Does Military Service Put Fingerprints In National Database

About Military Service Records and Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs, DD Grade 214)

If you've been discharged from military service, your personnel files are stored hither at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Nosotros are the official repository for records of military personnel who take been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard.

Military personnel records are primarily administrative records and can contain data such equally:

enlistment/date
duty stations and assignments
training, qualifications, performance
awards and medals
disciplinary actions
insurance
emergency data
administrative remarks
separation/discharge/retirement (including DD Form 214, Study of Separation, or equivalent)
and other personnel actions.

Detailed data nearly the veteran's participation in military battles and engagements is Non independent in the record.

Most Official Military Personnel Files incorporate both personnel and agile duty health records, simply this practice was discontinued by the service branches commencement in 1992. See Military Medical and Wellness Records for more details.

The National Archives' National Personnel Records Middle (NPRC) stores records of private war machine service pertaining to quondam service members who no longer have a service obligation. Included are records of veterans who are completely discharged (with no remaining reserve commitment), or who are retired or have died. Records are commonly transferred to NPRC within six months after these events. NPRC does not have records of members who are notwithstanding in the active or inactive reserves or in the National Baby-sit. The records of each war machine service department on file at NPRC are listed under Location of Military Service Records.

In an effort to aggrandize admission to and ensure the preservation of the records, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) together with the Department of Defense force (DOD) developed a schedule, signed July eight, 2004, making the Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) permanent records of the United States. This schedule mandates the legal transfer of these files from DOD ownership to NARA ownership 62 years after the service member'due south separation from the military.

Equally part of the initial transfer, the records of i.2 meg veterans who served with the United States Navy and Marine Corps were opened to the public in July 2005. In addition, 200 OMPFs of "Persons of Exceptional Prominence" (PEP files) - such as Presidents, members of Congress and the Supreme Court; famous military leaders; decorated heroes; celebrities; and other cultural figures who served in the military - were too made available to the public for the first time (meet below for additional information).

In Nov 2007, NARA opened to the public 6.3 million OMPFs of sometime military personnel who served in the United states of america Army (including Ground forces Air Corps and Army Air Forces), Navy, Marine Corps and Declension Guard. In September 2009, marking the 62nd anniversary of the creation of the United states Air Forcefulness, NARA accepted the start block of Air Force records into its custody.

Records of individuals who left service less than 62 years ago are non-archival and are maintained nether the Federal Records Eye program. Federal (non-archival) OMPFs are subject to access restrictions, and only express data or copies of documents from these records may be released to the general public within the provisions of the law. The Liberty of Information Human action (FOIA) and the Privacy Human action provide residual between the right of the public to obtain information from military service records and the correct of the sometime military service member to protect his/her privacy. Run across Federal Records Eye Programme to admission these records.

Based on a rolling appointment of 62 years, all armed services personnel records will somewhen go archival records, open to the full general public.

Records of Persons of Exceptional Prominence (PEP)
The 2004 NARA and DOD schedule also allows for the transfer of OMPF'due south of "Persons of Infrequent Prominence" (PEP), as before long as ten years subsequently the private's date of death. This "early" opening of the records to the public is based upon the desire of the National Archives and the DOD to make the records of historically meaning individuals available for research. PEP records document the military service of Presidents, members of Congress and the Supreme Courtroom; famous armed services leaders; busy heroes; celebrities; and other cultural figures.

As function of the initial transfer of records, a selection of approximately 200 records of Persons of Infrequent Prominence who had been deceased ten years or more than were opened to the public. Additional records of eligible individuals have been added (and will continue to be added) as transfer agreements are reached with the corresponding military machine service departments. To date, approximately 500 individual PEP records are open to the public. Run across PEP Records for admission.

Additional information on the contents of Military Service Records and Personnel Files:

Content of the Official Armed forces Personnel File
Special Notice to Veterans and Family unit Members regarding requests for copies of armed forces personnel and/or medical files

DD Course 214, Belch Papers and Separation Documents

A Report of Separation is by and large issued when a service member performs agile duty or at least 90 consecutive days of active duty preparation. The Report of Separation contains data normally needed to verify armed forces service for benefits, retirement, employment, and membership in veterans' organizations. Information shown on the Written report of Separation may include the service member's:

Date and place of entry into active duty
Dwelling address at fourth dimension of entry
Date and place of release from active duty
Home accost after separation
Last duty assignment and rank
Military task specialty
Military education
Decorations, medals, badges, citations, and campaign awards
Total creditable service
Foreign service credited
Separation data (type of separation, character of service, authorisation and reason for separation, separation and reenlistment eligibility codes)

The report of separation class issued in most recent years is the DD Form 214, Document of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Before January 1, 1950, several similar forms were used by the military services, including the WD Agone 53, WD AGO 55, WD Ago 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD, and the NAVCG 553.

To get copies of DD Form 214, Belch Papers or Separation Documents: