The Board has found that new evidence was submitted and the claims are remanded to determine if the Veteran had service in Guam, which would trigger a presumption of exposure to herbicides. The AOJ is instructed to attempt to obtain unit records for the 821st Civil Engineering Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
The deciding factor: The location of the Veteran's TDY (temporary duty) from June 1, 1967 to August 1, 1967 needs to be verified by contacting relevant military records repositories.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus Type II, heart artery blockage
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2024
- Citation
- A24078063
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 A24078063.
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.
- Granted
Service connection for diabetes mellitus Type II is granted. The Board also found that service connection should be granted for hypertension and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation as secondary to the Veteran's diabetes mellitus.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for higher ratings of tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and right shoulder disability. The Veteran's diabetes mellitus Type II is granted as secondary to his service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus Type II and hypertension are granted as service-connected due to presumptive exposure in Thailand, a location where herbicide agents were presumed to have been present.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient compliance with previous remands and additional development is needed, including research on potential exposure to herbicides and decontamination procedures. The claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus Type II will be reconsidered.
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