Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This law requires specialized teams for covered mental health compensation claims based on military sexual trauma and training to identify evidence markers. It also provides an option for referral to an MST coordinator.
A marker is evidence that may help indicate the experience occurred; it is not limited to a formal report of the event. This statute addresses processing and support roles, while the applicable service-connection rules still govern the decision.
How this helps your claim
Review whether the claim file and examination address relevant markers and the condition claimed. You can also check whether the referral option was offered if support from an MST coordinator would be useful.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Identify the claimed mental health condition and relevant evidence of the experience.
- Check whether the examination and decision discuss available markers.
- Review the offered MST coordinator referral and any related request you made.
Understand the processing role of trauma-informed review
The statute establishes specialized processing and training for covered mental-health claims. Evidence markers can help identify an experience even when the record does not contain a conventional formal report. The relevant evidence should still be described accurately and in its actual context.
Keep the processing question separate from the medical and service-connection findings. A referral to an MST coordinator is a support-related option, not itself a determination that every claim element has been established. Avoid assuming that accepting support changes the standard for deciding the benefit.
Is a formal report the only evidence that can matter?
No. The statute addresses training to identify markers, and the applicable service-connection regulations explain additional evidence considerations. That does not mean any behavioral change proves an event. The complete record and supported interpretation matter, with sensitive information limited to what is relevant to the claim.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 1166
OLRC release through Public Law 119-102 (July 12, 2026). Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The statutory text is shown here; publisher source credits and editorial notes remain in the linked official release.
§ 1166. Claims involving military sexual trauma
(a) Processing.—(1) The Secretary shall establish specialized teams to process claims for compensation for a covered mental health condition based on military sexual trauma experienced by a veteran during active military, naval, air, or space service.
(2) A peer support specialist of the Department—
(A) shall not be responsible for providing any assistance to a veteran regarding a claim described in paragraph (1), other than counseling services, guidance, and support, pursuant to duties determined by the Under Secretary for Health; and
(B) shall not participate in the adjudication of such a claim.
(b) Referrals to MST Coordinators.—The Secretary shall include, in forms for claims described in subsection (a), an option for a veteran to elect to be referred to a military sexual trauma coordinator of the Veterans Health Administration at the facility of the Department nearest to the residence of such veteran.
(c) Training.—(1) The Secretary shall ensure that members of teams established under subsection (a) are trained to identify markers indicating military sexual trauma.
(2) The Secretary shall ensure that peer support specialists of the Department receive annual training on how to provide peer support regarding military sexual trauma.
(3) The Secretary shall provide annual training, regarding the processing of claims described in subsection (a), to the following individuals:
(A) Military sexual trauma coordinators of the Veterans Health Administration.
(B) Peer support specialists of the Department.
(d) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “covered mental health condition” means post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or other mental health diagnosis described in the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association that the Secretary determines to be related to military sexual trauma.
(2) The term “military sexual trauma” means, with respect to a veteran, a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment during active military, naval, air, or space service.
Related references
- 38 USC § 5107: Benefit of the doubt in VA claims
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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