Citation Nr: 0720119 Decision Date: 07/05/07 Archive Date: 07/13/07 DOCKET NO. 05-25 023 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Providence, Rhode Island THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Vietnam Veterans of America WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. L. Wallin, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from December 1965 to June 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) on appeal from a September 2004 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Providence, Rhode Island, which denied the benefit sought on appeal. The veteran presented testimony before the Board via video conference in February 2007. The transcript has been obtained and associated with the claims folder. The appeal is REMANDED to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the veteran if further action is required. REMAND A determination has been made that additional evidentiary development is necessary. Accordingly, further appellate consideration will be deferred and this case remanded for action as described below. In various written statements and in testimony at a February 2007 video conference hearing, the veteran reported stressors associated with his PTSD. He contends that in November 1966, while he was attached to the 79th Ordnance Detachment, a member of his unit committed suicide by hanging himself. The veteran indicated that he witnessed the body being taken down. He also asserts that he was subjected to rocket and mortar attacks, especially in February 1968, while performing his duties as a security guard at Tan Son Nhut air base. In Pentecost v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 124 (2002), the Unites States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) stated that the veteran's unit records constituted independent descriptions of rocket attacks that were experienced by the veteran's unit when he was stationed in Vietnam, which, when viewed in the light most favorable to the veteran, objectively corroborated his claim of having experienced rocket attacks. The Court reiterated that, although the unit records did not specifically identify the veteran as being present during the rocket attacks, the fact that he was stationed with a unit that was present while such attacks occurred suggested that he was in fact exposed to the attacks. It does not appear that the AOJ attempted to verify the stressor incidents described by the veteran by contacting the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSSRC) (formerly United States Armed Services Center for Research of Unit Records (USASCRUR)). Additionally, the veteran should be offered an opportunity to provide additional specific information that would permit searches regarding stressors. The veteran should be asked if he has remembered any more details, particularly names of individuals wounded or killed, and he should be reminded that he can also provide statements by individuals who served with him that include more particular details. The Board notes that daily personnel actions such as wounded or killed in action can be obtained directly from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). If a claimed stressor is verified, the veteran should be afforded an additional VA examination to determine if the claimed PTSD is related to a verifiable stressor. Ongoing VA medical records pertinent to the issue should also be obtained. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(c) (West 2002); see also Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992) (VA medical records are in constructive possession of the agency, and must be obtained if the material could be determinative of the claim). Accordingly, this case is REMANDED for the following: 1. Treatment records from the Providence VA medical center dating since June 2006 should be obtained. 2. The AOJ should also ask the veteran to provide any additional details concerning stressors, particularly names of individuals wounded or killed, that he may have remembered. He should also be reminded that he can also submit "buddy statements" containing verifiable information regarding the events claimed as "stressors" during his military service. All of these statements should include specific details about the events, such as dates, places, and names of firebases or individuals involved in the events. The veteran should be advised that this information is vitally necessary to obtain supportive evidence of the stressful events he says he experienced, and he should further be advised that failure to respond may result in adverse action. 3. The AOJ should attempt to verify the claimed stressors of seeing a member of his unit who committed suicide by hanging himself in November 1966, while he was attached to the 79th Ordnance Detachment; and of mortar and rocket attacks at Tan Son Nhut air base in February 1968, through official sources including JSSRC and, if necessary, from NARA. Verification of any additional stressors for which sufficient information is provided should also be attempted. 4. If, and only if, a stressor is verified, the veteran should then be afforded a VA examination with claims file review to determine whether he suffers from PTSD as a result of the verified stressor. 5. Thereafter, after the completion of any indicated additional development, the AOJ should readjudicate the PTSD claim on appeal. If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the veteran and his representative should be provided a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). Appropriate time is to be allowed for response. The veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2006). _________________________________________________ K. A. BANFIELD Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2006).