01 / Occupational profile
Your 0351 occupational profile
Repeated blast overpressure from rockets and demolitions
Assignment-dependent
Firing the SMAW and detonating demolition charges expose the gunner and nearby personnel to repeated blast overpressure, a recognized factor in hearing injury and in some cumulative brain-injury research.
Rocket and demolition blast noise
Common occupational factor
Firing the SMAW and detonating charges generate sustained high-intensity impulse noise beyond standard small-arms fire.
Heavy weapon and load carriage
Common occupational factor
The SMAW and its rockets, demolitions materials, and standard infantry combat load add significant carried weight on patrols.
Combat operations and breaching under fire
Assignment-dependent
Breaching obstacles and firing on fortified positions in support of infantry maneuver could occur under direct enemy fire during combat deployments.
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.
0351s trained and operated as part of the weapons company assault section, tasked out to rifle platoons to provide rocket fire against fortified positions using the Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW), and to breach obstacles using demolitions, the Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System (APOBS), and mechanical breaching tools. Duties included constructing and employing demolition charges, det cord firing systems, and electric initiation sets, along with standard infantry patrolling, movement under load, and combat operations. The job combined repeated blast-overpressure exposure from firing rockets and demolitions with the general physical and combat demands of the infantry.
The Marine Corps announced in 2017–2018 that it would sundown the 0351 MOS, shifting breaching and demolition tasking to combat engineers; the realignment took place gradually over the following years. Veterans who held 0351 before the sundown still carry the designation on their records; the unit and era matter for what duties and equipment were involved.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Carrying, employing, and firing the SMAW rocket launcher
- Constructing and employing demolition charges and firing systems
- Mechanical and explosive breaching, including APOBS employment
- Standard infantry patrolling and movement under combat load
- Offensive and defensive demolition and countermobility tasks
- Operating as part of the weapons company assault section
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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 · 0351 Infantry Assaultman
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.
Repeated blast overpressure from rockets and demolitions
Records that may corroborate it
- · Range and demolitions qualification and firing records, where retained
- · Unit training schedules documenting assault-section or breaching exercises
- · Sick call entries for headache, disorientation, or hearing complaints after training or operations
Limit: The MOS does not establish a specific number of exposures or a current diagnosis; a documented event history, current diagnosis, and medical opinion are still required.
Rocket and demolition blast noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Range and qualification records identifying weapon and demolitions training
- · Evaluations describing assaultman duties
Limit: Documented noise supports the in-service event only. A current hearing disability under 38 CFR § 3.385 or a tinnitus complaint, and a medical link, are still required.
Heavy weapon and load carriage
Records that may corroborate it
- · Sick call and physical therapy entries during the assignment
- · Line-of-duty or incident reports for a documented injury
- · Evaluations describing assault-section duties
Limit: Typical load-carriage demands do not by themselves establish that a specific joint was injured in service.
Combat operations and breaching under fire
Records that may corroborate it
- · Unit command chronologies and award citations
- · Combat action ribbon or other award documentation
- · Statements from Marines in the same unit
Limit: A documented event is one element. A current diagnosis and a medical opinion linking it are still required.
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 and hearing loss
Why the occupation may matter: SMAW firing and demolitions are high-intensity impulse noise sources documented in Marine infantry training.
Records and clinical evidence: Audiometry meeting 38 CFR § 3.385, service audiograms, and a medical opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Brain / head +
TBI from blast exposure
Why the occupation may matter: Repeated blast overpressure from rockets and demolitions is part of the assaultman duty set.
Records and clinical evidence: Documented incident or exposure history, current diagnosis, and a medical opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Spine / joints +
Back and shoulder conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Carrying the SMAW and demolitions equipment adds to standard infantry load-bearing demands.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis, duty records, and a medical opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Mental health +
PTSD from combat breaching operations
Why the occupation may matter: Breaching and rocket fire in support of maneuver could occur under direct fire during deployments.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis, corroborated stressor, and a medical opinion.
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 0351 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 history understated
Repeated SMAW and demolitions training was routine and often undocumented at the individual level; unit training schedules and qualification records may help establish the pattern.
Hearing link rejected on separation audiogram
A normal separation audiogram alone does not decide a hearing claim, but examiners often rely on it without addressing the full blast and noise history.
MOS phase-out confused with duty history
The 0351 MOS was sundowned years after many Marines served in it; the sundown does not change what duties were performed during a given Marine's service.
Oakridge Claims / Appeals Focused
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The important question is what VA accepted, what it rejected, and why. A decision review considers the decision, examinations, and the complete record — including private and VA records that may need development. Oakridge is appeals-focused — core work is post-decision, but initial and new claims are accepted on a case-by-case basis (no fee for pre-decision work).
Fees for eligible post-decision representation are governed by a written agreement. See fee details. No outcome is guaranteed.
0351 questions
Does my 0351 MOS prove I fired the SMAW a specific number of times?
No. It shows the occupational field. Qualification records and unit training schedules, where retained, are the usual sources for frequency.
I heard the Marine Corps got rid of this job. Does that affect my claim?
No. The MOS was phased out years after many Marines served in it. What matters for a claim is the duties and exposures documented during your own time in service, not the MOS's later history.
Is repeated blast exposure itself a disability?
No. Exposure is an event, not a disability. A current diagnosed condition and a medical link to service are still required.
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.