BVA9502204 
DOCKET NO.  92-04 240     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg,
Florida

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress
disorder.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: The American Legion

WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant and his wife.

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

James A. Pritchett,  Associate Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The veteran had active service from September 1966 to September
1969.

By rating decision dated in November 1983, service connection for
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was denied.  An appeal of
this decision was not perfected.  The claim was reopened in 1990.
Because the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) has found new and
material evidence has been submitted since the 1983 rating
decision, the Board will address the issue of service connection
on a de novo basis.

This matter comes before the Board on appeal from a rating
decision of October 1990, by the St. Petersburg, Florida,
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  In
March 1993 the case was remanded for further evidentiary
development.

REMAND

It is contended that the veteran has post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) as a result of active military service. The
veteran most recently was examined by a VA psychiatrist in August
1993. Although the diagnosis was PTSD, the report of this
examination does not indicate that the examiner had reviewed the
claims folder prior to making the diagnosis. The Board observes
that VA hospitalization summaries and outpatient treatment
records indicate that the veteran's psychiatric condition has
been diagnosed as major depression. Accordingly, the case should
be remanded to the RO for the following action:

                          1. Copies of all records of VA in- and outpatient
                          treatment received by the veteran for his
psychiatric
                          condition since January 1993 should be obtained
and
                          made part of the record.

                          2. The veteran should be scheduled for a special
VA
                          examination by a board of two psychiatrists in
order
                          to determine the nature and extent of all current
                          psychiatric pathology. All necessary tests and
studies
                          should be accomplished and all clinical
manifestations
                          should be reported in detail. Reasons and bases
for
                          all diagnoses should be provided in accordance
                          with the applicable provisions of the Physician's
                          Guide for Disability Evaluation Examinations
                          and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
                          Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised,
Washington,
                          D.C., 1987. All diagnoses should be reconciled
with
                          those reported on VA hospitalization and
outpatient
                          treatment. The claims folder must be made
                          available to the examiners for review prior to
the
                          examination, and the report of the examination
                          should indicate whether it was made available.

Once the above development has been completed, the case should
again be reviewed by the RO. Should the prior be confirmed, the
case should be returned to the Board, if in order.  The Board
intimates no opinion as to the ultimate outcome of this case.
The veteran need take no action unless otherwise notified.

          WAYNE M. BRAEUER
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  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) (1993).