Have you ever wondered what your Dad did in the Army, or whether that loudmouth neighbor really was a Navy Seal during the Gulf War? Did you know you can often find out in about 10 days, with not much effort?
The government makes certain portions of a veteran’s military records available to the general public through the Freedom of Information Act. Typically, a simple written request will get you information such as rank, length of service, assignments and training. Slightly more information is open to the next-of-kin of deceased vets.
Here’s how to get military records.
The National Personnel Records Center
The military records of veterans are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration and mostly stored at the records center in St. Louis, Mo. The center has about 70 million records for vets from all branches of service, from the early 20th century through the late ’90s and early ’00s.
A fire in 1973 destroyed the records of about 16 to 18 million Army and Air Force personnel, but some of the basic information in those files have been reconstructed.
The NPRC does not have records for active duty personnel, or those on active or inactive reserve status. The center also does not have records for vets discharged or retired from the service after certain years. Those are 1995 for the Navy, 1999 for the Marine Corps, 2003 for the Army and 2005 for the Air Force.
(Getting records for those vets is a little more complicated, and I will get into that further down.)
According to NPRC, the center receives about 4,000 records requests each day, with about 45,000 requests currently pending. However, the staff responds to requests for discharge papers (called a DD-214) in about 10 days 92 percent of the time, NPRC claims.
Making a request for military records
Federal privacy laws require that every request for military records be made in writing and signed by the vet or the person making the request. You can download a Standard Form 180 from the NPRC Web site, or just write a letter.
The staff will need enough information to help them find the file among all those millions of records. That means you need to include as much as you can about the vet. Full name and date of birth are musts, and the Social Security number, branch of service, dates of service and city and state where the vet joined will increase the chances.
On the SF-180 or in the letter, specify whether you are either the next-of-kin of a deceased veteran or a member of the general public seeking information. Usually, without the vet’s authorization, you are limited to rank, length of service, unit and geographical assignments, training courses and any medals or awards given.
Then, fax or mail the request to the records center in St. Louis. The fax number is 314-801-9195, and the address is National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.
You will receive a response by mail, usually within 10 days. If not, you can follow up by phone or e-mail. I would recommend e-mail because hold times on the customer service line can last up to 40 minutes. The phone number is 314-801-0800, and the e-mail address is mpr.status@nara.gov. Because records requests have to be in writing with a signature, the center does not accept requests by e-mail.
Military records not kept at NPRC
The center doesn’t keep all records, as mentioned earlier, so if the veteran was discharged within the last 10 years – for some branches of service – you may have to make the request to the military directly.
I’ve never had to do this, but suspect that it is likely to be much trickier than getting them from NPRC. The staff at the military records center is civilian and tend to be customer friendly, to a point. Military officials tend to be less so, especially when you are seeking info about a vet without having a family connection. The military has become increasingly strict about security since the war began.
To make the request, you will have to write a letter with the same identifying details about the veteran as you would send to NPRC. Specify that you are a member of the general public making the request under the Freedom of Information Act, and it might be a good idea to include the reason you are seeking the info, whether it’s to verify a veteran’s service claims, to include as part of a background check, or just out of curiosity about a friend or relative.
Each branch has a different address, and sometimes more than one, to send requests for military records. You can get the address you need by going to the NPRC Web site. Open the “Military Personnel Records” link under the “For the Public” heading. Then, click on “FAQ” and scroll down to the question about military records stored at other locations.
That will take you to a chart where you can check by branch and date of discharge to see where the records are stored. Send your request to the corresponding address.
