Intelligence Specialists — IS ratings — collected and processed tactical intelligence, maintained target folders, produced intelligence products, and briefed aircraft crews and command authorities for Navy carrier battle group and shore command intelligence operations. IS billets were primarily aboard aircraft carriers in the Carrier Intelligence Center (CVIC) and at shore-based fleet intelligence centers and naval intelligence facilities.

Carrier Intelligence Center and Asbestos

IS ratings working in carrier CVICs accumulated asbestos exposure from the carrier’s construction:

  • Carrier interior CVIC construction — the Carrier Intelligence Center spaces in WWII-era and 1950s-1960s-built carriers (Essex class, Midway class, Forrestal class) were located within the ship’s interior where the carrier’s original construction materials included asbestos floor tile, overhead insulation, and bulkhead construction consistent with the era of the carrier’s construction. IS ratings spending extended duty periods in the CVIC during carrier deployments were in proximity to the carrier’s asbestos-containing interior construction throughout each deployment
  • Adjacent carrier spaces — the intelligence spaces aboard carriers were located in close proximity to other carrier spaces using the same asbestos-containing construction materials from the original build, with secondary exposure possible from maintenance or repair operations in adjacent spaces

Shore-Based Intelligence Facility Construction

IS ratings at shore-based fleet intelligence centers accumulated asbestos exposure from facility construction:

  • Cold War-era intelligence facility buildings — the shore-based fleet intelligence centers and naval intelligence facilities built during the WWII and early Cold War period used standard period construction with asbestos-containing building materials throughout the administrative and analytical spaces where IS ratings worked
  • WWII-era building stock — the primary intelligence facilities at major Navy commands (Atlantic Fleet Intelligence Center, Pacific Fleet Intelligence Center) were housed in WWII-era and early postwar buildings with the standard asbestos-containing ceiling tile, floor tile, and building mechanical system insulation of that construction era

Ship-Based IS Service

IS ratings also served aboard cruisers, amphibious flagships, and command ships:

  • Amphibious flagships and command ships (like USS Blue Ridge LCC-19 and USS Mount Whitney LCC-20) carrying ship’s intelligence detachments had IS ratings working in the ship’s intelligence spaces within the vessel’s asbestos-containing interior construction

VA Claims for IS Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval facilities and aboard Navy vessels. Intelligence Specialists who served aboard WWII-era and early Cold War carriers and at shore-based intelligence facilities with asbestos-containing construction and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.