Citation Nr: 0007598 Decision Date: 03/21/00 Archive Date: 03/28/00 DOCKET NO. 94-05 482 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Paul, Minnesota THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: AMVETS ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. W. Loeb, Counsel REMAND The veteran served on active duty from October 1970 to July 1972. A July 1996 decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on new and material evidence and remanded the claim to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Paul, Minnesota, for additional development, to include an attempt to obtain verification of the veteran's claimed stressor. The case is again before the Board for adjudication. The Board notes that an October 1999 letter from the Director of the Department of the Army Center for Unit Records Research, a June 1972 unit history of the 215th Composite Service Battalion and a 1971 Senior Officer's Debriefing Report of the Office of the Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division, were added to the record in November 1999, subsequent to the RO's most recent consideration of the issue on appeal in May 1999. The veteran has not waived his right to have this evidence initially considered by the RO. 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.37(a), 20.1304(c) (1999). In light of these circumstances, the case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions: 1. The veteran should be requested by the RO to provide the names, addresses and approximate dates of treatment for any health care provider, including VA, who may possess additional records pertinent to the issue on appeal. After obtaining any necessary consent forms for the release of the veteran's private medical records, the RO should obtain, and associate with the claims folders, all records noted by the veteran that are not currently on file. 2. Thereafter, the RO should review the claims folders and should undertake any other indicated development. The RO should then readjudicate the issue of entitlement to service connection for PTSD based on all evidence received since its most recent consideration of the veteran's claim. 3. If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted to the veteran's satisfaction, the RO should issue a supplemental statement of the case and provide the veteran and his representative with an appropriate opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for further appellate consideration, if otherwise in order. By this REMAND, the Board intimates no opinion as to any final outcome warranted. No action is required of the veteran until he is otherwise notified by the RO. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter 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 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 (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) 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).