described in the June 2006 STR, any MEB or PEB documentation, and all documents relating to the Veteran's discharge from service. If the AOJ cannot locate the Federal records requested herein, it must specifically document the attempts that were made to locate them and explain in writing why further attempts to locate or obtain any government records would be futile. The AOJ must then: (a) notify the claimant of the specific records that it is unable to obtain; (b) explain the efforts VA has made to obtain that evidence; and (c) describe any further action it will take with respect to the claim. The claimant must then be given an opportunity to respond. LAURA E. COLLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Bristor 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.