What do you do when the Military had incorrect or no record of your service? I have been asked this multiple times.

The military uses the DD-314 as the official record of military service. Hopefully you have a copy. If there needs to be a correction done, you must submit to the branch human resource agency.

I don't remember the specifics ( i had to get my records caught up after a huge fire in St. Louis destroyed many ) But I'd talk to my unit clerk first and they should have a better idea then pvt. Joe Snuffy. I think it eill lead you to the records department of the Army in St. Louis however.

A big consequence is the effect on retired pay! The PAC OIC messed up my DD-214 upon retirement to the point where he had me "entering the Army" the same day as my commission from OCS! Really! He told me, "Don't worry, you can fix it with a DD-215!" How do you erase enlistment date? Basic training? etc.

I actually had this happen. Luckily I have two briefcases of all my records (medical, dental, enlistment, etc) so I just made an appointment at my nearest personel office and took COPIES of all my paperwork with me to it. It took awhile but they eventually got all my info correct.

Might be too late for some but copies, copies and more copies. Plus scan, save on different medias,even the cloud. I had to flip my house upside down to find my lone copy of my first DD-214. Second go around I made a 100 copies, sent some to my sister, one in the bank. Now I store copies everywhere, even my phone. Sending in an application to correct will help, but if they have zero record of your service, try DFAS or maybe some old buddies to vouch. Hell, pictures come in handy as well (cough)...VA. I told my guys to not burn bridges or paperwork when they sep'd, you never know what may pop up.

If a pay check was received, then there exists a record. Of anything, that you served from this day to this day and where. Every LES has an identifier which says where the payee is located.....a payroll version of a units DODDAC.

You would need to have copies or the originals of your enlistment papers.

my records were lost in the seventies, we had to reconstruct them. Its a good thing I have a good memory

Well for starter I would have a hard copy of everything before it gets out into Iperms or get submitted to any unit ranging from your contracts to 1059s, 2147s 214s etc.

Had the same problem. A lot of my records also burned in the fire. Most of what I had to submit was my medical records, which was about the only thing I had kept copies of. I ran into a major roadblock when it came to the rest of my records, mostly deployment records, awards, and promotions. I wish that I had made copies of everything, but unfortunately I did not.