The Board has granted the petition to reopen the claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and determined that it is presumed related to herbicide agent exposure during service at U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. The Veteran's current diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, type II, is also considered.
The deciding factor: The Board found the Veteran's consistent statements regarding potential herbicide agent exposure during his service at U-Tapao RTAFB to be credible and established on a facts-found basis that he was exposed to herbicide agents. As such, the presumption of service connection based on herbicide exposure is granted.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20070017
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (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 20070017.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and left arm tremors. Service connection for right hand tremors is also granted. The Veteran's tinnitus claim was denied as there is no current diagnosis of tinnitus.
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