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Public military records archives.

A military public record contains all data regarding someone's military past. Military public records are governed by The National Archives Building and by The National Personnel Records Center.

Public military service records maintained by The National Archives Building include records of volunteer enlisted men and officers (1775 - 1902), Regular Army enlisted personnel (1789 - 1912) and regular army officers (1789 -1917), US Navy enlisted personnel (1798-1885) and enlisted officers (1798-1902), US Marine Corps personnel (1798-1904) and officers (1798-1895), public records of people servred in the US Coast Guard (1791-1919).

The National Personnel Records Center holds records of US Army officers separated after 1917 and personnel separated after 1912; US Air Force records of officers and personnel separated 1947; US Navy officers separated after 1902 and personnel separated after 1885; US Marine Corps officers separated after 1895 and enlisted personnel separated after 1904 and US Coast Guard records of officers separated after 1928 and enlisted personnel separated after 1914.

How to obtain a copy of a public military record?

If you need to get a copy of any public military records, first you need to figure out which type it is. This will let you address your request to the correct institution. Requests are made in writing by filling in a standard form 180. The form must be completed as fully as possible because the amount of information provided can greatly influence the time you will wait for the copies to be sent to you.

Free public military records can also be obtained online. Some of the leading public record databases offer full military record search.