BVA9508416 
DOCKET NO.  92-12 594     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Cleveland, Ohio

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder to
include post-traumatic stress disorder.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

J. Andrew Ahlberg, Associate Counsel

REMAND

The veteran had active duty from February 1966 to February 1969.

This case was denied by the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(hereinafter Board) in a February 1993 decision.  The veteran
appealed the Board's denial to the United States Court of
Veterans Appeals (hereinafter Court).  In a November 1994 ruling,
the Court vacated the Board's decision and granted a joint motion
for remand.  [citation redacted].
In order to accomplish the development
requested in the joint motion for remand and to ensure that the
Board meets its duty to assist the veteran in developing the
facts pertinent to his claim, the case is REMANDED to the
regional office (RO) for the following development:

1.  The RO should contact the veteran for a
specific listing of stressful incidents he
had during service which form the basis of
his claim for service connection for post-
traumatic stress disorder.  Specific dates
and locations of the claimed stressors
should be provided; specific information is
required for verification of claimed
stressors.  The RO is to forward this
information to the U.S. Army and Joint
Services Environmental Support Group (ESG),
7798 Cissna Road, Springfield, Virginia,
22150, in order to determine whether the
veteran may have been engaged in combat or
exposed to the stresses of combat.  In this
regard, the veteran's service personnel
records indicate that he served as a
mechanic with Companies B and C of the 92d
Engineering Battalion in Vietnam between
May 1967 and October 1967 and with the 41st
Engineering Company from October 1967 to
April 1968.

2.  Any additional VA or private treatment
records pertaining to treatment of a
psychiatric disorder or disorders that are
not already of record should be obtained.
Information concerning sources of such
treatment may be requested from the
veteran.  The RO should obtain copies of
clinical records of treatment, not merely a
summary statement, from James E. Althof,
Ph.D., P.O. Box 910, Gallipolis, Ohio
45631-0910.

3.  After the development above has been
completed, the veteran is to be afforded an
examination by a board of 3 psychiatrists
who have not previously examined the
veteran.  All indicated tests should be
performed and all clinical findings should
be reported in detail.  The claims file
must be made available to the examiners for
review prior to the examination.  This
examination must include a review of the
entire clinical history contained in the
claims file.  If post-traumatic stress
disorder is diagnosed, the examiners are to
specifically identify the stressors upon
which such a diagnosis is based.  In this
regard, the examiners are directed to
consider the results obtained from the ESG
in determining the reliability of any in-
service stressors claimed by the veteran.
Any psychiatric disorders other than post-
traumatic stress disorder should also be
identified.

Following completion of the requested development, the RO should
review the evidence and determine whether the veteran's claim may
be granted.  If this claim is denied, the veteran and his
representative should be issued a supplemental statement of the
case, to include citations to the relevant laws and regulations
as needed, and the case should be returned to the Board for
further appellate review.  The purpose of this REMAND is to
assist the veteran in the development of his appeal, and the
Board does not intimate an opinion, either legal or factual, as
to the ultimate disposition warranted in this case.  No action is
required of the veteran until he is notified.

          HOLLY E. MOEHLMANN
          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) (1994).