BVA9507451 DOCKET NO. 93-05 671 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Buffalo, New York THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: New York Division of Veterans' Affairs ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. W. Fabian, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active service from August 1965 to August 1973. CONTENTIONS OF APPELLANT ON APPEAL The veteran contends that he has post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of his military service in Vietnam. He further states that verification of his claimed stressors is not possible because he was involved in intelligence operations. DECISION OF THE BOARD The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), in accordance with the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104 (West 1991), has reviewed and considered all of the evidence and material of record in the veteran's claims file. Based on its review of the relevant evidence in this matter, and for the following reasons and bases, it is the decision of the Board that the preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. All relevant evidence necessary for an equitable disposition of the veteran's appeal has been obtained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 2. The evidence does not show that the veteran was engaged in combat with the enemy while serving in Vietnam. 3. Post-traumatic stress disorder that is now diagnosed is not shown to be related to any stressful event or events in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Post-traumatic stress disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1110, 5107 (West 1991); 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (1994). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION Upon review of the record, the Board concludes that the veteran's claim is well grounded within the meaning of the statutes and judicial construction. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) (West 1991). The VA, therefore, has a duty to assist the veteran in the development of facts pertinent to his claim. Id. The pertinent evidence pertaining to the issue on appeal consists of the veteran's service records, private treatment records, VA treatment records, the report of a VA psychiatric examination conducted in December 1991, and the report of research conducted by the Army and Joint Services Environmental Support Group (ESG). Although the veteran reported that he has been approved for Social Security disability benefits, the Board has determined that information from the Social Security file would not be probative of the issue on appeal. The Board concludes that all relevant data has been obtained for determining the merits of the veteran's claim. The VA has, therefore, fulfilled its obligation to assist the veteran in the development of the facts of his case as required by 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a). Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C.A. 1110. Service connection for post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires medical evidence establishing a clear diagnosis of the condition, credible supporting evidence that the claimed inservice stressor actually occurred, and a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptomatology and the claimed inservice stressor. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) (1994). If the claimed stressor is related to combat, service department evidence that the veteran engaged in combat or that the veteran was awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, or similar combat citation will be accepted, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, as conclusive evidence of the claimed inservice stressor. Id. If the VA determines that the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy, however, the veteran's lay testimony will not be sufficient to establish the occurrence of the claimed stressor; the file must contain service records that corroborate the veteran's testimony as to the occurrence of the claimed stressor. See Zarycki v. Brown, 6 Vet.App. 91, 99 (1993). Determinations regarding service connection are to be based on review of the entire evidence of record. See Wilson v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 16, 19 (1991); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Once the evidence is assembled, the Secretary is responsible for determining whether the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim. See Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 49, 55 (1990). If so, the claim is denied; if the evidence is in support of the claim or is in equal balance, the claim is allowed. Id. The veteran claims that PTSD occurred as the result of incidents that occurred while he was serving in Vietnam. In a statement submitted in June 1991 he claims to have been assigned to a special operations group that engaged in secret intelligence operations, but he states that his activities cannot be verified from service records because of the secret nature of the exercises. Specifically, he states that he arrived in Vietnam in November 1970. In December 1970 he was assigned to special forces training at Long Than, which lasted for three weeks. He went on his first mission in January 1971 as a portable radar operator on the Ho Chi Minh trail from North Vietnam into Cambodia. The unit's call sign was "Red Dog;" the unit commander was "Mac V;" the veteran's code name was "Baby Bull." He then participated in a mission outside Quong Le, 15 miles into Cambodia, where they intercepted and destroyed a truck convoy. He went on a mission in Laos, at which time the unit encountered many dead and had a fire fight with the enemy. He went on a mission into North Vietnam to intercept troop movement. He saw many casualties, including women and children. On return to the landing zone the unit was ambushed by the North Vietnamese. Two men in the unit, code names Batman and Daffy Duck, were killed by small arms fire. These men were close friends of the veteran and he believed their real names were Cantrell and Fox, but he wasn't sure. The veteran also went on a mission to Long Vie in Laos, where they picked up enemy troops on radar and called in an air strike. When they went for a visual sighting, they found out that the people were civilians, not enemy troops; there were many casualties. He got involved in a fire fight and hand to hand combat during another raid into Laos, at which time three of the five team members were killed in action. The men who were killed were close friends, but the veteran is unable to remember their names. During the hand to hand combat he killed North Vietnamese. The veteran claims that he went on many missions of this type between January 1971 and May 1971, at which time the unit was disbanded and he was returned to Tan Son Nhut air base as an air traffic controller. While he participated in these intelligence operations he states that he was carried as being in training at the 1876th Communications Squadron. The veteran also claims stressors as the result of his duties as an air traffic controller. He states that air craft emergencies were a daily routine. He could be required to handle up to four emergencies at the same time. For example, the pilot of a cargo plane was killed and the crew chief had to land the plane; the veteran talked him in. Helicopters went down regularly, and the veteran was responsible for noting where they went down and sending in a recovery force. He did not specify the dates, locations, or personnel involved in any of these occurrences. The veteran was hospitalized from April to May 1991 due to anxiety, depression, and suicidal and violent ideation. The veteran reported having problems with social withdrawal and anger since his return from Vietnam in 1971. He began to experience flashbacks in 1976 and had the last flashback ten years previously. He had no prior psychiatric hospitalizations and had no psychiatric treatment until shortly before the hospitalization, when he joined the Veterans' Outreach Program. While in the service he worked as an air traffic controller. On discharge from the hospital his disorders were diagnosed as major depression and PTSD. The report of treatment from the Veterans' Outreach Program indicates that the veteran had temper outbursts that sometimes resulted in rage, hypervigilance, difficulty concentrating, and nightmares and recurring thoughts about his war experiences. He was socially withdrawn and void of emotional expression. During therapy sessions he talked at length about his experiences in Vietnam in which he was involved in killing the enemy and seeing his own comrades killed. He had episodes of paranoia. The report of the VA psychiatric examination indicates that the veteran reported that he was in a top secret organization while in Vietnam referred to as an SOG--special operations group. Orders came directly from the White House. He was constantly in life threatening situations for the entire year. On return to the United States he was withdrawn and feared harm from others. He experienced feelings of rage that he never experienced before. He started having insomnia and nightmares in 1971, which continued to the present time. He had nightmares at least once per week; the content was always concerned with combat scenes in Vietnam, including hand to hand combat. When he woke up from a nightmare, his wife told him that he was speaking in Vietnamese. He stated that he was in virtually constant combat situations. He was a radar operator using portable equipment and performed at least 10 missions in enemy territory, including the Ho Chi Minh trail. The team included three or four other men and had high casualties. Many of the missions were at night and the team got ambushed; they had to "fight [their] way out with hand to hand combat." He knew as a member of an SOG he would be tortured and executed if captured; "all of the other guys from SOG who were captured were tortured and executed." He also served as an air traffic controller and the air base was frequently attacked by rocket and mortar fire. He started having flashbacks in 1971 and they got worse after Desert Storm. He can't be in the woods because he becomes disoriented and thinks he is back in Vietnam. He can see members of his team in foliage. He demonstrated startle reaction in response to any loud noise and the sound of helicopters. He expressed survivor guilt and felt withdrawn and socially isolated. The report shows that the veteran's primary stressor was when the team was surrounded and they had to fight their way out with hand to hand combat. He was anxious, depressed, and had difficulty concentrating. The report provides a primary diagnosis of PTSD with depression; stressors included service experience, Vietnam, financial need, organic illness, occupational, socioeconomic, and interpersonal problems. The veteran's service records show that he served in Vietnam from November 1970 to September 1971 and that he was assigned to the 1876th Communications Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, the Republic of Vietnam, starting in November 1970. His inservice training included basic training, air traffic control operator training, and training as an electrical communications repairman. He was granted a secret security clearance in September 1965 and received the National Defense Service Medal, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Air Force Longevity Service Award, and a Bronze Service Star. The veteran's military occupation was air traffic controller from the time he completed training in May 1966 until he was discharged. His special experience included radar approach control and precision approach radar. The combat record section of his service records does not show any combat. He did not speak any foreign languages. The service records do not indicate that he ever received special forces training or that he was ever assigned to any unit other than the 1876th Communications Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base while he was in Vietnam. The veteran's service medical records show that in January 1971 he was treated at the 377th United States Air Force (USAF) Dispensary at the Tan Son Nhut Air Base for an upper respiratory infection. His rating designation is shown as air traffic controller and his major command is shown as the 1876th Communications Squadron. He was found to be incapacitated for duty and returned to duty four days later. The report of the ESG shows that after an extensive review of the 1876th Communication Squadron unit histories they were unable to verify any of the stressors that the veteran claimed. They were also unable to verify his assignment to a top secret organization. A search of the casualty files failed to disclose the deaths of a "Cantrell" or a "Fox." The veteran's service records do not show that he served in combat with the enemy while serving in Vietnam. The service records and the report of the investigative search conducted by the ESG failed to verify the veteran's claims that he was assigned to a top secret special operations group or that the events he claimed to have participated in as an air traffic controller occurred. If the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy, his claimed stressors must be corroborated by service records. See Zarycki, 6 Vet.App. at 99. This requirement is not excused because the veteran claims that his experiences cannot be verified because of the top secret nature of the service. Because the evidence does not show that the veteran was engaged in combat with the enemy while serving in Vietnam and the service records and the report of the ESG failed to verify the veteran's claimed stressors, the preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD. ORDER The veteran's claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder is denied. WILLIAM J. REDDY 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. NOTICE OF APPELLATE RIGHTS: Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7266 (West 1991), a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals granting less than the complete benefit, or benefits, sought on appeal is appealable to the United States Court of Veterans Appeals within 120 days from the date of mailing of notice of the decision, provided that a Notice of Disagreement concerning an issue which was before the Board was filed with the agency of original jurisdiction on or after November 18, 1988. Veterans' Judicial Review Act, Pub. L. No. 100-687, § 402 (1988). The date which appears on the face of this decision constitutes the date of mailing and the copy of this decision which you have received is your notice of the action taken on your appeal by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.