The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and ischemic heart disease, but has remanded these issues due to uncertainty regarding whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while serving on Navy ships in Vietnam. The claim for erectile dysfunction as secondary to diabetes mellitus type II is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that new evidence had been submitted which relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claims of service connection, specifically whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while serving on Navy ships in Vietnam. However, due to uncertainty regarding the definition of 'offshore of Vietnam' as defined by the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, further development is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus type II, ischemic heart disease, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20008040
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,680 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20008040.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
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