The Board has remanded the case due to uncertainty about whether the Veteran's service aboard the U.S.S. Long Beach qualifies for the presumption of herbicide exposure based on service within 12 nautical miles of the landmass of the Republic of Vietnam.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to determine if the U.S.S. Long Beach operated within 12 nautical miles from the shores of Vietnam and to obtain clarification from NPRC regarding its definition of 'official waters' as it related to service in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20001418
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, related to in-service exposures at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is granted an effective date of April 25, 2014, for service connection for prostate cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of service connection for prostate cancer to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's toxic exposure risk activities.
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