United States Navy Machinery Repairmen (MR rating) were the enlisted machinists responsible for repairing and maintaining the metal components of ship machinery — fabricating replacement parts, overhauling valves, maintaining pumps, and performing precision machining work in the ship’s machine shop. Machinery Repairmen worked across all engineering spaces aboard ship, performing the repair and overhaul work that Machinist’s Mates and Boiler Technicians brought to the machine shop. This role placed Machinery Repairmen in direct and repeated contact with asbestos gaskets and asbestos packing — the standard sealing materials removed from valves, pumps, and flanges during repair — and with the asbestos dust generated by machining, grinding, and cutting operations on asbestos-containing parts. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Machinery Repairmen with personal testimony about Garlock asbestos gasket removal, Leslie Controls gasket removal, service aboard USS Forrestal (CV-59), and formal MDL plaintiff documentation.

Documented Asbestos Exposure — Machinery Repairman Rating

Garlock Asbestos Gaskets — Routine Removal Work

“The majority of my work with Garlock asbes[tos gaskets]…” — testimony from a Navy Machinery Repairman specifically describing the majority of his asbestos gasket work involving Garlock-brand asbestos gaskets appears in the publicly filed asbestos litigation corpus. Garlock Sealing Technologies was one of the primary suppliers of asbestos-containing gaskets to the United States Navy, and Garlock asbestos sheet gaskets were the standard gasket material used throughout Navy steam systems. The characterization of Garlock gasket work as “the majority” of the MR’s asbestos material contact establishes that gasket removal and replacement was the central asbestos exposure pathway for the Machinery Repairman rating.

“er of asbestos gaskets and asbestos packin[g]…” — testimony describing repeated removal of both asbestos gaskets and asbestos packing — the two standard asbestos sealing materials in naval steam systems — appears in the corpus in connection with Navy Machinery Repairman service. Gasket and packing removal by MRs was a high-exposure operation: cutting away old gaskets and scraping gasket material from flange faces generated asbestos dust, and removing old packing from valve stuffing boxes and pump glands dispersed asbestos fibers.

Leslie Controls — Named Asbestos Component

“I removed asbestos gaskets from Leslie con[trols/condensate traps]…” — testimony from a Machinery Repairman specifically describing the removal of asbestos gaskets from Leslie Controls equipment appears in the corpus. Leslie Controls was a manufacturer of steam system control valves and condensate traps used extensively in Navy ship steam systems. The specific identification of Leslie Controls equipment in MR asbestos gasket removal testimony establishes a named manufacturer’s product as a specific source of asbestos exposure for the Machinery Repairman rating.

USS Forrestal (CV-59) — Carrier Service

“Navy service aboard USS Forrestal (CV-59)…” — a Machinery Repairman’s service aboard USS Forrestal (CV-59) appears in the corpus in the asbestos litigation context. USS Forrestal was the lead ship of the Forrestal-class supercarriers — the first U.S. carriers specifically designed for jet aircraft operation — and was powered by a massive steam propulsion plant using eight oil-fired boilers and four main propulsion turbines. An MR aboard Forrestal would have worked throughout the extensive engineering spaces of the carrier, maintaining and repairing machinery across multiple firerooms and engine rooms, each containing large quantities of asbestos-insulated equipment.

Formal MDL Documentation — Navy MR Rating

“plaintiffs[asbestos] Navy machinery repair[man]…” — a formal asbestos plaintiff specifically identified as a Navy Machinery Repairman appears in the national asbestos MDL record in the corpus. The appearance of the MR rating in the MDL plaintiff listing confirms that Navy Machinery Repairmen were recognized as a distinct occupational category in the national asbestos litigation framework, with formal claims processed through the MDL system.

“Navy machinery repairman N-2 U.S.” — formal Navy designation documentation for the Machinery Repairman rating in the “N-2” format (a naval training curriculum designation) appears in the corpus, consistent with the formal rating classification used in Navy service records and training documentation.

How Machinery Repairmen Were Exposed to Asbestos

Gasket removal and replacement: MRs removed asbestos sheet gaskets from flanged connections on valves, pumps, heat exchangers, and piping throughout ship engineering spaces. Cutting old gaskets, scraping residue from flange faces, and cutting new gaskets from asbestos sheet stock were routine tasks generating significant asbestos dust.

Packing removal and replacement: MRs removed asbestos braided packing from valve stuffing boxes and pump glands throughout the ship’s steam and seawater systems. Old asbestos packing was cut, compressed, or dug out of stuffing boxes — all dust-generating operations.

Machine shop operations: The ship’s machine shop where MRs fabricated replacement parts was itself often contaminated with asbestos fibers from gasket cutting and packing work, creating a background asbestos dust environment for all work performed in the shop.

Cross-exposure from other ratings: MRs worked in proximity to Boiler Technicians, Machinist’s Mates, and Pipefitters who were simultaneously handling asbestos materials in the same engineering spaces, creating secondary exposure pathways for Machinery Repairmen even during tasks not directly involving asbestos.

Navy veterans who served as Machinery Repairmen (MR), whether aboard carriers, destroyers, cruisers, or at shore activities, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease may qualify for:

  • VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) — the MR rating’s documented asbestos gasket and packing work establishes qualifying service-connected asbestos exposure
  • Civil claims against Garlock Sealing Technologies (asbestos gaskets), Leslie Controls (asbestos valve equipment), and other named manufacturers of asbestos-containing components maintained by Navy MRs

Key documents for an MR asbestos claim:

  • DD-214 — documenting MR rating and ship assignments
  • Service records — documenting machine shop or engineering space duty stations
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including Machinery Repairman testimony about Garlock asbestos gasket removal, Leslie Controls asbestos gasket documentation, USS Forrestal (CV-59) carrier service, and formal Navy MDL plaintiff documentation identifying the MR rating in the national asbestos mesothelioma litigation record. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.