01 / Occupational profile
Your 2147 occupational profile
Heavy component handling and confined-space repair
Common occupational factor
Repairing and recovering armored vehicles involves lifting heavy parts, working inside cramped hull and turret compartments, and awkward postures under vehicles.
Engine, turret, and recovery-vehicle noise
Common occupational factor
Diagnostic work with engines running, turret system testing, and recovery-vehicle operation expose technicians to sustained engine and mechanical noise.
Fuel, solvent, and battery contact
Common occupational factor
Vehicle repair and maintenance involves routine skin contact with fuel, hydraulic fluid, solvents, and batteries used in servicing LAVs.
Field recovery operations under combat conditions
Assignment-dependent
Recovering disabled vehicles in support of combat and tactical operations can require movement into exposed or contested areas.
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.
2147s perform inspection, maintenance, and repair of the LAV family of vehicles, starting with basic automotive duties under supervision and, at sergeant and above, training, supervising, and performing repairs on automotive and turret systems. The LAV repairer/technician completes shop administrative records using technical manuals, and as a member of a recovery crew, operates the LAV recovery vehicle, performing operator- and field-level maintenance in support of combat or garrison operations. Duties require land navigation and radio and weapon-system operation when mounted during tactical movement, along with heavy lifting and working in cramped hull and turret spaces during repair and recovery tasks.
Duties and rank-based responsibilities expanded from basic repair tasks at junior grades to supervising shop maintenance and recovery operations at sergeant and above; the LAV family of vehicles and its systems were updated across variants and eras.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Inspection, maintenance, and repair of LAV automotive systems
- Inspection, maintenance, and repair of LAV turret systems (sergeant and above)
- Operating the LAV recovery vehicle for field recovery operations
- Shop administrative recordkeeping using technical manuals
- Supervising shop maintenance and recovery operations (sergeant and above)
- Tactical movement with radio and weapon-system operation while mounted
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 · 2147 Light Armored Vehicle Repairer/Technician
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.
Heavy component handling and confined-space repair
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 LAV maintenance or recovery duties
Limit: Typical armored-vehicle maintenance demands do not by themselves establish that a specific joint was injured in service.
Engine, turret, and recovery-vehicle noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Evaluations describing maintenance duties and equipment worked on
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.
Fuel, solvent, and battery contact
Records that may corroborate it
- · Unit maintenance or shop records describing tasks performed
- · Occupational health or hazmat-program records, if enrolled
Limit: The MOS does not establish contact with any specific substance or exposure level; shop, era, tasks, a current diagnosis, and a medical opinion all still matter.
Field recovery operations under combat conditions
Records that may corroborate it
- · Unit command chronologies and operational records
- · Statements from Marines in the same maintenance or recovery section
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.
Spine / joints +
Back, shoulder, and knee conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Heavy component handling and confined-space repair work are recurring physical 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.
Hearing +
Tinnitus and hearing loss
Why the occupation may matter: Shop and field maintenance is performed around running engines and mechanical systems.
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.
Skin / respiratory +
Skin or respiratory conditions from fuel and solvent contact
Why the occupation may matter: Routine contact with fuel, solvents, and battery materials is part of vehicle maintenance work.
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.
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 2147 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.
Maintenance injury attributed to civilian life
Repair-shop strains accumulate gradually; evaluations and unit maintenance records describing your duties may help establish the in-service pattern.
Noise exposure understated
Shop and field maintenance noise is sometimes treated as lower-risk than firing-line exposure; hearing-conservation enrollment records may help establish the hazardous-noise designation for this MOS.
Chemical exposure described too generally
Statements like "I worked on vehicles" without the specific fluids and frequency are hard for VA to evaluate; shop records may add the needed detail.
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.
2147 questions
Does my 2147 MOS prove I worked on turret systems specifically, not just automotive?
No. Turret system work generally applies at sergeant and above; evaluations and unit records describing your actual duties and grade are the usual sources for that distinction.
I hurt my back doing vehicle recovery work. What records help show that?
Evaluations describing recovery-crew duties, unit maintenance records, and statements from Marines in your section are the usual starting points.
Is working around fuel and solvents 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.