If this is you, then you need to do what’s known as a “Freedom of Information Act Request”, or FOIA. One of the most accurate ways to check proof of military service is via a FOIA request. Can I find these records online anywhere? Gather some personal information about the person you want to find. Headquaters US Marine Corps (ARSF), FOIA/PA Section (ARSF) I do believe he was in the Army I just don't believe he was the rank he claims to have been. Military.com is the largest online military community. You may check the status of your request by using the Online Status Update Request form. There Are Many Ways to Prove Military Service. The Military.com site may not contain details about a service member if they have chosen not to make their information publicly available through the site. And he is the one who just happened to find her while he was looking around and decided she’s going to be his future wife. This is critical because the sheer number of people who serve in the United States military means that hundreds of similar names are in the archive system. VetConnect is Google's way of helping veterans … Once you have determined that an individual served in the military, there are a variety of military records which can help to document their service, and provide useful information about your military … And what if you don't know how to get in touch with your fellow unit members? We live in a world where trust is not as easily granted. It takes 62 years after a military discharge before a vet's service records join the National Archives and become available to the public. Lenders and those who operate businesses that work with members of the military need to know who is on active duty in order to stay compliant with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. How to verify military service. For this reason checking a DD-214 is usually not your best option for doing a free military background check. For starters, unless you know the social security number AND / OR the birth date of the person whose military status you’re trying to verify, the search won’t work. An alternative to filling out and mailing a form SF-180 is to simply write a letter of request to the NPRC. It reports that peak calling time occur between 10 am and 3 pm CST, Monday-Friday. The addresses are listed below. Federal agencies are required by law to disclose any information that is requested by U.S. citizens (or non U.S. citizens) under the FOIA, unless it falls under one of nine exemptions. It’s really easy to do, and takes less than a minute. Short answer, yes AND no. If they are lying about military service they probably have law violations; also credit check. How To Find A Person's Military Record . How To Determine Veteran Status . All of these options are discussed in thorough detail above. The Member Copy 4, or “long” version of a DD-214 contains far more information that details the type of service as well as reason for separation. After all, if they are active duty, they may not be able to appear in court due to their obligations, whether they are deployed or not. Public records availability is still supported through pieces of legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act. When the base operator comes on the line, ask to be connected to the … I would like to get a copy of his service records. How can you find out if someone is lying about their military service? Determine the Custodian of Record Select the soldier’s service branch in Column 1 of the first table on page 3 of SF-180, choosing from Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard. My understanding is, to qualify for housing you must have a DD Form 214 and honorably discharged. How To Check If Someone Was In The Military. Military.com searches over 20 million military records and lets you filter by service, age, school, state, employer, military job code, and more. Do an online search for military records to find applicable websites. It is important to note that the FOIA does not require agencies to create new records for a request, conduct extra research regarding the inquiry, analyze data, or answer specific questions you have. To verify a person’s military status, please Register or Login, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service. No military records were found. It finds the service, status, paygrade, and state of the person. Step 2:  Submit for a Single or Multiple record request. Here’s a snapshot of what the report looks like: As you can see, all it shows is the Active duty start and end dates for the individual, and the military branch they served in. 1 Determine the full name Determine the full name of the person you are seeking. How Can I Verify Someone’s Military Status? We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Attn FOIA Officer When you work with SCRACVS, you don’t need a Social Security number. Is there a free military background check available online? You may include in your request letter how much you are willing to pay in fees, if anything. What branches of military are covered by SCRA. SCRACVS is quick and thorough. She’s “next of kin” though, so we’ll use the military archives (per the link above), and hope his records weren’t destroyed in the fire. Verify Military Employment To confirm someone is currently serving in the United States Air Force, use the Defense Manpower Data Center's Military Verification Service. The best way is to provide a DD-214 to the employer. In order to begin a search, create a new account and sign up for a subscription. The official database of Medal of Honor recipients is available at: http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-archive.php. The Department of Defense Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) website provides information relating to active duty active duty status for military members.. These files can include the Report of Separation (DD Form 214) and show a veteran’s service … The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is located in St. Louis, Missouri. However, as of recent, they now require you to create an account to run any type of search. I cannot prove my TDY flights unless I can find someone that happened to be on the same flight 50 years ago and remembered me enough to validate me. If you’re looking for the casualties of a specific war or want to find out if a specific person served in the military, you can likely find this information online. For this reason it is sometimes necessary to verify someone is in fact in active-duty, or served in the U.S. Military in the past. Thanks to the 2005 Stolen Valor Act, it has become a federal offense to wear military medals or a military uniform as a fashion statement (or even to make false claim to the right to wear them). The good news about online military background check services is that they provide very detailed, quick, and accurate information. Alecia Bolling – FOIA Contact I have been talking to veterans about a few particular people that were allowed to live in the community. Click on the link that that says "locate someone" on the homepage. And that’s just the start. Washington, DC 20330-1000, If you would like to email your request, send to the following email address: usaf.pentagon.saf-cio-a6.mbx.af-foia@mail.mil. The federal government keeps a fairly tight hold on military service records. See our advertising policy here. Below is a simple step-by-step process for obtaining a valid FOIA request: There is no official government form that you need to fill out to make a FOIA request. For example, you can access the military records of anyone who served 62 years or more ago. We provide fast results — usually in 24 hours. If you’re an American citizen that would like to search a public records database, you have that right. St. Louis, Missouri Branch of Service they were in (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard) Military unit names/location (4th Infantry Division or the USS FDR) Dates the person served in the military… All military records are kept at the National Personnel Records Center (or NPRC), which is located in St. Louis, Missouri. To contact the base locator, call long distance information, and ask them to connect you to the base operator for the military base where the member is stationed. You may search the full archive or narrow down a search based on categories like recently added, living recipients, recently departed, or double recipients. I’ve presented both options below for each branch of the military: JoAnne Collins – FOIA Contact Try to include as much of the following info as possible: Then, you need to sign and date the letter. Look for military records. You may request additional documentation by contacting the National Archives. The question of how to verify active duty military status comes up quite a bit. The mailing address for written request letters or form SF-180 is: National Personnel Records Center You should get something like “36th Rescue Flight”). The U.S. Military only provides one copy of this form, and offers no replacement copies. Alexandria, VA 22315-3905, Email your request to the following: usarmy.belvoir.hqda-oaa-aha.mbx.rmda-foia@mail.mil, Robin Patterson – FOIA Contact For others, they may need more detailed information like what the person actually did in the military, what schools they attended, awards, etc. When you next find it convenient, start talking about it, ask him to tell you some stories, old military guys like to tell tales of training, it was a fun time usually. Washington, DC 20350-3000, Email your request to the following address: hqmcfoia@usmc.mil, Commandant (CG-611) However, it does take some time to do a military lookup by name which makes FOIA requests not the fastest means for proof of military service online. No, unfortunately there are no free military background check services. So you need to decide if finding proof of military service online is that important to you or not. Until that time, a military record is released only on a "need-to-know" basis. 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