How Does Credit Human Verify Military Service

Armed services benefits are incredibly valuable. They are well deserved and hard earned. Simply veterans must show military service before they are eligible for the various benefits programs. These requirements are in place to protect those who accept earned these benefits, and prevent others from taking these express resources from those who take earned them.

The purpose of this article is to testify veterans, staff members and volunteers at veterans organizations, and others how to verify a veteran'due south military service to assistance them obtain the benefits they have earned.

How to Prove Military Service

How to Tell if Someone Served in the Military machine

I recently received the post-obit question from a reader who works as a volunteer at a Veterans organisation:

I work equally a volunteer for homeless veterans. This is a very nice flat facility located near the VA. I have been talking to veterans near a few particular people that were immune to alive in the customs. My understanding is, to authorize for housing you must accept a DD Form 214 and honorably discharged. Some felonies are waived. However, this individual has simply a letter from a comrade. The resident discovered that the person had enlisted with faux information, and didn't disclose a felony tape. The service dismissed this member only ii days into basic preparation.

The member living among veterans explains their disability to employ for the DD 214 considering their service was equally a Reservist. I haven't heard of this. My suspicion is the veterans living in this facility have discovered a fraudulent military person. I have further concerns near this. The resident has appeared on television receiver documentaries and taken several donations from the public, all under the umbrella of homeless veterans. Moreover, he is living in a federally subsidized house.

In summary, my questions are:

How can you find out if someone is lying almost their military service?
What type of record would a Reservist take?
Why wouldn't the veteran be able to obtain their service DD Form 214 or any other tape?

There Are Many Ways to Prove Military Service

The situation in a higher place is tricky, and sometimes there are no clear cut answers. But I'll practise my all-time to answer this reader's questions and give a few more means veterans and others tin verify military service. What follows are different official and unofficial ways to prove armed forces service. Each government or veterans organization should have a list of acceptable forms or proof of service requirements.

1. How to Prove Military Service – Belch Paperwork

Start off, it'due south tough to know if someone is lying. And our goal here isn't to show someone is lying. Our goal is to help veterans show their service. Every active duty fellow member is issued a DD Grade 214 when they separate from the military machine (a DD Course 215 is a corrected version of a DD Form 214, and should besides exist accustomed as a valid record of service). These forms are supposed to exist given to the veteran when they dissever, but I've heard from multiple veterans that they were not issued a DD Form 214 on the day they separated, and later received information technology in the mail. So it's possible these forms were mailed out shortly after the member separated.

It'southward common for these forms to go lost or damaged, and this is not something that many homeless veterans would accept on their person at all times. Additionally, at that place are times when a service member may not accept a DD Form 214, which nosotros will encompass later in this article.

These instructions show how to get a replacement DD Form 214.

It may be possible for the veteran to become aid obtaining this document from someone at your arrangement, at the VA, or some other veterans arrangement.

2. Type of Service Records for Reservists

Many Reservists are issued a DD Class 256, when they separate from the armed services. Veterans who served in the National Guard or Air National Guard may have a form NGB Form 22, or NGB Course 22-a (corrected version). Quondam National Guard members may also have other forms of proof of service, such every bit a belch paperwork from their state. Simply the NGB Form 22 is the mostly accepted form for proof of service.

iii. How to Get Copies of Military Records

The National Archives maintains virtually, just not all, war machine records. These military machine records should be available through a war machine records asking. This is the outset place to look for war machine service records, unless the individual serve prior to WWI, or was recently separated from the military.

Most military records requests are limited to the member or next of kin. However, members of the general public can often request proof of military service through the Liberty of Data Deed. This will requite the requester admission to limited armed services service records, but non access to the entire information file. That said, the records available to the general public volition include name, rank, branch of service, dates of service, and some more info – certainly enough to prove military service.

Please notation: non all war machine records are maintained in the National Archives. Very one-time and very recent records may not exist in the Archives. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of records were destroyed in the Fire of 1973 (more than on both of these situations later in the article).

Records That Won't Be Found in the National Archives

Not all military machine service records are constitute in the National Archives.

Extremely Old and Very Recent Records May Not Be in the Athenaeum

Service records from those who served prior to WWI may not exist found in the National Archives. Those records are on file at the National Archives and Records Administration, Sometime Armed services and Ceremonious Records Branch (NWCTB), Washington, DC. This information is helpful for anyone doing research, genealogical studies, tracing family unit roots, or other needs.

Records for service members who recently separated or retired may not nevertheless have been transferred to the National Archives. These records are commonly maintained from five-x years at the personnel or homo resources division for each respective branch of service earlier being sent for permanent storage at the National Archives:

Air Force – Air Force Personnel Center
Army – Human Resources Command
Marines and Navy – BUPERS
National Baby-sit Member (if never activated) – State Adjutant Full general Office where the member served

Here is a list of records that may not be held at the National Athenaeum, and a list of places where other records are maintained.

War machine Records Destroyed in the National Archives Fire of 1973

In that location was a major fire at the Athenaeum in 1973 that permanently destroyed military machine records for hundreds of thousands of veterans. Most of the afflicted records were limited to Ground forces and Air Force records.

Affected Ground forces Records:

Personnel discharged Nov 1, 1912 to Jan i, 1960
Estimated loss: lxxx% of records

Affected Air Force Records:

Personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January ane, 1964
(with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.)
Estimated loss: 75% of records

Many of the service records were likewise severely damaged. So it's possible the veterans' records may no longer exist in their entirety. Everything afterward those dates should notwithstanding be in the National Archives, unless they are still existence maintained by the respective branch of service. Here is more information most the National Archives Fire:

National Archives Fire Page.
Recovery efforts to reconstruct damaged records.

How to Prove Military Service if Your Records Were Destroyed in the National Archives Fire of 1973

It can exist very difficult to prove military service if your records were destroyed in the National Archives Burn down of 1973. Only it may not be impossible. Some people may be able to prove their military service from payroll or tax records, copies of old military service documents, orders, copies of military awards or decorations, photos in compatible, written statements from those they served with, paper clippings, old military machine records from their previous base of operations, unit, or other arrangement, old state records if they served in the National Baby-sit, or through other means.

Non all of these methods would apply to anybody, and non all of them are piece of cake or possible to obtain. I don't have further tips for proving your military service if your records were damaged or destroyed. I suggest contacting the National Archives to see if they have other methods or ideas that may prove fruitful to your cause.

Boosted Means to Bear witness Military Service

The DD Form 214, 215, 256, NGB Grade 22 and like forms are official proof of service documents. These are the forms ordinarily required for applying for veterans benefits through the Section of Veterans Diplomacy and other official benefits. For example, you cannot use for the GI Bill, VA Loan Certificate of Eligibility, VA health care, veterans burying benefits, or other major military veterans benefits without one of these forms.

But veterans shouldn't have to whip out 1 of these official forms anytime they are asked to prove military service. There are other ways veterans can prove they served, and in many cases, a less formal method should be sufficient.

Here are a few common methods veterans can use to verify war machine service:

Military machine ID Card (active duty, National Baby-sit, Reserves, IRR, or retiree). Gear up an appointment to replace your armed services ID menu at a RAPIDS ID location.
VA Issued ID Card for Health Intendance
Veterans ID Card (starting Nov. 2017)
Veterans Designation on Drivers License or State Veterans ID Card (nigh all states now offer this)
Veterans Group Membership Card (VFW, American Legion, DAV, etc.)

All of the above crave official forms in order to be issued the ID bill of fare, with the exception of the Veterans Group Membership cards. Some of these organizations do crave official proof of service, such as a DD Form 214 or similar form. But not all of these groups do.

Whether or non an bureau should have 1 of the to a higher place forms of ID should exist made on a case past case situation. For example, official VA benefits require a DD Form 214 or equivalent. In that location ordinarily aren't exceptions to this rule. This also applies to many official land or federal veterans benefits. Only the to a higher place methods should be sufficient to prove military service for less formal occasions, such as a armed services disbelieve, lodge membership, etc.

Protecting Information on In Military Records

Nosotros've covered a lot of ground here. At present it's important to protect our veterans. Military records often include sensitive personal information. For example, the DD Form 214 lists the veteran's Appointment of Nativity, SSN, and other information that tin can be used for identity theft or other reasons. Veterans and others should take great care safeguarding this information. This is especially of import for organizations that keep copies of veterans records for administrative needs.

Please make sure these forms are maintained under lock and primal, encrypting it when stored digitally, or redacting some information not necessary for your specific organizational needs.

Ryan Guina is The Military Wallet'south founder. He is a writer, small business organisation owner, and entrepreneur. He served over six years on active duty in the USAF and is a electric current member of the Illinois Air National Guard.

Ryan started The War machine Wallet in 2007 after separating from active duty military machine service and has been writing about financial, minor business, and military benefits topics since so. He also writes about personal finance and investing at Cash Money Life.

Ryan uses Personal Capital to track and manage his finances. Personal Capital is a free software plan that allows him to track his internet worth, balance his investment portfolio, rails his income and expenses, and much more. You lot can open a free Personal Capital account here.

Featured In: Ryan's writing has been featured in the post-obit publications: Forbes, Military.com, US News & World Written report, Yahoo Finance, Reserve & National Guard Magazine (print and online editions), Armed forces Influencer Magazine, Cash Money Life, The Military machine Guide, USAA, Go Banking Rates, and many other publications.