01 / Occupational profile
Your 25B occupational profile
Sustained keyboard and console work
Common occupational factor
Extended periods of computer-based work are a consistent feature of this MOS and are associated with repetitive-strain conditions of the hands, wrists, and neck in general occupational-health literature.
Equipment lifting and installation
Common occupational factor
Periodic lifting and installation of network hardware, server racks, and generators is part of the job, though it is intermittent rather than constant compared with a field-maintenance MOS.
Server-room and generator noise
Common occupational factor
Server rooms with cooling equipment and field communications shelters powered by generators can produce sustained low-level noise, though generally at lower intensity than weapons or flight-line noise.
Deployment-dependent exposures
Location-dependent
IT specialists deployed to forward-operating environments may share the same location-based exposures — burn pits, blast risk, extreme heat — as other soldiers in that unit, but this depends entirely on the specific deployment and is not a general feature of the MOS.
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.
Day-to-day 25B work centers on configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting network hardware and software, often at a desk or in a server room. Installing and relocating equipment — routers, switches, server racks, generators for field communications shelters — involves periodic lifting and awkward-posture work, but this is intermittent rather than constant. Server rooms and tactical communications shelters can be noisy from cooling fans and generators, and field deployments sometimes place IT specialists in the same austere or forward-operating environments as other soldiers, but exposure to blast, combat, or industrial hazards depends entirely on the specific unit and deployment, not on the MOS itself.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting computer networks and systems
- Sustained keyboard, mouse, and console use for extended periods
- Installing and relocating network hardware, server racks, and field communications equipment
- Working in server rooms or communications shelters with generator and cooling-fan noise
- Field deployment to support unit communications, with exposure dependent on the deployed environment
- Occasional lifting of servers, generators, and cabling equipment
Related historical codes: 74B Information Systems Operator-Analyst (former designation)
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 · 25B Information Technology Specialist
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.
Sustained keyboard and console work
Records that may corroborate it
- · Duty station and job description records confirming workstation-based assignment
- · Sick-call entries describing wrist, hand, or neck complaints
- · Occupational or physical-therapy referrals during service
Limit: Desk-based computer work alone does not establish a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome or cervical strain; current clinical findings and a nexus opinion are still required.
Equipment lifting and installation
Records that may corroborate it
- · Equipment installation logs or work orders
- · Sick-call entries describing a specific lifting injury
- · Physical profiles (DA Form 3349) if issued
Limit: Occasional equipment lifting does not by itself establish a back or shoulder diagnosis; a documented injury or cumulative pattern and current findings are still needed.
Server-room and generator noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Duty assignment records confirming server-room or shelter-based work
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms if enrolled
Limit: This noise level alone is less likely to establish a hazardous-noise exposure comparable to combat-arms or aviation-maintenance occupations, and does not by itself establish a hearing-loss disability under 38 CFR § 3.385.
Deployment-dependent exposures
Records that may corroborate it
- · Deployment orders and unit location records
- · Post-deployment health assessments (DD 2796/2900)
- · VA's Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry entry, if applicable
Limit: The MOS itself does not establish any deployment-related exposure. Presumptive status depends on the statutory location and time period plus a listed condition, not on the job title.
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.
Wrists/hands +
Carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis
Why the occupation may matter: Sustained keyboard and mouse use over years of desk-based duty is a recognized repetitive-strain mechanism.
Records and clinical evidence: Current nerve-conduction or clinical findings, duty-station records confirming workstation-based assignment, and a nexus opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Cervical spine +
Cervical strain
Why the occupation may matter: Prolonged screen-focused posture is associated with neck strain in general occupational-health literature.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis, treatment records, and lay statements describing duty-station ergonomics.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Lumbar spine +
Lumbar strain from equipment lifting
Why the occupation may matter: Periodic lifting of servers, racks, and generators can contribute to lumbar strain, though less frequently than in field-maintenance occupations.
Records and clinical evidence: Documentation of a specific lifting injury or cumulative installation duty, current imaging, and a nexus opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Mental health +
Anxiety and depression
Why the occupation may matter: These conditions are not specific to this MOS; where present, they generally arise from individual circumstances such as deployment stress or personal history rather than from the IT duties themselves.
Records and clinical evidence: A current diagnosis, treatment records, and evidence of the specific in-service stressor or circumstance, whatever it may be.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Respiratory / PACT Act +
Conditions tied to a specific deployment exposure
Why the occupation may matter: Relevant only where the individual veteran's deployment location and dates place them within a covered exposure period — a function of the deployment, not the MOS.
Records and clinical evidence: Deployment documentation establishing location and dates, current diagnosis, and matching the presumptive list where applicable.
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 25B 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.
Carpal tunnel or wrist claim denied for lack of objective findings
Repetitive-strain claims are frequently denied where nerve-conduction studies are normal or where the record does not document consistent, sustained keyboard-based duty over time.
Claim framed around the MOS rather than an actual documented event or exposure
Because this MOS carries fewer occupation-wide hazard presumptions than combat-arms or maintenance roles, a claim that relies on the job title alone without a specific injury, exposure, or stressor is more likely to be denied.
Deployment-based exposure claim denied for insufficient location and date evidence
Where a 25B veteran did deploy to a hazardous environment, the claim still requires the same location-and-date documentation as any other MOS; the job title itself adds nothing to that showing.
Mental health claim denied for lack of a described in-service stressor or event
Because this occupation does not carry a general combat-stressor association, a mental-health claim needs its own specific factual basis rather than reliance on the MOS.
Oakridge Claims / Appeals Focused
Already have a VA decision?
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.
25B questions
Does my MOS automatically qualify me for any VA disability claim?
No. 25B is a comparatively lower-hazard occupation. It can support claims tied to documented repetitive computer use, specific lifting injuries, or an actual deployment exposure, but it does not carry the general noise, blast, or chemical-exposure presumptions that apply to many combat-arms and maintenance MOSs.
I have wrist pain from years of computer work. Is that worth pursuing?
It can be, if you have a current diagnosis such as carpal tunnel syndrome and can document a sustained pattern of keyboard-based duty. The MOS description alone will not carry the claim; the medical and duty evidence needs to be specific.
I deployed as a 25B to a base with a burn pit. Does that count the same as any other MOS?
Yes. Burn-pit and other location-based exposures depend on where and when you served, not your job code. Your deployment orders and location records matter, not your MOS title.
Can I claim PTSD as a 25B?
Yes, if you experienced a qualifying stressor — this MOS does not preclude that — but it requires the same specific, described stressor and diagnosis that any claim requires; the job itself does not supply or suggest a stressor.
Why does this guide say less about exposures than other MOS pages?
Because it would be inaccurate to claim otherwise. This occupation is genuinely lower-hazard on average, and an honest guide reflects that rather than manufacturing risk factors that do not fit the actual duty.
What records would still help a 25B veteran build a claim?
Duty descriptions confirming your specific work environment, any documented injury or lifting incident, deployment orders if applicable, and current medical records establishing whatever condition you are claiming.
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.