01 / Occupational profile
Your BM occupational profile
Deck-machinery and tool noise
Common occupational factor
Needle guns, grinders, winches, and deck machinery are common hazardous-noise sources in deck-department work; some hulls add flight-deck or weapons noise.
Line handling, lifting, and wet-deck falls
Common occupational factor
Heavy mooring lines, wire rope, stores handling, and moving wet decks load the back, shoulders, and knees and create slip-and-fall risk.
Paint, preservation, and surface-prep materials
Common occupational factor
Chipping and repainting involve paints, primers, thinners, and dust from old coatings; on older hulls and eras, legacy coatings could contain lead or other hazardous components.
Weather and sun exposure on deck
Common occupational factor
Deck work and outdoor watches expose BMs to sun, heat, cold, wind, and sea spray over long periods.
Man-overboard, collision, or boat mishaps
Assignment-dependent
Deck and small-boat crews may witness or take part in man-overboard recoveries, collisions, line-parting incidents, or search-and-rescue operations.
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.
Boatswain's Mates handle mooring lines, wire rope, and rigging during sea-and-anchor details and underway replenishment, operate winches, capstans, and cranes, and serve as coxswains and crew on small boats. Much of the job is deck maintenance: needle-gunning, chipping, grinding, priming, and painting in all weather, frequently on ladders, stages, or over the side. Deck spaces involve ladders, knee-knockers, and hatches, wet and moving surfaces, and heavy lifting. Noise sources include needle guns and grinders, winches, and flight-deck or weapons activity on some hulls. BMs also stand bridge and lookout watches in outdoor conditions.
Deck equipment, paint and preservation materials, and hull types changed across eras. Older hulls and pre-1980s preservation products carry a different materials profile than later ships, so the specific ship and period matter more than the rating.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Mooring, anchoring, and heavy line handling during sea-and-anchor details
- Underway replenishment rigging and wire-rope work
- Operating winches, capstans, cranes, and deck machinery
- Needle-gunning, chipping, grinding, and painting deck and hull surfaces
- Working over the side, on stages, or aloft on rigging
- Small-boat coxswain or boat-crew duties in open water
- Outdoor lookout and bridge watches in heat, cold, and sea spray
- Frequent ladder, hatch, and wet-deck transits carrying gear
Related historical codes: Deck seaman (SN) striking for BM; Coxswain / small-boat qualifications held by BMs
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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
Navy · BM Boatswain's Mate
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.
Deck-machinery and tool noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Ship assignment records identifying deck-department duty
- · Evaluations describing preservation, deck-machinery, or boat 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.
Line handling, lifting, and wet-deck falls
Records that may corroborate it
- · Sick call and physical therapy entries during sea duty
- · Line-of-duty or mishap reports for a documented fall or line injury
- · Evaluations describing sea-and-anchor, UNREP, and boat-crew duties
Limit: Typical deck demands do not by themselves establish that a specific joint was injured in service or that a current condition is related.
Paint, preservation, and surface-prep materials
Records that may corroborate it
- · Ship and period records identifying the hull and its overhaul history
- · Work center or maintenance records for preservation tasks
- · Occupational health or respiratory-protection program records, if enrolled
Limit: The rating does not establish contact with any specific hazardous material. Hull, era, task, and a current diagnosis with a medical opinion all still matter.
Weather and sun exposure on deck
Records that may corroborate it
- · Sea-service history showing hull, homeport, and deployment areas
- · Sick call entries for sunburn, cold injury, or heat illness
- · Evaluations describing outdoor watch and deck duties
Limit: Outdoor work alone does not establish a specific skin or cold-injury diagnosis; clinical findings and a medical link are required.
Man-overboard, collision, or boat mishaps
Records that may corroborate it
- · Ship deck logs for the date and event
- · Command mishap or incident reports
- · Statements from shipmates with firsthand knowledge
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.
Hearing +
Tinnitus and hearing loss
Why the occupation may matter: Deck tools and machinery are recognized noise 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.
Spine / joints +
Back, shoulder, and knee conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Line handling, lifting, and wet-deck movement load these joints.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis, in-service treatment or duty records, and a medical opinion.
Occupational history alone does not establish this diagnosis or its medical relationship to service.
Skin +
Skin conditions from sun exposure
Why the occupation may matter: Long outdoor deck duty involves sustained sun exposure.
Records and clinical evidence: Current dermatology diagnosis, sea-service history, 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 BM 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.
Deck injury with no in-service record
Strains and falls treated informally aboard ship may leave no sick-call entry; deck logs, evaluations, and shipmate statements may fill part of that gap.
Noise accepted, hearing link rejected
A normal separation audiogram alone does not decide a hearing claim, but examiners often rely on it without addressing the full history.
Materials exposure too general
References to "paint on the ship" without hull, period, and tasks are hard for VA to evaluate.
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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 handles post-decision appeals, not initial or other new claims.
Fees for eligible post-decision representation are governed by a written agreement. See fee details. No outcome is guaranteed.
BM questions
Does serving as a Boatswain's Mate prove I was exposed to lead paint or asbestos?
No. Materials depended on the specific ship, its era and overhaul history, and the tasks you performed. Records placing you on that hull during preservation work may help document the history; a current diagnosis and medical opinion are still required.
I hurt my back on deck but never went to sick call. Is there anything to look for?
Possibly. Deck logs, evaluations describing your duties, and statements from shipmates who saw what happened may help document the event, though none of them guarantees an outcome.
Where do I find my ship's deck logs?
Older Navy deck logs are generally held by the National Archives; more recent logs may be held by the Navy. Availability varies by year.
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.