01 / Occupational profile
Your MA occupational profile
Long standing, foot patrol, and physical confrontations
Common occupational factor
Extended posts and patrols load the back, knees, and feet; apprehensions and use-of-force events create acute injury risk.
Range and weapons noise
Common occupational factor
Regular pistol, rifle, and shotgun qualification and training involve repeated impulse noise, sometimes indoors.
Critical incidents and confrontation
Assignment-dependent
Law enforcement response can involve violent incidents, deaths, threats, and force events, witnessed or experienced.
Outdoor posts in all weather
Common occupational factor
Gate, pier, and perimeter posts are outdoors in heat, cold, and wet conditions for full shifts.
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.
MAs stand armed watches, patrol bases and waterfronts, run entry control points, respond to incidents, conduct traffic enforcement, and qualify with pistols and rifles. Many billets involve long periods on foot or standing in all weather, physical confrontations and use-of-force events, K9 handling, and shift work. Expeditionary and riverine assignments add field conditions, small-boat operations, and deployment stressors. Training records, weapons quals, and evaluations document which duties a particular MA actually performed.
The MA rating expanded substantially after 9/11, absorbing antiterrorism and expeditionary security missions. Earlier service may be documented under different NECs; the billet and command matter more than the rating.
Duties that may vary by assignment
- Armed patrol and static security posts, often on foot for long shifts
- Entry control and vehicle inspection points
- Law enforcement response, apprehensions, and use-of-force events
- Weapons training and qualification (pistol, rifle, shotgun)
- Military working dog handling, where assigned
- Antiterrorism and force-protection drills and real-world posture changes
- Expeditionary, harbor, or riverine security operations
- Shift work and outdoor posts in all weather
Related historical codes: Legacy law-enforcement and security NECs folded into MA
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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 · MA Master-at-Arms
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.
Long standing, foot patrol, and physical confrontations
Records that may corroborate it
- · Sick call and physical therapy entries during the billet
- · Incident or use-of-force reports for documented events
- · Evaluations describing patrol or security duties
Limit: Typical security demands do not by themselves establish that a specific joint was injured in service or that a current condition is related.
Range and weapons noise
Records that may corroborate it
- · Weapons qualification records
- · Hearing-conservation audiograms (DD 2215/2216) and DOEHRS-HC records
- · Evaluations describing range or training 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.
Critical incidents and confrontation
Records that may corroborate it
- · Incident and police reports for the event
- · Command records and evaluations referencing the billet
- · Statements from shipmates or fellow officers
Limit: A documented event is one element. A current diagnosis and a medical opinion linking it are still required.
Outdoor posts in all weather
Records that may corroborate it
- · Assignment records identifying the command and billet
- · Sick call entries for heat or cold injury
Limit: Outdoor duty alone does not establish a specific diagnosis; clinical findings and a medical link are 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: Regular weapons qualification involves repeated impulse noise.
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, knee, and foot conditions
Why the occupation may matter: Long posts, foot patrol, and confrontations 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.
Mental health +
PTSD or other conditions from critical incidents
Why the occupation may matter: Law enforcement response can involve traumatic events.
Records and clinical evidence: Current diagnosis, corroborated stressor, 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 MA 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.
Incident never formally reported
Not every confrontation or injury generates a report; evaluations and buddy statements may fill part of that gap.
Billet assumed, not documented
"Master-at-Arms" covers billets from base police to expeditionary security; assignment records show which one you held.
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 noise history.
Oakridge Claims / Appeals only
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 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.
MA questions
Does the MA rating show I did law enforcement?
It shows the rating; the billet determines the duties. Patrol, K9, corrections, and expeditionary security are all MAs — assignment records and evaluations show which you performed.
I was hurt during an apprehension but no report was written. Is there anything to look for?
Possibly. Sick call entries, evaluations, and statements from others present may help document the event, though none of them guarantees an outcome.
Where do I find my weapons qualification records?
They are typically in your service record or personnel file; some commands retained local range records as well.
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.