01 / Occupational profile
Your 0811 occupational profile
Repeated blast overpressure
Assignment-dependent
Cannon crews stand close to the gun during firing and are exposed to blast overpressure with each round; sustained fire missions during training or combat support can involve dozens of rounds in a session.
Hazardous impulse noise
Common occupational factor
Each artillery round fired generates extreme impulse noise, and cannon crew are exposed repeatedly during training and combat-support fire missions.
Heavy projectile and equipment handling
Common occupational factor
Manual loading of artillery projectiles, propellant, and ammunition resupply is physically demanding lifting work distinct from infantry load carriage.
Propellant and combustion byproduct exposure
Common occupational factor
Handling propellant charges and firing generates combustion byproducts and residue that gun crews are exposed to during sustained fire missions, particularly in enclosed or poorly ventilated firing positions.
Deployment-dependent exposures
Location-dependent
Burn-pit and other airborne-hazard exposure depends on installation, location, and dates of any deployment, not on the cannoneer MOS itself.
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.
Cannon crew positions rotate among loading the projectile, ramming, setting propellant charges, laying the gun, and operating the breech and trail. Fire missions on the M777 or its predecessors can involve sustained rates of fire during training exercises and combat support missions, with each round producing a blast overpressure wave that the crew stands close to repeatedly over a career. Projectiles typically weigh on the order of 95-100 pounds and are manually handled during loading in many crew configurations, and propellant canisters and ammunition resupply add further heavy lifting. Crews also perform gun emplacement, camouflage, and displacement, along with maintenance on the weapon system.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Loading, ramming, and firing artillery projectiles (M777 howitzer or, in earlier eras, M198/M114 systems) during training and fire-support missions
- Handling propellant charges and setting fuzes as part of the crew-served fire mission
- Repeated exposure to muzzle blast overpressure at close range to the gun during firing
- Manual handling of heavy projectiles and ammunition during resupply and loading
- Gun emplacement, camouflage, displacement, and towing operations
- Weapon-system maintenance and field living conditions common to combat-arms MOSs
Related historical codes: 0811 covers Marine Corps towed and self-propelled cannon crew positions, including the M777 howitzer crew
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Military Occupational Evidence Builder
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Military service
Marine Corps · 0811 Field Artillery Cannoneer
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
Records that may corroborate it
- · Fire-mission logs and range records documenting howitzer live-fire training
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Fitness reports and Basic Training Record entries showing artillery battery assignment
Limit: Documented overpressure 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 and gunnery qualification records for howitzer crews
- · Fitness reports referencing artillery battery duty
Limit: A hearing-loss disability under 38 CFR § 3.385 or a tinnitus complaint, plus a medical nexus, are required beyond the noted exposure.
Heavy projectile and equipment handling
Records that may corroborate it
- · Fitness reports describing gun-crew or battery assignment
- · Sick call and physical therapy entries for back, shoulder, or knee complaints
- · LIMDU chits and any Physical Evaluation Board records
Limit: Typical crew lifting demands do not by themselves establish that a specific joint was injured in service.
Propellant and combustion byproduct exposure
Records that may corroborate it
- · Fire-mission records documenting sustained rates of fire
- · Unit environmental or industrial-hygiene records where available
- · Sick call entries for respiratory or skin complaints following field exercises
Limit: General exposure during fire missions does not establish a specific respiratory or dermatologic diagnosis without current clinical findings and a nexus.
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.
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-range artillery blast is among the most intense noise sources documented in ground combat arms.
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 extreme impulse noise from howitzer firing 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 from sustained artillery fire missions is a documented mechanism of concern.
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, degenerative disc disease
Why the occupation may matter: Manual handling of heavy projectiles and propellant places significant load on the lumbar spine over a career.
Records and clinical evidence: Current imaging, in-service documentation of gun-crew 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: Ramming and loading projectiles repeatedly loads the shoulders.
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.
Wrist / hand +
Carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist strain
Why the occupation may matter: Repetitive breech and fuze-setting motions load the wrists and hands.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis with nerve-conduction findings where applicable, and a nexus opinion addressing repetitive use.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Respiratory +
Chronic bronchitis, asthma, and PACT Act presumptive conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Combustion byproducts from sustained fire missions and, separately, deployment-based airborne hazards can affect respiratory health.
Records and clinical evidence: Fire-mission or deployment documentation, current pulmonary testing, and a diagnosis matching the presumptive list where one applies.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Knees +
Degenerative arthritis
Why the occupation may matter: Repeated heavy lifting and awkward postures around the gun stress the knees over time.
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.
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 0811 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 artillery blast exposure but deny a TBI claim absent a current neurological 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 claimed back or shoulder condition
Chronic 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
Cannon crew, like other combat-arms Marines, often did not seek treatment for cumulative strain. An opinion relying mainly on that silence 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.
Respiratory claim denied for lack of exposure specificity
General references to "gun smoke" without fire-mission records or deployment documentation tying exposure to a specific hazard are often insufficient on their own.
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0811 questions
Does firing artillery guns automatically prove I have hearing loss or a TBI?
No. It supports the in-service exposure element. A current diagnosis and a medical opinion connecting it to the documented exposure are still required.
Is artillery blast treated differently than rifle noise by VA?
VA does not have a separate presumptive category by weapon type, but repeated close-range artillery blast is a recognized high-intensity exposure that can support a strong noise or blast argument.
I fired hundreds of rounds in training but was never treated for headaches — can I still file?
Yes. Fire-mission and gunnery records documenting the volume of exposure, along with your account of when symptoms began, support the claim even without contemporaneous treatment.
Does loading heavy projectiles 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 served on an M198 crew in an earlier era, not the M777 — does that matter?
The weapon system may affect exposure specifics, but the underlying claim elements are the same: document your assignment, the exposure, and get a current diagnosis with a supporting opinion.
Can Reserve artillery 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 cannoneer-specific exposure?
Fire-mission logs, gunnery qualification records, battery assignment orders, fitness reports describing gun-crew 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.