BVA9507648 DOCKET NO. 93-11 075 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO) in St. Petersburg, Florida. Transferred from the VARO in Los Angeles, California. THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: William G. Smith, Attorney at Law WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Milo H. Hawley, Counsel REMAND The veteran had active service from July 1969 to April 1973. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 1987 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It is contended that the veteran has post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of stressors he experienced during his active service while serving on board an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam. It is asserted that the veteran was stationed on board the aircraft carrier "U.S.S. Oriskany" during part of 1972 and part of 1973. The veteran has reported stressful events while serving on board that ship, including when the U.S.S. Oriskany collided with the U.S.S. Nitro, an armament and refueling supply ship. He has also recounted an experience where a friend, whose name he cannot recall, was blown overboard by jet exhaust, with the body not being recovered. He has indicated that they had a memorial service at sea. He has also reported that his ship was taken to Japan in July 1972 to effect repairs on a propeller and the damage it had suffered during the collision with the U.S.S. Nitro at the end of June 1972. Their ship had to return to Japan again after it went dead in the water at the end of October 1972 because of the loss of another propeller and damage to a drive shaft. The veteran has stated that, on December 13, an aircraft had a hard landing and missed the arresting gear continuing down the flight deck and over the end of the angle deck. He identified the aircraft as an "A-8" or "F-8." He indicated that the aircraft went off the deck and landed in the water with the pilot ejecting from the aircraft. In each of the above cases the veteran has described feelings of stress which he experienced which were related to the above- described events. An attempt has not been made to obtain the veteran's service personnel records, or other records which could verify the above reported events. Although the veteran has undergone some psychological testing and been hospitalized multiple times, the record does not indicate that the veteran has been afforded an official VA psychiatric examination for the purpose of determining what psychiatric disability he may have. Various psychiatric diagnoses have been offered for purposes of treatment during his hospitalizations including major depression, bipolar affective disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. On the basis of the above record the Board believes that additional development is required. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the regional office for the following: 1. The regional office should make all reasonable efforts to obtain service administrative records relating to the veteran's service assignments and duties, including but not limited to the history of the units to which he was assigned, morning reports, personnel records, and sick call records. 2. The regional office should make all reasonable efforts to obtain all records and logs, including ships' histories, deck logs and flight operations records, concerning any ships to which the veteran was assigned, including the U.S.S. Oriskany during the time the veteran was assigned to that ship in 1972 and 1973. The regional office should also obtain the U.S.S. Nitro ship's history, i.e., deck logs, etc., for purposes of verifying the collision with the U.S.S. Oriskany in June 1972. 3. Following completion of the above development, the case should be sent to the United States Army and Joint Services Environmental Support Group, 7798 Cissna Road, Springfield, Virginia 22150, for verification of the claimed stressors. 4. The regional office should contact the veteran's representative and inquire as to where the veteran has been receiving mental health care, and to obtain appropriate releases as required. The regional office should contact the health care provider(s) identified and request copies of all medical records relating to the veteran's health care from February 1991 until the present. The regional office should also contact the Social Security Administration and request copies of all administrative and medical records relating to its determination with respect to the veteran's award of Social Security benefits based on disability. 5. The regional office should then schedule the veteran for a comprehensive VA psychiatric examination to determine if the veteran has post-traumatic stress disorder, and if so, the underlying stressor(s) for the disorder. The examination is to be conducted in accordance with the VA Physician's Guide for Disability Evaluation Examinations. All indicated tests, including appropriate psychological studies with applicable subscales, are to be conducted. The claims file must be made available to and reviewed by the examiner prior to the requested study. The examiner must assign a Global Assessment of Functioning Score consistent with the American Psychiatric Association's DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL FOR MENTAL DISORDERS (3d ed., rev., 1987), and explain what the assigned score means. A complete rationale for any opinion expressed must be provided. 6. Following completion of the foregoing, the regional office must review the claims folder and ensure that all of the foregoing development actions have been conducted and completed in full. If any development is incomplete, including if the requested examination does not include all test reports, special studies or opinions requested, appropriate corrective action is to be implemented. Following completion of the above, the regional office should review the evidence and readjudicate the veteran's claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. Thereafter, the veteran's representative should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case and be given the appropriate opportunity to respond thereto. Thereafter, the claims file, including any evidence obtained, should be returned to this Board for further appellate review, if in order. No action by the veteran is required until he receives further notice through his representative. The purpose of this REMAND is to procure clarifying data. The Board intimates no opinion, either legal or factual, as to the ultimate disposition of this appeal. JEFF MARTIN 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).