01 / Occupational profile
Your 6114 occupational profile
Flight-line and engine noise
Common occupational factor
Engine runs, ground turns, and flight-line operations expose mechanics to sustained high-intensity rotorcraft noise.
Fuel and hydraulic fluid contact
Common occupational factor
Servicing fuel and hydraulic systems involves routine skin contact with jet fuel, hydraulic fluid, and related solvents and cleaners.
Awkward postures and heavy component handling
Common occupational factor
Working inside cramped airframe compartments and handling heavy drivetrain, transmission, and rotor components strains the back, shoulders, and knees.
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.
6114s perform pre-flight and post-flight inspections, assist with engine start-up and shutdown, and carry out ground maintenance and repairs on airframes, power plants, transmissions, drivetrains, fuel systems, flight control systems, and rotor systems. Ground handling duties include taxiing, towing, refueling, and securing aircraft. Maintenance work often involves working under or around running or recently shut-down engines, handling hydraulic fluid and fuel during servicing, and working in cramped airframe spaces that require awkward postures. Flight-line work is outdoors in all weather, and carrier or expeditionary assignments add confined-space and heat/noise considerations.
6114 covers mechanics assigned to the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1W/Z Cobra/Viper airframes. Earlier service may be on the UH-1N or AH-1W specifically; squadron and airframe generation matter more than the code alone.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Pre-flight, post-flight, and periodic airframe inspections
- Assisting with engine start-up/shutdown and ground handling (taxi, tow, refuel, secure)
- Ground maintenance and repair of power plants, transmissions, drivetrains, and rotor systems
- Fuel and hydraulic system servicing and troubleshooting
- Flight control system inspection and repair
- Working in and around running or recently operated aircraft engines
- Documenting maintenance actions in maintenance management database systems
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 · 6114 Helicopter Mechanic, UH/AH-1
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.
Flight-line and engine noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Flight-line or squadron assignment records
- · Evaluations describing engine-run or ground-turn duties
Limit: Flight-line assignment does not by itself establish a current hearing-loss or tinnitus diagnosis; audiometric evidence and a medical opinion are still required.
Fuel and hydraulic fluid contact
Records that may corroborate it
- · Occupational health or hazmat-program records, if enrolled
- · Evaluations describing fuel/hydraulic servicing duties
- · ILER entry reflecting deployment location, where applicable
Limit: The MOS does not establish contact with any specific substance; current clinical findings and a medical link are still required.
Awkward postures and heavy component handling
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 maintenance duties and aircraft assigned
Limit: Typical maintenance demands do not by themselves establish that a specific joint was injured in service.
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.
Auditory +
Hearing loss and tinnitus
Why the occupation may matter: Flight-line and engine-run exposure is a routine part of helicopter maintenance duties.
Records and clinical evidence: Audiometric records showing a threshold shift, a current diagnosis, and evidence tying the exposure to your specific squadron assignment.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Musculoskeletal +
Back, shoulder, and knee conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Working in confined airframe spaces and handling heavy components is a routine part of the job.
Records and clinical evidence: Sick call or physical therapy entries from the relevant period, imaging, and a current orthopedic diagnosis.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Skin +
Skin conditions from fuel/hydraulic fluid contact
Why the occupation may matter: Routine servicing involves skin contact with fuel, hydraulic fluid, and solvents.
Records and clinical evidence: Current dermatology diagnosis and evidence linking it to documented fuel/hydraulic exposure.
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 6114 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.
"Mechanic" treated as shop work without flight-line noise
A denial may understate noise exposure without records showing engine-run, ground-turn, or flight-line maintenance specifically.
No baseline audiogram for comparison
Without an entrance audiogram, it can be harder to show a threshold shift occurred during service rather than existing beforehand.
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.
6114 questions
Does the 6114 MOS by itself prove hazardous noise exposure?
It documents a job that typically involves flight-line and engine-run work, but VA still looks at your squadron assignment, hearing-conservation records, and a current diagnosis with a medical opinion.
Does this MOS cover both the UH-1 and AH-1?
Yes — 6114 covers mechanics assigned to both the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1W/Z Cobra/Viper airframes.
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.