How to Get A Copy of Military Service Records

Did you lose your military service records? Perhaps you need information to help someone get a loan or retirement benefits. Or maybe you just want to know more about the parent you didn’t get to know – either way, this article will tell you how to get invaluable information and how to replace missing military service records.

Send a letter to the National Personnel Records Center and request the military service records you want. If you are the next of kin, you probably will not need a lawyer to get military service records. Simply address a letter to “the National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132” requesting the service records you want. Your letter must include specific information, such as first, middle and last name of the person, social security number, date of birth, and branch and dates of service and places where active duty occurred. For completeness, you should file Form DD-214 – Certificate of Separation from Active Duty. The form can be retrieved or completed on the National Archives website. Or fax it.

Visit the National Archives in person. You can make an appointment to visit the National Archives and conduct onsite research for the records personally. Facility space is limited so you are urged to contact the appropriate authorities and make an appointment. Also, if you are not researching a next of kin, additional forms maybe required. Check out the website for more information.

contact your State or County Veterans Administration office. Depending on the information you need, your local VA office might be able to assist you. At a minimum, obtain the SF-180 form or information on how to get the records you need.

If you are busy, then hire an independent researcher. Too busy to do research yourself? Hire a specialist. There are several people who conduct records searches for a modest fee. These people are a great investment if conducting genealogical research.

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78 killed in Indonesian military plane crash

An Indonesian military transport plane carrying soldiers and their families crashed into homes and erupted in flame on Wednesday, killing at least 78 people, the air force spokesman said.

Television footage showed the burning wreckage of the Hercules scattered in rice paddies in Magetan, East Java, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Yogyakarta.

"The latest data that I have received is there have been 78 people killed in the accident... This number can rise because the evacuation process is still going on," air force spokesman Bambang Sulistio told AFP.

The plane was carrying 11 crew and 98 passengers including soldiers and their families, among them 10 children, on a flight to the eastern province of Papua, military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said.

Witnesses said the plane smashed into houses before erupting in a ball of flame as it rolled into a paddy field.

"The plane hit some houses, bounced, hit the ground and then caught fire," one witness told Metro TV.

The plane's massive tail section could be seen resting upside down and badly damaged in the green rice field, but the rest of the fuselage had burned down to its metal frame.

Burning wreckage was scattered over a large area and soldiers were helping pull bodies from the wreckage and the thick mud of the paddy.

The crash occurred as the plane was preparing to land at nearby Iswahyudi military airbase on its way to Papua.

It is the second accident involving an Indonesian air force Hercules in two weeks, after one overshot the runway of Wamena airport in Papua on May 10. One person was reportedly injured in that incident.

In response to the Wamena accident, the air force said it would check its Hercules fleet, which is being upgraded with airframe and engine capability improvements.

Early last month, 24 military personnel died when their Fokker 27 training aircraft careered into a hangar and burst into flames at an air base in West Java.

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic nation and relies heavily on air travel, but accidents are common and its commercial airlines are banned from flying in European Union airspace for safety reasons.

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Gays in the military

As a U.S. Navy Veteran from the early 1990's who is neither gay nor bisexual, and I remember that many of my fellow sailors were gay or lesbian. I am proud to know and have known those people. Gay, Straight, Bisexual, Homosexual, and Heterosexual, regardless of sexual orientation all military personnel whether officer or enlisted are held to the same high standards of good order and discipline as heterosexual sailors. Homosexual men and women sailors are no more allowed to have sex on duty, on board ship, or on base than their heterosexual counterparts. In fact, when there was a report or rumor of sexual activity at a base or on board a ship, it was always between heterosexuals, not homosexuals. When there was sexual harassment it was usually heterosexuals doing the harassing either men against women (remember Tailhook) or heterosexual against homosexual. Military Policy forbids investigating homosexuals who do not volunteer their sexual orientation or who are not caught in homosexual acts; this is the part of the policy that says, "Don't ask; don’t tell; don’t investigate." All too often such investigations take place; they are illegal, and they are witch hunts. It is time to finally change military policy to reflect true Justice. We need to stop subjecting our military to innuendo and witch hunts. It is time that the U.S. Military, which represents the best of the U.S. to the world, catches up with the rest of the nation and the world and stops discriminating against its own... both in the military, here at home, and overseas. I do not think that this has changed since I was in the Navy. The mere fact of someone being homosexual has no impact on their behavior. Whether or not someone engages in forbidden behavior is independent of sexual orientation. To discriminate against someone or some group of people simply because you are uncomfortable with who they are is as abhorrent as the Nazis discrimination against the Jews.

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AH-64 Apache

The article below discusses the AH-64 Apache combat helicopter.

The AH-64 Apache

F-22 Raptor

The article below discusses the mighty F-22 Raptor and how the stealth fighter/bomber will likely be the mainstay of the United States Air Force for years to come.

F-22 Raptor Article