Citation Nr: 0003108 Decision Date: 02/08/00 Archive Date: 02/15/00 DOCKET NO. 97-02 089 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Cleveland, Ohio THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include post-traumatic stress disorder. 2. Entitlement to service connection for drug and alcohol abuse. 3. Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for residuals of a right leg injury. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. S. Tierney, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from December 1968 to July 1970, and from August 1971 to August 1973. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 1996 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio. REMAND It appears that the veteran's complete service medical records have not been located and associated with the claims file. The service personnel records verify that the veteran was medivaced from Vietnam to Fort Knox, Kentucky, as a patient for the Mental Health Clinic in August 1972. The service medical records associated with the veteran's claims file do not contain any medical records from the Ireland Army Hospital in Fort Knox for this period. A review of the record shows that the RO has made numerous attempts to locate all of the veteran's service medical records. An initial request in August 1970 to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) resulted in the service medical records of the veteran's first period of service being associated with his claims file in November 1970. Another request for records was made to NPRC in February 1974, which included a request for the service medical records of the veteran's second period of service and for records from the Ireland Army Community Hospital. NPRC responded that medical records were forwarded in November 1970, and that specific dates of treatment were needed to aid in further search. In May 1974, the RO sent a request to the Commander of Ireland Army Hospital. A response was received that there were no in-patient or out-patient records at that location. However, a Report of Contact concerning telephone calls in July and August 1974 between an RO employee and employees at Fort Knox indicates that the veteran's records from the Ireland Army Community Hospital were at that location in the warehouse. In August 1974, the RO sent a request to Alcohol and Drug Control Division at Fort Knox for the veteran's treatment records from October 1972 to August 1973. Evidence of record does not show that there was a response to this request. Additional requests to NPRC for records were made in June 1975, January 1997, and April 1997. The responses were that all medical records were furnished the RO in November 1970. In April 1997, the RO also sent a request for records to the United States Army Medical Center at Fort Knox, specifically for hospital and outpatient treatment records for January through December 1972. The response was that this facility had no medical records for that patient. Although the RO has made numerous attempts in this case to try to locate all of the veteran's service medical records, especially those of a hospitalization at the Ireland Army Community Hospital at Fort Knox, Kentucky, such efforts have been unsuccessful. The Board finds that an additional attempt should be made because these records are crucial to the veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and drug and alcohol abuse. In addition, the veteran must be advised to submit alternate forms of evidence to support his contentions. See Dixon v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 261, 263 (1992). At the time the veteran separated from service, which was prior to October 16, 1992, the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) in St. Louis received the medical and nonmedical service records for each separating soldier from the Army. See VA Adjudication Procedure Manual, M21-1, Part III, Change 41, Chapter 4 (July 12, 1995). A sorting process occurred at ARPERCEN and records for Army veterans who were not retired and who had no Reserve obligation or Reserve/National Guard connection were sent to NPRC. Id. This should have been the process in the veteran's case. However, there is a possibility that some of the veteran's service medical records remain at ARPERCEN and a request for records should be made from that facility. The RO should contact NPRC one more time and request the veteran's service medical records for both periods of his service, specifically the treatment records of the hospitalization at the Ireland Army Community Hospital in Fort Knox, Kentucky, beginning in August 1972. The RO should make a note to NPRC that the service medical records received in November 1970 could not have included the service medical records from the veteran's second period of service which occurred from August 1971 to August 1973. In addition, during the 1960's, it became standard practice for military medical facilities to maintain separate clinical records for inpatient treatment and those records are independent from, and not filed with, the individual military medical record. Such records are ultimately retired to NPRC where they are filed by year and place of treatment. Accordingly, the RO should make a special request to NPRC for hospital records from the Ireland Army Community Hospital beginning in August 1972. Under the circumstances, the Board concludes that further development is warranted. Accordingly, this case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions: 1. The RO should inform the veteran of the lack of complete service medical records and request that he send any records in his possession. In addition, the veteran should be advised to submit lay statements from friends, family, or people with whom he served in the Army, who knew about any psychiatric or right leg problems and his use of alcohol or drugs. 2. The RO should contact ARPERCEN in St. Louis and request all of the veteran's service medical records, in particular records of a hospitalization at Ireland Army Community Hospital, Fort Knox, Kentucky, beginning in August 1972. 3. The RO should contact NPRC in St. Louis and again request all of the veteran's service medical records, in particular records of his second period of service from August 1971 to August 1973, and clinical records from Ireland Army Community Hospital at Fort Knox, Kentucky, beginning in August 1972. The RO should point out to NPRC that service medical records were received in November 1970 but did not include records from the veteran's subsequent second period of service. 4. Then, the RO should undertake any other indicated development and readjudicate the issues on appeal. 5. If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted to the veteran's satisfaction, he and his representative should be provided a Supplemental Statement of the Case and afforded a reasonable 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 ultimate outcome warranted. The veteran is free to submit any additional evidence he desires to have considered in connection with his current appeal. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded to the RO. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This case must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO. 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 The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994), 38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West Supp. 1999) (Historical and Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-8.45 and 38.02-38.03. SHANE A. DURKIN Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 1999), 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) (1999).