01 / Occupational profile
Your 91B occupational profile
Solvent and petroleum-product exposure
Common occupational factor
Daily use of degreasers, cleaning solvents, and petroleum products for parts cleaning and lubrication is a defining feature of motor-pool maintenance work.
Hand-arm vibration from impact and pneumatic tools
Common occupational factor
Regular use of impact wrenches and pneumatic tools exposes mechanics to hand-arm vibration, associated in occupational-health literature with peripheral neuropathy and joint symptoms in the hands and wrists.
Awkward-posture and overhead/underbody work
Common occupational factor
Working under vehicles and in cramped engine compartments requires sustained kneeling, crouching, and overhead reaching, which are recognized mechanical stressors for the back, shoulders, and knees.
Motor-pool and tool noise
Common occupational factor
Running engines, pneumatic tools, and impact wrenches in an enclosed shop bay produce sustained noise levels that can exceed hearing-hazard thresholds.
Battery, fuel, and hydraulic-fluid handling
Common occupational factor
Routine battery servicing and fuel or hydraulic-fluid handling exposes mechanics to caustic and petroleum-based substances during normal maintenance tasks.
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.
Mechanic duty is shop- and bay-based: diagnosing and repairing engines, transmissions, brakes, and electrical systems on tactical vehicles, often working from beneath or inside a vehicle in cramped, awkward postures. Cleaning parts with solvents and degreasers, working with petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL), and running pneumatic and impact tools are daily tasks. Vehicle recovery and field-maintenance operations add outdoor exposure to running engines and, during deployment, austere-environment repair work with less ventilation and fewer controls than a garrison motor pool.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Diagnosing and repairing engines, transmissions, brakes, and electrical systems on tactical vehicles
- Working in awkward and prone postures under and around vehicles for extended periods
- Cleaning parts and components with solvents, degreasers, and other petroleum-based products
- Operating pneumatic and impact tools, generating hand-arm vibration
- Handling batteries, fuels, and hydraulic fluids during routine maintenance
- Working in motor-pool bays with sustained running-engine and tool noise
- Field and recovery maintenance in less controlled, sometimes outdoor conditions
Related historical codes: 63B Light-Wheel Vehicle Mechanic (former designation, later redesignated 91B); 63W Wheel Vehicle Repairer (legacy designator, consolidated into 91B)
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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 · 91B Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic
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.
Solvent and petroleum-product exposure
Records that may corroborate it
- · Motor-pool duty assignment records and shop job descriptions
- · Hazardous-material or hazard-communication training records
- · Material safety data sheets on file for the unit's motor pool, where available
Limit: Working in a motor pool does not by itself establish a specific skin, respiratory, or neurological condition; a current diagnosis and an opinion connecting it to solvent exposure are still needed.
Hand-arm vibration from impact and pneumatic tools
Records that may corroborate it
- · Tool issue and maintenance-bay assignment records
- · Sick-call entries describing hand numbness, tingling, or joint pain
- · Physical profiles (DA Form 3349) if issued for hand or wrist complaints
Limit: Tool use alone does not establish a diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy or carpal tunnel syndrome; current nerve-conduction findings and a nexus opinion are still required.
Awkward-posture and overhead/underbody work
Records that may corroborate it
- · Job-book or maintenance-task records showing frequency of underbody and overhead work
- · Physical-therapy or orthopedic referrals during service
- · NCOER narrative describing shop duties
Limit: This posture pattern does not by itself establish a joint or spine diagnosis; current examination findings and evidence of onset during service are still required.
Motor-pool and tool noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) if enrolled
- · Shop assignment records
Limit: Shop noise exposure alone does not establish a hearing-loss disability under 38 CFR § 3.385.
Battery, fuel, and hydraulic-fluid handling
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hazardous-material training and handling records
- · Treatment records describing skin irritation or chemical burns, if any occurred
Limit: Routine handling of these substances does not by itself establish a skin or systemic condition; documented incidents or a supporting medical opinion are still needed.
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.
Skin +
Contact dermatitis and other skin conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Daily contact with solvents, degreasers, and petroleum products is a recognized cause of occupational skin irritation.
Records and clinical evidence: Current dermatological diagnosis, treatment records, and documentation of the specific products handled.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Peripheral nerves +
Peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome
Why the occupation may matter: Sustained hand-arm vibration from pneumatic and impact tools is associated with nerve compression and vibration-related neuropathy.
Records and clinical evidence: Current nerve-conduction study findings, tool-use records, and a nexus opinion addressing vibration exposure.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Lumbar/cervical spine +
Lumbar and cervical strain
Why the occupation may matter: Prolonged awkward postures working under vehicles place cumulative strain on the spine.
Records and clinical evidence: Current imaging, in-service sick-call records, and documentation of underbody work frequency.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Shoulders +
Rotator cuff pathology
Why the occupation may matter: Repeated overhead reaching into engine compartments is a mechanical stressor for the shoulder.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis with range-of-motion findings and job-book documentation of overhead work.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Hearing +
Tinnitus and hearing loss
Why the occupation may matter: Sustained shop-bay noise from running engines and tools contributes to cumulative noise exposure.
Records and clinical evidence: Current tinnitus report or audiometry meeting 38 CFR § 3.385 and shop assignment records.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Respiratory +
Asthma and chronic bronchitis
Why the occupation may matter: Inhalation of solvent vapors and exhaust in an enclosed shop bay is a plausible respiratory stressor, particularly where ventilation was limited.
Records and clinical evidence: Current pulmonary testing, documentation of shop ventilation conditions, and a nexus opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Knees +
Degenerative arthritis
Why the occupation may matter: Sustained kneeling and crouching to access vehicle undercarriages is a recognized mechanical stressor for the knees.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis with range-of-motion findings and job-book documentation of kneeling frequency.
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 91B 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.
Skin condition attributed to a non-service cause without addressing solvent exposure
Examiners sometimes attribute dermatitis to a general or unrelated cause without discussing the veteran's documented daily solvent contact, which can make the opinion inadequate.
Peripheral neuropathy claim denied for lack of tool-use documentation
Because vibration exposure from hand tools is rarely logged individually, claims without job-book records or lay statements describing daily tool use are more likely to be found unsupported.
Joint claims discounted for absence of a single injury event
Cumulative-trauma mechanisms from years of kneeling and overhead work are sometimes overlooked when an examiner looks only for a discrete in-service injury.
Respiratory claim denied for insufficient specificity about ventilation and chemical exposure
General motor-pool service without documentation of specific products used and ventilation conditions can be found too vague to support a nexus opinion.
Hearing loss denied despite documented shop-bay assignment
As with other combat-service-support MOSs, VA sometimes finds mechanic noise exposure less probable absent range or hearing-conservation records, even where shop noise was significant.
Oakridge Claims / Appeals Focused
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91B questions
Does being an 91B automatically qualify me for a skin condition claim?
No. The MOS supports the exposure element — daily solvent and petroleum-product contact — but a current dermatological diagnosis and a nexus opinion are still required.
I have hand numbness from years of using impact wrenches. What should I document?
A nerve-conduction study establishing a current diagnosis, and records or lay statements describing how often and how long you used vibrating tools, are the key pieces of evidence to gather.
Can motor-pool noise support a hearing loss claim even without range records?
It can, but the claim is stronger with documentation — hearing-conservation enrollment, shop assignment records, or lay statements describing daily noise exposure — since mechanics are not automatically presumed to have hazardous noise exposure the way infantry are.
What if I don't remember which specific chemicals I used?
Unit hazard-communication training records and general product lists for that era's tactical-vehicle maintenance can help reconstruct exposure; your own detailed description of tasks is still competent evidence.
Does field or deployed maintenance work differ from garrison motor-pool duty for these claims?
Field and recovery maintenance often involves less ventilation and fewer controls, which can be relevant to a chemical-exposure argument, but the same evidence requirements apply either way.
Is knee pain from kneeling under vehicles worth discussing with a provider?
Sustained kneeling and crouching to access undercarriages is a recognized mechanical stressor in this occupation, so persistent knee symptoms are reasonable to raise and document.
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.