PTSD
 
BVA Citation Nr: 0710136
 
Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence 
establishing a diagnosis of the condition, credible 
supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor 
actually occurred in absence of proof that the veteran 
engaged in combat with the enemy, and a link, established by 
medical evidence, between the current symptomatology and the 
claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) (2006).
 
The evidence necessary to establish the occurrence of a 
stressor during service to support a claim of entitlement to 
service connection for PTSD will vary depending on whether 
the veteran was "engaged in combat with the enemy." See 
Gaines v. West, 11 Vet. App. 353, 358 (1998); Hayes v. Brown, 
5 Vet. App. 60, 66 (1993). See also Moran v. Principi, 17 
Vet. App. 149 (2003) (differing evidentiary burdens for 
different classes of veterans in 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) not 
contrary to 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1154(a) or 5107(b), and 
distinction within VA's regulatory discretion to draw); see 
also, 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(d).
 
If the evidence establishes that the veteran engaged in 
combat with the enemy and the claimed stressor is related to 
that combat, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence 
to the contrary, and provided that the claimed stressor is 
consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships 
of his service, his lay statement alone may establish the 
occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. 
§ 3.304(f)(1); see also Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128 
(1997).
 
However, the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b) are only 
applicable in cases where a veteran is shown to have actually 
served in combat with the enemy. For application of 38 
U.S.C.A. § 1154(b), it is not sufficient that a veteran be 
shown to have served during a period of war or to have served 
in a theater of combat operations or in a combat zone. To 
gain the benefit of a relaxed standard for proof of service 
incurrence of an injury or disease, section 1154(b) requires 
that the veteran have actually participated in combat with 
the enemy. See VAOPGCPREC 12-99 (October 18, 1999).
 
Where the claimed stressor is not related to combat, 
"credible supporting evidence" is required and "the 
appellant's testimony, by itself, cannot as a matter of law, 
establish the occurrence of a noncombat stressor." See 
Dizoglio v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 163, 166 (1996). The 
requisite additional evidence may be obtained from sources 
other than the veteran's service records. See Moreau v. 
Brown, 9 Vet. App. 389, 395 (1996), aff'd, 124 F.3d 228 (Fed. 
Cir. 1997) (table).