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    VA Disability by MOS: Military Occupational Evidence Guides

    Explore how military duties, occupational exposures, assignments, and service records may affect the evidence in a VA disability claim.

    Your job is a starting point, not a presumption. Actual duties, assignments, era, equipment, and location matter.

    Browse by service

    Occupational families

    How occupation evidence works

    Military occupation → actual duties → event or exposure → corroborating records → current disability → medical relationship where required → VA decision.

    What a job code cannot prove

    A code may help document service circumstances. It does not automatically establish exposure, diagnosis, nexus, a presumptive condition, disability rating, or entitlement.

    Find your job

    83 in-depth occupational evidence guides. Similar jobs may involve similar hazards, but your own duties and records control.

    Army

    11A / ArmyInfantry OfficerCombat arms — infantry leadershipView evidence guide 11B / ArmyInfantrymanCombat arms — light, mechanized, and airborne infantryView evidence guide 11C / ArmyIndirect Fire InfantrymanCombat arms — infantry mortarsView evidence guide 12B / ArmyCombat EngineerCombat arms — engineer, mobility and countermobilityView evidence guide 13B / ArmyCannon CrewmemberCombat arms — field artilleryView evidence guide 13J / ArmyFire Control SpecialistField artillery — fire direction and tactical data systemsView evidence guide 13M / ArmyMultiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)/HIMARS CrewmemberCombat arms — field artillery, rocket systemsView evidence guide 14J / ArmyAir Defense C4I Tactical Operations Center Enhanced Operator/MaintainerAir defense artillery — command, control, and early warningView evidence guide 15R / ArmyAH-64 Attack Helicopter RepairerAviation maintenance — attack helicopterView evidence guide 15S / ArmyOH-58D Helicopter RepairerAviation maintenance — observation/scout helicopter (legacy)View evidence guide 15T / ArmyUH-60 Helicopter RepairerAviation maintenanceView evidence guide 15U / ArmyCH-47 Helicopter RepairerAviation maintenance — CH-47 ChinookView evidence guide 16B / ArmyHercules Missile Crew MemberAir defense artillery — Nike-Hercules missile systems (legacy)View evidence guide 17C / ArmyCyber Operations SpecialistCyber and information operationsView evidence guide 18B / ArmySpecial Forces Weapons SergeantSpecial operations — Special ForcesView evidence guide 18E / ArmySpecial Forces Communications SergeantSpecial operations — Special Forces communicationsView evidence guide 19D / ArmyCavalry ScoutCombat arms — reconnaissanceView evidence guide 19K / ArmyM1 Abrams Armor CrewmanCombat arms — armorView evidence guide 25B / ArmyInformation Technology SpecialistSignal — information technologyView evidence guide 29Y / ArmySatellite Communications (SATCOM) Systems RepairerSignal — satellite communications maintenanceView evidence guide 31B / ArmyMilitary PoliceCombat support — law enforcement and securityView evidence guide 62B / ArmyField SurgeonOfficer — medical, Army Medical CorpsView evidence guide 66H / ArmyMedical-Surgical NurseOfficer — medical, Army Nurse CorpsView evidence guide 66P / ArmyFamily Nurse PractitionerOfficer — medical, Army Nurse CorpsView evidence guide 66T / ArmyEmergency NurseOfficer — medical, Army Nurse CorpsView evidence guide 67N / ArmyUH-1 Helicopter Repairer (obsolete)Aviation maintenance — UH-1 Iroquois (Huey), historicalView evidence guide 68W / ArmyCombat Medic SpecialistMedical — combat medicView evidence guide 70B / ArmyHealth Services Administration OfficerOfficer — medical, Army Medical Service CorpsView evidence guide 74D / ArmyCBRN SpecialistChemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) defenseView evidence guide 88M / ArmyMotor Transport OperatorCombat service support — transportationView evidence guide 89D / ArmyExplosive Ordnance Disposal SpecialistExplosive ordnance disposalView evidence guide 91A / ArmyM1 Abrams Tank System MaintainerMechanics — armored vehicle systemsView evidence guide 91B / ArmyWheeled Vehicle MechanicCombat service support — maintenanceView evidence guide 91H / ArmyTrack Vehicle RepairerMechanics — tracked vehicle maintenanceView evidence guide 91S / ArmyStryker Systems MaintainerMechanics — wheeled armored vehicle systemsView evidence guide 92F / ArmyPetroleum Supply SpecialistLogistics — fuel storage, distribution, and testingView evidence guide 92S / ArmyShower/Laundry and Clothing Repair SpecialistLogistics — field hygiene and sanitation supportView evidence guide

    Marine Corps

    0111 / Marine CorpsAdministrative SpecialistPersonnel and administrationView evidence guide 0311 / Marine CorpsRiflemanInfantryView evidence guide 0321 / Marine CorpsReconnaissance MarineSpecial operations-capable — reconnaissance and surveillanceView evidence guide 0331 / Marine CorpsMachine GunnerInfantry — crew-served weaponsView evidence guide 0341 / Marine CorpsMortarmanInfantry — indirect fire, crew-served weaponsView evidence guide 0351 / Marine CorpsInfantry AssaultmanCombat arms — breaching, demolitions, and rocket fireView evidence guide 0621 / Marine CorpsField Radio OperatorCommunications — tactical radio transmissionView evidence guide 0811 / Marine CorpsField Artillery CannoneerField artillery — cannon crewView evidence guide 0844 / Marine CorpsField Artillery Fire Control MarineField artillery — survey and fire direction computationView evidence guide 1161 / Marine CorpsRefrigeration and Air Conditioning TechnicianEngineer equipment maintenance — refrigeration and climate control systemsView evidence guide 1833 / Marine CorpsAssault Amphibious Vehicle CrewmemberArmor and amphibious vehicles — crew operations and gunneryView evidence guide 2147 / Marine CorpsLight Armored Vehicle Repairer/TechnicianGround ordnance maintenance — armored vehicle repairView evidence guide 2514 / Marine CorpsUnit Level Circuit Switch (ULCS) Operator/MaintainerCommunications — tactical telephone switchingView evidence guide 2831 / Marine CorpsDigital Wideband Systems MaintainerCommunications — ground electronics maintenanceView evidence guide 3152 / Marine CorpsDistribution SpecialistLogistics — distribution management and transportationView evidence guide 3521 / Marine CorpsAutomotive Organizational MechanicMotor transport maintenanceView evidence guide 3531 / Marine CorpsMotor Vehicle OperatorGround transportation — tactical vehicle operationView evidence guide 6114 / Marine CorpsHelicopter Mechanic, UH/AH-1Aviation maintenance — rotary wingView evidence guide 6116 / Marine CorpsTiltrotor Mechanic, MV-22Aviation maintenance — tiltrotorView evidence guide 6531 / Marine CorpsAircraft Ordnance TechnicianAviation ordnanceView evidence guide 6591 / Marine CorpsAviation Ordnance ChiefAviation ordnance — supervisoryView evidence guide

    Air Force

    1C5X1 / Air ForceCommand and Control Battle Management OperationsCommand and control — battle management and airspace surveillanceView evidence guide 1D7X1 / Air ForceCyber Systems OperationsCyber and communications — network and systems operationsView evidence guide 1N1X1 / Air ForceGeospatial IntelligenceIntelligence — imagery and geospatial analysisView evidence guide 2A3X3 / Air ForceTactical Aircraft MaintenanceTactical aircraft maintenance — fighter and attack aircraft crew chiefsView evidence guide 2A5X1 / Air ForceAircraft MaintenanceAircraft maintenance — airframe, powerplant, and crew chief specialtiesView evidence guide 2A9X4 / Air ForceHeavy Aircraft Integrated AvionicsAircraft maintenance — avionics and integrated flight-control systemsView evidence guide 2F0X1 / Air ForceFuels SpecialistPetroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) — aircraft and vehicle fueling operationsView evidence guide 2T3X1 / Air ForceMission Generation Vehicular Equipment MaintenanceVehicle maintenance — base and mission-support vehicles and equipmentView evidence guide 2W1X1 / Air ForceAircraft Armament SystemsMunitions and weapons systems — aircraft armament loading and maintenanceView evidence guide 3E3X1 / Air ForceStructuralCivil Engineer — structural construction and repairView evidence guide 3P0X1 / Air ForceSecurity ForcesSecurity and law enforcement — installation and expeditionary defenseView evidence guide 41A / Air ForceHealth Services AdministratorOfficer — medical, Air Force Medical Service CorpsView evidence guide 46N / Air ForceClinical NurseOfficer — medical, Air Force Nurse CorpsView evidence guide 48R / Air ForceResidency Trained Flight SurgeonOfficer — medical, Air Force Medical CorpsView evidence guide 4N0X1 / Air ForceAerospace Medical Service SpecialistMedical — clinical and aeromedical supportView evidence guide

    Is your MOS not listed?

    Our occupation library covers a growing set of military specialties. Email us the MOS, rating, or AFSC you'd like to see covered. Please don't include personal or medical details.

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    The research behind the guides

    Noise guidance, service records, occupational proof, and secondary-condition context. These references describe evidence, not conditions to claim based on a job title.

    Occupational noise tiers, in plain English

    VA's adjudication manual sorts military occupations into three probability tiers for hazardous noise. The tier controls how much of the exposure element you still have to prove.

    TierWhat it changesTypical specialties
    Highly probableVA's adjudication guidance treats hazardous noise exposure as conceded for the specialty. The disputed issues shift to current diagnosis and nexus, not whether the noise happened.Infantry, artillery and mortars, armor/cavalry, combat engineers, aviation maintenance and aircrew, small-arms instructors, shipboard engineering.
    ProbableExposure is accepted as likely; supporting detail (range time, flight line access, hearing-conservation enrollment) strengthens the file.Transportation and motor pool, construction/utilities, military police, some logistics and flight-support specialties.
    Low probabilityExposure is not assumed. The file needs specifics — duty locations, collateral duties, range details, or an audiogram threshold shift — to establish it.Administration, finance, most intelligence-analysis and medical-clinic roles, and other primarily interior duties.

    The records that carry an occupational claim

    Each of these is obtainable, and each one proves something a job code alone does not.

    DocumentWhat it provesWhere to get it
    DD Form 214 (blocks 11, 12, 13, 14, 18)Primary specialty and years in it, decorations and badges (CIB/CAB, air/jump/dive insignia), and remarks noting deployments — the fastest way to tie a job to an exposure environment.Already in most VA files; otherwise request through the National Archives (NPRC) eVetRecs system.
    Enlisted/Officer Record Brief (ERB, ORB, SRB) or equivalentEvery MOS/AFSC/NEC held, duty assignments, unit of assignment, and dates — critical when a later secondary MOS drove the exposure.Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) request; Army iPERMS for post-2000 service.
    NCOER / OER / EPR / FITREP evaluationsNarrative bullets describing what you actually did (rounds fired, sorties supported, patients moved, hours on the flight line). Frequently the strongest lay-equivalent evidence of repetitive physical demand.OMPF / iPERMS / AF vMPF.
    Leave and Earnings Statements (LES)Hazardous-duty incentive pay lines — HDIP (flight), demolition pay, parachute pay, dive pay, hostile-fire/imminent-danger pay. Each is a paid, audited entry proving the hazardous duty was performed.myPay archive (limited years) or finance records in the OMPF.
    Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD Forms 2215 / 2216)Enrollment in a hearing-conservation program (which itself indicates a noise-hazardous duty) and any documented threshold shift between entrance and separation.Service treatment records; DOEHRS-HC audiometric database for post-1990s service.
    Individual Flight Record (DA 759 / AF 1042 / NATOPS logs)Flight hours by airframe — supports cervical/lumbar compression, vibration, and flight-line noise arguments for aircrew.Aviation unit records or the OMPF.
    Parachutist jump record (DA Form 1307) and dive logsCumulative jumps or dive profiles — foundational for airborne joint claims and for decompression/barotrauma residuals.Unit S-1/airborne operations records; dive logs from the command's dive locker records.
    Post-Deployment Health Assessment / Reassessment (DD 2796 / 2900)Self-reported exposures (burn pits, blast events, noise, chemicals) and symptoms recorded contemporaneously — often the only in-service paper for symptoms never treated at sick call.Service treatment records; VA also imports many of these automatically.
    Unit deployment / morning reports and after-action reportsPresence at a location on a date — used to corroborate stressors, blast events, and location-based exposure (e.g., burn pit registry sites).Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) request through VA, or unit historian.
    Line-of-duty (LOD) determinationFor Reserve and Guard service, that the injury occurred during a qualifying duty period — usually decisive for whether the injury counts at all.Component personnel office; the LOD packet stays with the unit and the OMPF.

    Step-by-step request instructions: getting your service treatment records.

    What each occupational group has to document

    Combat arms and ground maneuver

    • • Badges on the DD-214 (CIB, CAB, EIB, Combat Action Ribbon) date and place the exposure.
    • • Range and gunnery qualification records show cumulative small-arms and crew-served noise.
    • • Ruck and road-march distances appear in evaluation bullets far more often than in sick-call notes.

    Aviation and aircrew

    • • Flight hour totals by airframe from individual flight records.
    • • Flight-pay (HDIP) entries on the LES for months of qualifying flight.
    • • Aeromedical clearance records documenting hypoxia events, barotrauma, or grounding periods.

    Maintenance, motor pool, and shipboard engineering

    • • Maintenance work orders and shop assignment memoranda establishing solvent, fuel, and brake-dust work.
    • • Ship class and hull number plus service dates for asbestos-era engineering spaces.
    • • Respirator fit-test and industrial-hygiene survey records, which prove the command itself identified the hazard.

    Medical and patient-care specialties

    • • Duty rosters showing litter-team and patient-transport assignments.
    • • Mass-casualty after-action reports for stressor corroboration.
    • • Bloodborne-pathogen exposure reports and post-exposure prophylaxis notes.

    Administrative, intelligence, and communications

    • • Collateral duties matter most here — range NCO, motor-pool driver, flight-line courier, convoy duty.
    • • Headset-use documentation and SIGINT watch schedules for asymmetric hearing claims.
    • • Ergonomic clinic referrals and profiles for repetitive-strain and cervical claims.

    Secondary-condition chains that recur by occupation

    Occupational careers rarely produce a single condition. These are the chains VA sees most often — each still requires a diagnosis and a medical opinion explaining the mechanism.

    Service-connected knee or ankle disability

    Commonly claimed afterOpposite-side knee or hip strain · Lumbar strain · Plantar fasciitis

    Altered gait and weight-shifting are the recognized mechanism; the opinion must describe the antalgic pattern, not simply assert it.

    Service-connected lumbar or cervical spine disability

    Commonly claimed afterRadiculopathy of the lower or upper extremity · Bowel/bladder impairment in severe IVDS · Depression from chronic pain

    Radiculopathy is rated separately as a neurological manifestation under 38 CFR § 4.71a's spine notes when objective findings exist (EMG, reflex, sensory loss).

    Service-connected PTSD or other mental-health condition

    Commonly claimed afterSleep apnea · GERD · Hypertension · Erectile dysfunction (often medication-induced) · Migraine aggravation

    The strongest versions of these opinions cite mechanism (weight gain, autonomic arousal, SSRI side-effect profile) and the treatment record showing onset after the primary.

    Service-connected tinnitus / hearing loss

    Commonly claimed afterSleep disturbance and insomnia · Anxiety or depression · Vestibular symptoms where separately diagnosed

    Tinnitus is capped at 10% under DC 6260, so the value is in the separately diagnosed secondary conditions, not in stacking tinnitus.

    Service-connected respiratory condition (asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis)

    Commonly claimed afterSleep apnea · Chronic sinus headaches

    Upper-airway obstruction arguments require sleep-study data plus an ENT or pulmonary opinion tying the obstruction to the service-connected pathology.

    Service-connected traumatic brain injury residuals

    Commonly claimed afterMigraine or tension headaches · Cognitive and emotional residuals rated under DC 8045 facets · Vestibular dysfunction

    TBI residual facets and a separately diagnosed mental-health condition can both be rated when the symptoms are distinguishable — the exam must separate them.

    Educational information only. Nothing here predicts a rating or an outcome, and we do not draft medical opinions — those must come from a qualified clinician.

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