The Veteran's service connection claims for type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease are granted due to exposure to herbicide agents during his service at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while stationed near the perimeter of Udorn RTAFB, which is considered presumptive service connection based on his duties as an intercept control technician and his reported proximity to the base perimeter.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus (DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2022
- Citation
- 22000556
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 22000556.
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 Veteran's heart conditions, including CAD, MI, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, supraventricular arrhythmia, and CABG are granted as presumed due to herbicide exposure. DM is also granted. Peripheral neuropathy of the LLE, RLE, LUE, and RUE is granted secondary to DM.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for service-connected ischemic heart disease (IHD) and coronary artery disease (CAD) are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated medical opinions and ensuring competency of previous examiners.
- Denied
The Veteran's TDIU was granted effective November 21, 2024. The effective date for the initial 70% rating for adjustment disorder is February 11, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for ischemic heart disease, urinary incontinence, diabetes mellitus, left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to failure to obtain all relevant medical records from Dr. DG.
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