I wonder how this relates to M1 tanks. Tankers

What about the 25MM bushmaster chain gun in the Bradley

Shoot, I wish I had filed for this….

You still can right?

Yeah,

You right you right

I'm contemplating it. Need to look into but I was a 13B so working the guns and then getting hit with an IED on a dismounted patrol. Definitely got the ol' peanut rattled around a few times.

Bro.

I would most definitely file for it if I was you.

I'm actually working on updating a couple claims. Still can't believe I never got anything for hearing loss. Maybe this time.

I'll keep in touch.

I'm finally onboarding with the VA again. Have a start date in November

Tanker123 said:

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I wonder how this relates to M1 tanks. Tankers

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Interesting that 19D Cavalry Scout is on the Army's list but 19K Armor Crewman is not.
Tanker is however on the list for the Marine Corps.

Here's a PDF I found from the DOD.
https://media.defense.gov/2024/Aug/09/2003521276/-1/-1/1/DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-REQUIREMENTS-FOR-MANAGING-BRAIN-HEALTH-RISKS-FROM-BLAST-OVERPRESSURE-OSD005281-24-RES-FINAL.PDF

From the article you linked, I found these comments interesting:

Quote:

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Few people would dispute that the M1 Abrams tank delivers a punishing blast. Troops are required to wear double ear protection if they are within 800 feet, and must stay at least 30 feet behind the tank when it fires.

The tank is designed to be sealed during firing to protect the crew inside, but in practice crews regularly keep the top hatches open. That allows the blast to echo through their compartment, where the Army says it peaks at about 2 pounds per square inch. The boom they hear has been measured at 172 decibels more than 100 times the sound intensity of a jet engine.

"It's quite violent," said Daniel Gade, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who commanded a tank company in Iraq. "I don't think there is a guy who has fired it that doesn't think it takes a toll."

An Army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Robert Lodewick, said all available data suggested that the risk to tank crews from blast exposure was "low." In more than 20 years, he said, the Army has not recorded any brain injuries related to firing the Abrams gun.

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Quote:

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Beyer joined the Army right after high school and had an unusually long career spent entirely around tanks, including six overseas deployments, three of them to Iraq. His final assignment was as a tank instructor at one of the Army's busiest training posts, Fort Irwin in California.

A typical tank crew member fires about 120 rounds a year, and works around tanks only for a few years before leaving the military or moving on to other assignments. Beyer never moved on.

A spokesperson for Fort Irwin said that while most training was done with lasers instead of live rounds, a typical tank instructor would be exposed to the firing of 120 to 240 rounds a year. Other tank soldiers estimated that in Beyer's career, he could easily have experienced more than 3,000 blasts.

He also was hit by a roadside bomb in 2008 that left him temporarily dazed.

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I thought the comments about keeping the hatches open and the number of rounds fired per year were interesting.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Tanker123 said:

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I wonder how this relates to M1 tanks. Tankers

---

Interesting that 19D Cavalry Scout is on the Army's list but 19K Armor Crewman is not.
Tanker is however on the list for the Marine Corps.

Here's a PDF I found from the DOD.
https://media.defense.gov/2024/Aug/09/2003521276/-1/-1/1/DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-REQUIREMENTS-FOR-MANAGING-BRAIN-HEALTH-RISKS-FROM-BLAST-OVERPRESSURE-OSD005281-24-RES-FINAL.PDF

From the article you linked, I found these comments interesting:

Quote:

---

Few people would dispute that the M1 Abrams tank delivers a punishing blast. Troops are required to wear double ear protection if they are within 800 feet, and must stay at least 30 feet behind the tank when it fires.

The tank is designed to be sealed during firing to protect the crew inside, but in practice crews regularly keep the top hatches open. That allows the blast to echo through their compartment, where the Army says it peaks at about 2 pounds per square inch. The boom they hear has been measured at 172 decibels more than 100 times the sound intensity of a jet engine.

"It's quite violent," said Daniel Gade, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who commanded a tank company in Iraq. "I don't think there is a guy who has fired it that doesn't think it takes a toll."

An Army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Robert Lodewick, said all available data suggested that the risk to tank crews from blast exposure was "low." In more than 20 years, he said, the Army has not recorded any brain injuries related to firing the Abrams gun.

---

Quote:

---

Beyer joined the Army right after high school and had an unusually long career spent entirely around tanks, including six overseas deployments, three of them to Iraq. His final assignment was as a tank instructor at one of the Army's busiest training posts, Fort Irwin in California.

A typical tank crew member fires about 120 rounds a year, and works around tanks only for a few years before leaving the military or moving on to other assignments. Beyer never moved on.

A spokesperson for Fort Irwin said that while most training was done with lasers instead of live rounds, a typical tank instructor would be exposed to the firing of 120 to 240 rounds a year. Other tank soldiers estimated that in Beyer's career, he could easily have experienced more than 3,000 blasts.

He also was hit by a roadside bomb in 2008 that left him temporarily dazed.

---

I thought the comments about keeping the hatches open and the number of rounds fired per year were interesting.

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Before there is a solution or answer, the problem must be understood and framed properly. I think this is the reason for the discrepancies. We are at the cusp of understanding the problem. I would not be surprised if the research to VA actions will be a long-drawn-out process.

One day my PSG and I were standing next to a tank that was bore sighting. The tank fired a round, and it was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life by far. I almost crapped my pants.

That's good info, looks like every 11 series should qualify.

M2 gunnery, AT4 ranges, demo ranges, securing a route while engineers blew suspicious items in place, etc....

Add getting your bell rung on the drop zone or slipping off the back of a Brad or JLTV and it's a recipe for CTE.

I landed on a bed of rocks near the chute shake out cables. My buddy says it took me a minute to come to but I don't remember it taking that long lol

That's an interesting one for sure. In my very limited experience, I'd say go for it. There is literally no harm in shooting your shot. I did all my initial assessments and ratings immediately after leaving service. Like a week after immediately when I was completely clueless to the whole process. Got my results and never thought anything of it for the next 15 years. Ended up with a new VA doc who looked at my history and basically called me an idiot and bullied me into making some new claims and increases. Stuff I had thought I didn't "rate" or were not bad enough and whatnot. Still only made four new claims and increases. Got the three I thought were beyond longshots and the one I thought for sure I had in the bag, just maintained at the current rating. So you just never know.

If you make a claim, from my brief experience, you really need two crucial things. You need something called a nexus, which is a verifiable specific event or presumable cause for the disability while in service. And the presumable is not nearly as widespread as many would believe. And the other is a history of treatment for the symptoms of the disability being claimed. With those two combined, you can make a decent disability claim. You can still try without them of course but you would be fighting uphill from the get go.

There's a bunch more to it and the best path forward honestly is to utilize a VSO or similar in your area to help guide you through the process if it is something you want to pursue.