Opticalmen — the OM rating — served as the United States Navy’s specialists in the maintenance, calibration, and repair of optical instruments and optical fire control equipment, responsible for maintaining the full range of optical instruments aboard naval vessels including rangefinders, periscopes on surface vessels, binoculars, gun sights, fire control optical equipment, and associated precision optical systems. Opticalmen were assigned to surface combatants of all types — battleships, cruisers, and destroyers — where optical fire control equipment was an integral part of the weapons system, as well as to submarines where periscopes required specialized optical maintenance. Opticalmen also served at naval optical instrument repair facilities ashore, where optical equipment from the fleet was sent for depot-level overhaul and repair. The OM rating was disestablished in the 1970s as fire control optical systems were replaced by electronic and radar-based fire control systems, with remaining optical equipment maintenance responsibilities absorbed by other ratings. Opticalmen aboard steam-powered naval vessels accumulated background asbestos exposure from the steam plant insulation and construction materials of the ships where they served, and from the optical shop spaces and working areas within those vessels and within shore-based optical repair facilities.

Opticalman Shipboard Asbestos Exposure

Opticalmen accumulated asbestos exposure aboard steam-powered naval vessels:

  • Shipboard optical shop construction — the optical maintenance shops and work areas aboard naval vessels where Opticalmen performed instrument maintenance were located within the ship’s hull and were constructed using the construction materials of the vessel’s building period. Opticalmen working in shipboard optical shops aboard WWII-era and early Cold War battleships, cruisers, and destroyers accumulated background asbestos exposure from the construction materials of those shipboard work spaces
  • Engineering space proximity during shipboard patrol — Opticalmen moving through shipboard spaces during the course of instrument maintenance, equipment retrieval, and daily duties aboard steam-powered naval vessels accumulated background asbestos exposure from the steam plant insulation and construction materials present throughout the vessel, particularly when passing through or working near engineering spaces
  • Periscope and optical equipment spaces on destroyers and cruisers — the optical equipment spaces, rangefinder housings, and topside optical installations aboard surface combatants where Opticalmen performed maintenance were located within the ship’s hull and superstructure, incorporating construction materials of the vessel’s building period

Opticalman Shore Facility Asbestos Exposure

Opticalmen at shore optical repair facilities accumulated background asbestos exposure:

  • Naval optical repair facility construction — the shore-based optical instrument repair facilities and optical shops at naval stations where Opticalmen performed depot-level optical equipment overhaul were located in buildings constructed using military construction specifications incorporating asbestos-containing building materials consistent with their Cold War construction periods

VA Claims for OM Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from Navy shipboard and shore installation service. Opticalmen who accumulated background asbestos exposure during their OM career and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.