01 / Occupational profile
Your 0341 occupational profile
Close-proximity muzzle blast
Assignment-dependent
Firing the 60mm and especially the 81mm mortar places the gun crew in close proximity to repeated muzzle blast overpressure, a documented mechanism of concern for hearing and possible neurological effects.
Hazardous impulse noise
Common occupational factor
Each mortar round fired generates high-intensity impulse noise, and mortarmen are exposed repeatedly during training and fire missions.
Heavy system and ammunition carriage
Common occupational factor
The 81mm mortar system and its ammunition are among the heavier crew-served loads in the infantry, distributed across the section for foot movement.
Deployment-dependent exposures
Location-dependent
Burn-pit and other airborne-hazard exposure depends on installation, location, and dates, not on the mortarman MOS.
Combat and operational stress
Assignment-dependent
Mortarmen frequently stood security and patrol duty alongside riflemen when not conducting fire missions, carrying similar combat-contact risk during deployment.
02 / Your service
What did you actually do?
Your MOS is the starting point. Your actual assignment, era, equipment, location, and duties determine which parts of the occupational history are relevant. Use the Evidence Builder below to select your actual duties and see records that may corroborate them.
Mortar sections carry and emplace the 60mm mortar (dismounted or vehicle-mounted) and the heavier 81mm system, which is typically distributed among several Marines carrying the tube, baseplate, bipod, and sight unit along with ammunition. Fire missions require repeated loading and firing at close range to the muzzle, generating sharp muzzle blast and impulse noise with each round. Forward observers and section members displace the gun position to support maneuver, and mortarmen also stand rifleman-equivalent security duty when the section is not actively firing.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Carrying and emplacing the 60mm or 81mm mortar system (tube, baseplate, bipod, sight unit) distributed across the crew
- Repeated loading and firing of mortar rounds at close proximity to the muzzle during live-fire missions
- Carrying mortar ammunition, which is heavy and bulky in addition to individual combat load
- Displacing and re-emplacing the gun position to support maneuvering infantry
- Standing rifleman-equivalent security and patrol duty when not conducting fire missions
- Field living conditions common to infantry MOSs: sleep disruption, weather extremes, and dust
Private, on this page only
Military Occupational Evidence Builder
Based on what you actually did in the military, what records might document it? Select only what applied to you. No name, file number, contact details, free text, or upload. Nothing is saved or sent.
Military service
Marine Corps · 0341 Mortarman
For another specialty, open its guide from the MOS library. A job code alone does not establish individual duties or exposure.
Era(s) of service
Deployments
Already have a VA decision?
Your Evidence Builder identifies records that may document your service history. If VA has already decided your claim, the next question is different: what did VA accept, what did VA reject, and why?
Request a free decision review03 / Corroboration
Building your occupational history
Records matter because they can connect a job title to an individual's actual work and circumstances.
Close-proximity muzzle blast
Records that may corroborate it
- · Range and fire-mission records documenting mortar live-fire training
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Fitness reports and Basic Training Record entries showing mortar section assignment
Limit: Documented blast exposure supports the in-service event element. A current diagnosis — hearing loss, tinnitus, or TBI residuals — and a nexus opinion are still required.
Hazardous impulse noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Audiograms and hearing-conservation program enrollment records
- · Range qualification records for 60mm/81mm systems
- · Fitness reports referencing mortar section duty
Limit: A hearing-loss disability under 38 CFR § 3.385 or a tinnitus complaint and a medical nexus are required beyond the exposure itself.
Heavy system and ammunition carriage
Records that may corroborate it
- · Fitness reports describing mortar section or weapons company assignment
- · Sick call and physical therapy entries for shoulder, back, or knee complaints
- · LIMDU chits and any Physical Evaluation Board records
Limit: Typical crew-served carriage does not by itself establish that a specific joint was injured in service.
Deployment-dependent exposures
Records that may corroborate it
- · Deployment orders and unit deployment histories
- · DD-214 remarks block listing deployments and campaign credit
- · Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry participation
Limit: The MOS alone does not establish where a Marine served; presumptive status depends on documented location and dates.
Combat and operational stress
Records that may corroborate it
- · Combat award citations and unit command chronologies
- · VA Form 21-0781 stressor statement and buddy statements
- · Behavioral-health treatment entries during or after service
Limit: A documented stressor is one element; a PTSD claim also requires a DSM-5 diagnosis and a link to the stressor under 38 CFR § 3.304(f).
04 / Evidence standard
What your MOS can — and cannot — establish
May help document
Work performed, circumstances of service, consistency of an alleged exposure, and the nature or duration of duties where supported by individual records.
Does not automatically establish
A diagnosis, medical causation, severity, percentage, presumption, or entitlement to service connection.
05 / Medical evidence
Conditions that may be relevant to the occupational history
This is not a list of conditions to claim. A veteran's actual diagnosis and individual service record determine relevance; occupational evidence is not medical causation.
Hearing +
Tinnitus
Why the occupation may matter: Repeated close-proximity mortar muzzle blast is a recognized high-intensity noise source.
Records and clinical evidence: A current report of persistent tinnitus and a lay account of onset; audiometric changes support but are not required.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Sensorineural hearing loss
Why the occupation may matter: Cumulative blast-related impulse noise is associated with high-frequency hearing loss.
Records and clinical evidence: Audiometry meeting 38 CFR § 3.385 thresholds, entrance/separation comparisons, and a nexus opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Neurologic / TBI +
TBI residuals and headaches
Why the occupation may matter: Repeated close-proximity blast overpressure during live-fire missions is a documented mechanism of concern distinct from combat blast events.
Records and clinical evidence: Fire-mission records establishing repeated exposure, reported symptoms, and current neurological findings evaluated under the DC 8045 facets.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Lumbar spine +
Lumbar strain and degenerative disc disease
Why the occupation may matter: Carrying mortar system components and ammunition places cumulative axial load on the spine.
Records and clinical evidence: Current imaging, in-service documentation of field duty, and an opinion addressing cumulative loading.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Shoulder +
Rotator cuff pathology and shoulder strain
Why the occupation may matter: Lifting and emplacing the tube and baseplate loads the shoulders repeatedly.
Records and clinical evidence: Current imaging or exam findings and a nexus opinion addressing cumulative loading.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Knees +
Patellofemoral pain and degenerative arthritis
Why the occupation may matter: Foot movement under heavy crew-served loads stresses the knees.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis with range-of-motion findings and documentation of in-service onset.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Mental health +
PTSD and depressive disorders
Why the occupation may matter: Combat-contact exposure during security and patrol duty is possible for mortarmen deployed alongside maneuvering infantry.
Records and clinical evidence: A DSM-5 diagnosis, a described stressor, and treatment records showing functional impairment.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Respiratory +
Asthma, rhinitis, and PACT Act presumptive conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Relevant only where deployment location and dates place the Marine within a covered exposure period.
Records and clinical evidence: Deployment documentation establishing location and dates, current pulmonary testing, and a diagnosis on the presumptive list.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
06 / Exposure record
ILER and toxic exposure
For applicable exposure-related claims, VA may review the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER) and a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) memorandum along with deployment and occupational records. An ILER entry does not automatically establish exposure or service connection.
07 / After a decision
Why a 0341 claim may still be denied
An exposure finding is not the same as a grant. These are examples from the researched guide, not predictions about a particular case.
VA may accept
A duty or event consistent with the service record
But may deny
A diagnosis, medical relationship, or rating element
Record to examine
Decision findings, service and private treatment records, examination rationale, and medical opinions.
Blast exposure noted, TBI claim denied for lack of clinical findings
VA may acknowledge repeated close-proximity mortar blast but deny a TBI claim when there is no current neurological or neuropsychological finding tied to it under the DC 8045 criteria.
Noise exposure conceded, hearing claim denied on nexus
An audiologist's opinion citing a normal separation audiogram is a common basis for denial, though a normal separation audiogram alone does not defeat a hearing claim.
No current diagnosis for a claimed joint
Chronic shoulder or back pain complaints without a diagnosed disability or functional-impairment evidence under Saunders v. Wilkie are commonly denied at the threshold.
Examiner discounts lay account due to sparse service treatment records
Mortarmen, like other infantry Marines, often did not seek treatment in the field. An opinion relying mainly on that silence, without addressing lay evidence, may be inadequate under Barr v. Nicholson.
Rating understates severity from a single exam snapshot
A grant may still understate severity when the exam does not account for flare-ups or repetitive-use loss under 38 CFR §§ 4.40, 4.45 and Correia v. McDonald.
Deployment documented, but claimed condition not linked to specific exposure
A combat deployment may be established while the claimed condition is neither presumptive nor supported by an opinion tying it to that exposure.
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0341 questions
Does mortar blast exposure automatically prove I have a TBI?
No. Documented repeated close-proximity blast supports the in-service exposure element. A current diagnosis and a medical opinion connecting it to the exposure are still required.
Is mortar noise treated as worse than rifle noise by VA?
VA does not have a separate presumptive category by weapon type, but repeated close-proximity mortar blast is a recognized high-intensity exposure that can support a strong noise or blast argument.
I fired hundreds of mortar rounds in training but was never treated for headaches — can I still file?
Yes, you can file. Fire-mission and range records documenting the volume of exposure, along with your account of when symptoms began, are the kind of evidence that supports the claim.
Does carrying the mortar baseplate prove I hurt my back?
No. It documents a demanding duty consistent with back strain, but a current diagnosis and a nexus opinion are still needed.
I also stood security duty like a rifleman — does that count for combat stress exposure?
Yes. Your full range of duties, not just fire missions, can support a stressor statement if you experienced combat-contact events during those periods.
Can Reserve mortar training support a claim?
It can, depending on duty status. Injuries during active duty for training are generally treated more favorably than those during inactive duty for training.
What records best document mortarman-specific exposure?
Fire-mission and range records, weapons-company assignment orders, fitness reports describing mortar section duty, and hearing-conservation audiograms.
Sources and legal references
General education only; not legal or medical advice. Oakridge Claims is a private business, not affiliated with or endorsed by VA. Nothing here establishes a representative-client relationship or guarantees a result. Free accredited VSO help is available.