Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, cocaine use disorder, and/or alcohol use disorder, is denied.

Citation Nr: A26069956 Decision Date: 07/30/26 Archive Date: 07/30/26 DOCKET NO. 220616-252759 DATE: July 30, 2026 ORDER Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, cocaine use disorder, and/or alcohol use disorder, is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The evidence persuasively weighs against a finding that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of PTSD under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), American Psychiatric Association (2013). 2. The evidence persuasively weighs against a finding that the Veteran has a present psychiatric disorder, other than cocaine and alcohol use disorders. 3. The law prohibits a grant of direct service connection for drug or alcohol abuse disabilities on the basis of incurrence or aggravation in the line of duty during service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, depression, cocaine use disorder, and/or alcohol use disorder, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 4.125. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1990 to June 1991. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2021 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). In the June 2022 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Hearing docket. A Board hearing was scheduled for October 2025; however, the Veteran withdrew his hearing request on October 10, 2025. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the August 2021 AOJ decision on appeal, as well as any evidence submitted by the Veteran or his representative within 90 days following receipt of the withdrawal of the hearing request. 38 C.F.R. § 20.302(b). If evidence was submitted either (1) during the period after the AOJ issued the decision on appeal and prior to receipt of the withdrawal, or (2) more than 90 days following receipt of the withdrawal, the Board did not consider it in its decision. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.302(b), 20.801. If the Veteran would like VA to consider any evidence that was submitted that the Board could not consider, the Veteran may file a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995) and submit or identify this evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2501. If the evidence is new and relevant, VA will issue another decision on the claim, considering the new evidence in addition to the evidence previously considered. Id. Specific instructions for filing a Supplemental Claim are included with this decision. As a final note, the Board acknowledges that the AOJ stated that new and relevant evidence had not been received in order to reopen the Veteran's prior-denied claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. However, the AOJ also reconsidered and denied the claim on the merits based on the evidence of record at that date, thereby implicitly reopening the Veteran's claim. Accordingly, the issue before the Board is entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, pursuant to Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009) (holding that, in determining the scope of a claim, the Board must consider the claimant's description of the claim, symptoms described, and the information submitted or developed in support of the claim). Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, cocaine use disorder, and/or alcohol use disorder. The Veteran seeks service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder based on two reported stressors occurring during an assignment in Germany. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Establishing service connection generally requires evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection for PTSD specifically requires: (1) medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a); (2) a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor; and (3) credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.304(f), 4.125(a). For the purposes of establishing service connection for PTSD, medical evidence diagnosing PTSD must be in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as the source of criteria for the diagnosis of claimed psychiatric disorders. The Board has carefully reviewed the evidence of record and finds that the evidence persuasively weighs against the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The reasons follow. As to PTSD, the evidence persuasively weighs against a finding that the Veteran has a diagnosis of PTSD, which conforms to the DSM-5, as specifically required for service-connection for PTSD. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.304(f), 4.125(a). The evidence of record contains no diagnosis of PTSD. Rather, on VA psychiatric examination in August 2021, the Veteran was assessed with only cocaine use disorder and alcohol use disorder. The examiner specifically documented that the Veteran had no other diagnosed mental disorder, addressed the Veteran's contentions, and found that the Veteran did not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. In this regard, the examiner documented the Veteran's reports of the following two stressors during assignment in Germany: (1) being caught in a rioting crowd; and (2) being nervous and on-edge while abroad, as he experienced several viral illnesses and was told that he might not be allowed back into the United States if he was ill. However, after a thorough psychiatric examination and consideration of the Veteran's specific medical history, the examiner found the absence of any findings, signs, or symptoms that might support a diagnosis of PTSD. The Board finds the August 2021 VA examination report to be adequate and probative, as it was provided by a medical professional who personally examined the Veteran, reviewed the evidence of record, addressed the Veteran's contentions (including his reported stressor incidents that occurred while stationed in Germany), made objective clinical findings necessary for the adjudication of the Veteran's claims, and provided a reasoned rationale for his conclusions. There is no competent evidence of record that contradicts the findings of the August 2021 VA examiner. Outside of the August 2021 VA examination report, there is no diagnosed psychiatric disorder of record. Thus, the Veteran is not shown to have a valid PTSD diagnosis pursuant to the DSM-5. The only psychiatric diagnosis of record is the assessment of cocaine and alcohol use disorders, as documented in the August 2021 VA psychiatric examination report. The examiner reviewed the evidence of record and found no records documenting consistent mental health symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment for any other disorder, which was found to be consistent with the Veteran's reporting on examination. The Veteran reporting occasionally seeking VA treatment for complaints of depression and anxiety, to include following an overdose in 1995; however, upon full review of the records documenting such treatment and examination of the Veteran, the August 2021 VA examiner found that these isolated reports of symptoms did not rise to the level of diagnosable disorders independent from his substance abuse issues. Rather, the Veteran's only current psychiatric disabilities are shown to be cocaine and alcohol use disorders. To that end, in addressing the Veteran's cocaine and alcohol use disorders, unless it is a secondary result of an organic disease or disability, it is considered willful misconduct. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.301(c)(2), 3.301(c)(3). The isolated and infrequent use of drugs by itself will not be considered willful misconduct. However, the progressive and frequent use of drugs to the point of addiction will be considered willful misconduct. 38 C.F.R. § 3.301(c)(3). The law prohibits a grant of direct service connection for drug or alcohol abuse on the basis of incurrence or aggravation in the line of duty during service. Pub. L. No. 101-508, Section 8052, 104 Stat. 1388, 1388-351 (1990); VAOPGCPREC 2-98 (Feb. 10, 1998), 63 Fed. Reg. 31263 (1998). However, a veteran may be service connected for an alcohol or drug abuse disability as secondary to, or as a symptom of, the service-connected disability. In order to qualify for service connection, the Veteran must establish, by clear medical evidence, that his alcohol or drug abuse disability is secondary to or caused by their primary service-connected disorder, and that it is not due to willful wrongdoing. Allen v. Principi, 237 F.3d 1368, 137677 (Fed. Cir. 2001). As the Veteran is not service-connected for any psychiatric or other type of disorder, service connection for the Veteran's cocaine and alcohol use issues cannot be service-connected on that basis. There is no other evidence of record to support that the Veteran's cocaine and alcohol use disorders are secondary to a service-connected disability, and the Veteran has made no such contention. (Continued on next page) For all the reasons laid out above, the Board finds the evidence persuasively weighs against the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, depression, cocaine use disorder, and/or alcohol use disorder, the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine is not for application, and the claim is denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Marcus N. Fulton Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Breckenridge, Meredith A. The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.