At some point in your life, you have probably met someone who told you lots of
stories about what he did in the military. Since we live in a world where
bestowing trust on someone is quite challenging, you wish it were possible to
verify the person's military status before believing in his stories.
Fortunately,
finding someone’s military status is not a vicious cycle.
You
probably know that you can use SCRA Military Service Verification
to verify military service, right? But contrary to popular belief, this is not
the only way you can check whether someone is genuine about his involvement
with the armed forces. Below are other useful methods you can try;
Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) Request
FOIA
is one of the easiest and most accurate ways to check one's military status.
Just
like any other piece of government information, public military records are
available for everyone's perusal.
However,
there are some bits of information about the military that are not available to
the public. This protects against exposure to counterintelligence, foreign
intelligence, and terrorism, which are rampant in today’s world.
If
all you want is to verify if someone has served in the military, follow the
following steps to lodge your request;
· Fill out an FOIA request letter.
· Email/snail mail your request to the appropriate
agency
· The U.S. military will process your request and
determine what information (if any) to disclose.
SIMPLE!
Search the Personnel Records
Center
Another
way you can use to access someone's military records is to search the National
Personal Records center situated in St. Louis, Missouri. In case you are
located miles away and cannot go to this center in person, you can make your
request online.
The repository is characterized by loads of military personnel health and medical
records and information about veterans who died in service as early as the 20th
century.
Remember,
just like the SCRA Military Service Verification; you will need to lodge a
request to the National Personnel Records Center to get information about your
person(s) of interest.
Request to see his/her military
I.D. card or DD-214
The
D.D. Form 214, popularly known as DD-214 is a certificate that shows discharge
from active duty.
The document is given to everyone in the U.S. military upon discharge, retire, or
separation from the armed forces.
In the case, you are looking to authenticate whether someone has served in the
military, this form can act as indisputable proof.
However,
DD-214 forms can be doctored; thus, they are not ideal for a thorough military
background check.
For
further authentication, ask the individual to show you a military I.D. if he
claims to be active in service, or a veteran I.D. card if he is retired.
Do an online military background
check service.
Just
like SCRA Military Service Verification, an online military background check is
another way to get detailed and accurate information about someone who claims
to be in the military. Nonetheless, remember you may need to part with a few
bucks to enjoy this convenience.
Military
background checks provide instant results about the individual you are
searching for, and you can determine their legitimacy in an instant.
Conclusion
Whether
you are going to hire someone who says he is in the military, or you want to
verify if a veteran's stories are true, there are a host of ways you can use to
achieve your goals. Some take days or weeks, while others, such as online
background checks, take seconds or minutes, but they cost money.
Regardless
of the method you choose, remember that it is critical to check anyone's
military status before you can trust them. Remember, we live in a world of
phonies, scam artists, and cybercriminals. It’s not uncommon for these elements
of society to use the military's name to achieve their malevolent goals.