The Veteran's posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder, and cognitive disorder are granted a combat designation due to his service in Southwest Asia.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the Veteran came under enemy mortar fire while stationed as a sentry of a base in Iraq in 2004, qualifying him for a combat designation.
- Claimed conditions
- posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder, cognitive disorder
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21062735
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as depressive disorder, effective May 1, 2017.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a temporary total evaluation because of hospital treatment in excess of 21 days for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder was withdrawn by the Veteran's representative and is therefore dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Veteran is granted service connection for migraine headaches secondary to tinnitus, effective April 1, 2021. The claim for an earlier effective date for depressive disorder was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to obtain a VA examination and etiological opinion.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.