Operations Specialists (OS) — a rating consolidated from the former Radarman (RD) rating in 1948 — operated radar, navigation, and tactical data systems from Combat Information Centers aboard Navy combatants, carriers, and amphibious ships. OS personnel manned CIC on a continuous watch rotation during at-sea operations, working in electronic equipment spaces built within the asbestos-containing interior of Navy vessels. Like other non-engineering ratings, OS personnel accumulated asbestos exposure from the general asbestos-containing interior of the pre-1975 vessels where they served.

Combat Information Center Environment

Combat Information Centers aboard pre-1975 destroyers, cruisers, and carriers were built within the asbestos-containing hull interior using the same interior construction materials as all other shipboard spaces:

  • CIC interior construction — the CIC space itself, including its deck, overhead, and bulkheads, was built with asbestos floor tile, overhead lagging, and bulkhead insulation in the standard interior construction specification of pre-1975 Navy vessels
  • Electronic equipment spaces adjacent to CIC — the electronic spaces housing radar and data systems connected to CIC were built within the same asbestos-containing hull structure, and OS personnel accessing these spaces for equipment operation and coordination encountered the asbestos construction of adjacent spaces
  • Overhead cable routing — the extensive cabling serving CIC radar and data systems was routed through asbestos-containing overhead construction throughout the ship’s interior, requiring occasional access through spaces with asbestos lagging

Shipboard Living and Berthing Exposure

OS personnel, like all shipboard crew, accumulated asbestos exposure from the general asbestos-containing interior of the vessels where they were assigned:

  • Crew berthing using asbestos floor tile, overhead lagging, and bulkhead insulation throughout pre-1975 vessel interiors
  • Mess decks and passageways built with asbestos floor tile and overhead construction in the ship’s general interior

Shipyard Availability Exposure

OS personnel present aboard ship during shipyard overhaul availabilities were exposed to asbestos fiber generated by insulation removal and replacement work in engineering spaces and throughout the ship’s interior, even though they were not directly involved in the insulation work.

VA Claims for OS Rating Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure for Navy veterans who served aboard vessels built before the mid-1970s asbestos phase-down. Operations Specialists who served aboard pre-1975 combatants and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits based on the asbestos-containing interior construction of the vessels where they served.