Navy Aviation Ordnancemen (AO) — the enlisted rating responsible for aircraft weapons systems, ordnance handling, and weapons loading aboard aircraft carriers and at naval air stations — maintained the aircraft weapons systems, guns, rockets, and bomb-handling equipment for carrier air wings and shore-based naval aviation squadrons. AO ratings worked in carrier weapons magazines, ordnance handling rooms, and weapons elevators aboard aircraft carriers; in the bomb dumps and ordnance storage facilities at naval air stations; and in direct ordnance loading operations on carrier flight decks. The weapons magazines and ordnance storage spaces aboard WWII-era and Cold War aircraft carriers and the ordnance handling facilities at naval air stations were constructed with asbestos-containing building materials as required by naval fire protection specifications for spaces storing explosive ordnance. Aviation Ordnancemen working in these spaces throughout their careers accumulated asbestos exposure from the asbestos-containing insulation and construction in the ordnance handling environment.

Carrier Weapons Magazines and Asbestos

AO rating duties in carrier ordnance facilities created asbestos exposure:

  • Aircraft carrier weapons magazine construction — the weapons magazines and ordnance stowage spaces aboard WWII-era and Cold War aircraft carriers — including Essex class, Midway class, and Forrestal class carriers — were constructed with asbestos-containing insulation on bulkheads, overhead surfaces, and pipe systems as required by naval fire protection specifications for spaces adjacent to explosive ordnance stowage. Aviation Ordnancemen working in these magazine spaces accumulated asbestos exposure from the installed asbestos insulation materials during ordnance handling operations
  • Weapons elevator and handling room insulation — the weapons elevators and ordnance handling rooms connecting the carrier flight deck to the below-deck magazines used asbestos-containing insulation in their construction, with AO ratings working in these spaces during ordnance transfer operations accumulating asbestos exposure from the elevator shaft and handling room insulation
  • Firefighting and damage control equipment — the firefighting and damage control equipment in carrier ordnance spaces included asbestos-containing firefighting blankets and asbestos protective equipment used in ordnance fire scenarios

Shore-based AO ratings worked in asbestos-containing ordnance facilities:

  • Bomb dump and ordnance storage facilities — naval air station bomb dumps and ordnance storage facilities used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing building materials in the magazines and storage buildings where AO ratings worked maintaining and handling ordnance for shore-based naval aviation squadrons

VA Claims for Aviation Ordnancemen

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Aviation Ordnancemen who served aboard aircraft carriers or at naval air stations with asbestos-containing magazine construction and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.