Citation Nr: 0725563 Decision Date: 08/16/07 Archive Date: 08/22/07 DOCKET NO. 03-21 840A ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Buffalo, New York THE ISSUE Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim for entitlement to service connection for post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Glenn R. Bergmann, Esq. ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD E.B. Joyner, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from May 1967 to August 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2002 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Buffalo, New York. In a November 2005 decision, the Board denied reopening of the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD. The veteran appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In June 2007, the Court issued an order that granted a joint motion of the parties and remanded the matter to the Board for action in compliance with the motion. REMAND Pursuant to the directive in the June 2007 joint motion, further development is warranted with regard to verification of the veteran's claimed stressors. Specifically, although the RO contacted the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) (formerly U.S. Armed Services Center for Research of Unit Records) in order to verify the veteran's alleged stressor(s), JSRRC responded only with information pertaining to the veteran's first tour in Vietnam. The RO never followed up with JSRRC regarding the veteran's second tour of duty in Vietnam (from October 1969 to March 1970). Therefore, development should be taken in order to obtain unit histories and operational reports - lessons learned from this period, as well as inquiry into the casualty files for the possible death or injury of individuals B.S., W.P., and V.F.. Additionally, although JSRRC informed the RO in a March 1998 letter that it does not maintain unit morning reports, and that such could be requested from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), such reports were never requested from the NPRC. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the RO or the Appeals Management Center (AMC) in Washington, D.C., for the following actions: 1. The AMC or the RO should send the veteran a letter providing the notice required under 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(b), to include a request that the veteran submit any pertinent evidence in his possession. The letter should request the veteran to provide the approximate date (within a 60-day period) on which his friends, B.S., W.P., and V.F., were killed. In addition, the RO should inform the veteran that he should, if he is able, submit "buddy" statements in order to help substantiate his alleged stressor(s). 2. The AMC or the RO should undertake appropriate development to obtain any other pertinent evidence identified but not provided by the veteran. If it is unable to obtain any such evidence, it should so inform the veteran and his representative and request them to provide the outstanding evidence. 3. Thereafter, if the veteran provides the dates requested, the AMC or the RO should attempt to verify the stressors with JSRRC. 4. The AMC or the RO should also contact the appropriate agency and obtain the unit histories, lessons learned/operating reports, and morning reports for U.S. Army, 244th Aviation Battalion. 5. Then, the AMC or the RO should undertake any other indicated development and readjudicate the issue on appeal. If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted to the veteran's satisfaction, the veteran and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and provided an appropriate opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for further appellate action, if otherwise in order. By this remand, the Board intimates no opinion as to any final outcome warranted. No action is required of the appellant until he is otherwise notified, but he has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded. See 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). _________________________________________________ Shane A. Durkin 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).