01 / Occupational profile
Your 11A occupational profile
Load-bearing and dismounted movement
Common occupational factor
Platoon leaders carry the same weapon, armor, and equipment load as the platoon on foot movements over rough terrain, repeated across a career of field exercises and deployments.
Weapons and blast noise
Common occupational factor
Range qualification, live-fire exercises, and combined-arms training expose infantry leaders to small arms, crew-served weapons, and supporting-fires noise and blast overpressure.
Combat and training blast exposure
Assignment-dependent
Deployed infantry units may encounter IEDs, indirect fire, and close combat; garrison training includes demolitions and live-fire ranges with blast overpressure.
Combat leadership and casualty exposure
Assignment-dependent
Leading soldiers in combat, including responsibility for casualties and mission outcomes, is part of deployed infantry leadership.
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.
As a platoon leader, an 11A plans and rehearses missions, moves with the platoon on foot and in vehicles, and carries the same combat load as the Soldiers under command — weapon, body armor, ammunition, and mission equipment — while also managing land navigation, radio traffic, and calls for indirect and air support. Garrison duty adds weapons ranges, physical training, property accountability for weapons and vehicles, and counseling. Company command and staff assignments add longer hours, additional administrative load, and responsibility for the unit's training and readiness. Field exercises and deployments are long, carried on uneven terrain, and exposed to weather, noise, and — for deployed units — direct and indirect fire.
Platoon and company leadership demands are broadly similar across eras, but deployment tempo, equipment loads, and combat exposure varied with the conflict and unit type (light, mechanized, airborne, Stryker). The unit and deployment history matter more than the branch code.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Leading dismounted and mounted infantry operations
- Carrying full combat load alongside the platoon on foot movements
- Planning, rehearsing, and briefing tactical missions
- Operating and maintaining individual and crew-served weapons
- Calling for and adjusting indirect and close air support
- Extended field exercises in all weather and terrain
- Property accountability for weapons, optics, and vehicles
- Deployed combat operations, where applicable to the unit and era
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
Army · 11A Infantry Officer
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.
Load-bearing and dismounted movement
Records that may corroborate it
- · Evaluations (OER/NCOER predecessor equivalents) describing platoon or company duty
- · Assignment orders showing unit type (light, mechanized, airborne, Stryker)
- · Sick call and physical therapy entries during the assignment
Limit: The branch and duty position do not by themselves establish that a specific joint or the spine was injured in service; a current diagnosis and medical opinion are still required.
Weapons and blast noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Range qualification records and unit training schedules
- · Evaluations describing weapons and live-fire 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.
Combat and training blast exposure
Records that may corroborate it
- · Unit command chronologies and significant-activity logs
- · Combat action badge or other award citations
- · Line-of-duty or incident reports for a documented event
Limit: A documented blast event is one element. A current diagnosis (including for TBI residuals) and a medical opinion linking it to service are still required.
Combat leadership and casualty exposure
Records that may corroborate it
- · Unit command chronologies and operational records
- · Award citations referencing combat actions
- · Statements from Soldiers who served in the same platoon or company
Limit: A documented deployment or event is one element. A current mental health diagnosis and a medical opinion 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.
Spine / joints +
Back, knee, and ankle conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Carrying a full combat load on foot over rough terrain is a recurring demand of platoon and company leadership.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis, duty and evaluation records, and a medical opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Hearing +
Tinnitus and hearing loss
Why the occupation may matter: Weapons ranges and combined-arms training are recognized noise and blast sources.
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.
Neurological +
TBI residuals
Why the occupation may matter: Blast and impact exposure can occur in training and deployed combat.
Records and clinical evidence: Documented event, current diagnosis, and a medical opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Mental health +
PTSD and related conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Deployed combat leadership can include direct fire, IEDs, and casualty events.
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 11A 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.
Officer records described too generally
OERs often emphasize leadership and readiness rather than physical duties; evaluations, orders, and unit records may fill in the specific demands.
Stressor not independently verified
Combat events may not appear in an individual's personnel file; unit command chronologies and award citations may help corroborate them.
Joint pain attributed only to age
Examiners sometimes attribute degenerative findings to age alone without addressing a documented history of load-bearing duty.
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.
11A questions
Does serving as an 11A prove I deployed to combat?
No. It shows the branch and leadership role; whether and where you deployed depended on your unit and assignment history. Orders, command chronologies, and awards may help document the specifics.
What records show the physical demands of my platoon leader time?
OERs describing your duty position, unit assignment orders, and field training records are the usual starting points.
I never went on sick call for my knees during service. Is there anything to look for?
Possibly. Evaluations, training records, and statements from Soldiers you served with may help document the duty demands, though none of them guarantees an outcome.
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.