Who is the best person to speak with when the Army has conflicting Service Records?

2019-03-07T13:18:59-05:00

Hello, Everyone! I am hoping someone can offer some advice...
My husband was in the Army for 2 years (1985-1986) and Ready Reserve for 6 years (1986-1993). We have a Reserve Separation document that indicates that he was Ready Reserve for that time period. However, the Army is now stating that they made him Inactive Ready reserve in 1987 even though he participated in monthly drills. We are trying to buy a house and get a VA loan, but the Army is saying that they have no record of him serving after they made him IRR in 1987. We are unable to get his Reserve Points record to be eligible for the loan because of this. How can they not have these records? Has someone else experienced this?

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Mar 7 at 2019 1:26 PM

2019-03-07T13:26:25-05:00

Google NPRC correcting military records. It talks you through corrections to military records.

Did he have an ADT or Deployment 214 during that period? Gather up drilling reserve records for that period. Pay records? DFAS can produce them but needs time.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 7 at 2019 3:03 PM

2019-03-07T15:03:55-05:00

Fill out the eVetRecs website Java applet for the Natl Personnel Records Ctr (NPRC), of the Natl Archives and Records Admin (NARA), NPRC is in St Louis, area code 314, I can't recall the switchboard phone, just look it up, here isn't much room in the web applet, so you'll likely have to abbreviate a good deal, plus add a cover letter, fax the eVetRecs printout with the cover letter, plus his DD214 of you have a copy to NPRC at the fax number on the printout, don't lose the printout with he filing number, or youre gonna a have to start all over again, don't forget to sigh and date the form, NPRC can't process it unless you do...you should get a letter in a week or two that they got it, also, you can call the switchboard, the operators can look up he filing if you give them the number, though you'll likely need to wait probwby around a week...get all his records, both personnel/admin, as well as med/dental, you need to ask for both explicitly to get both, if you have problems, the NPRC staff are quite helpful, we've spoken with them a good deal for my stuff, and family stuff for my wife's side and mine...you can get their exec ofcs on the phone we've dome that sevl ti!es, your stuff should take about a month or maybe a month and a half or two months, it'll be printed double sided to save papers, run it off at a copy center by hand, number the pages so you keep thwm in order, don't have a copy center do that, do it yourself, or stuff is likely to get mixed up, blank sheets added, etc...then, go to all three Congress ofcs, the local staffs handle such vet/mil casework, not the DC ofcs, they all just do policy...you'll need to fill out the Privacy Act (PA) forms for all three ofcs, they can't help you without them, that's Federal law, they need to be renewed periodically, that's an unavoidable chore, I'm afraid...write a detailed cover Petter, plus speak with them, and/or email them, you can get emails for all Congressional staffs in you're in their district or state...explain the whole thing coherently, have the Congress ofcs send inquiries, and/or male phone calls to the VA Regional Ofc (VARO), NPRC and/or USAR as needed...also, if you havent egistered, for all three VA websites, do, all of them, eBenefits, that needs online remote proofing, there are toll free phones at VA, eBenefits is run by DMDC/DSO/DEERS, there's also the VONAPP site, that's far easier to register for, also, myHealtheVet, the clinical site...the VA hospitals used to be able to do eBenefits Level 2 proofing in person, that stopped a few yrs ago, we did my eBenefits that way, now unless someone's disabled or incompetent to get Congressional or special VA Central Ofc (VACO) help, in Wash, DC, we got such help for my mother in law, who was 92 then, she's about 97 now, you've gotta do the eBenefits setup online, once you've got him at Level 2, you can get a DD214 online as a PDF file for download and/or printout...scan in the NPRC papers you send to NPRC so you don't lose them, also, OK? I reasonably follow your problem, not alp of it, perhaps, however, sufficient to assure you that's the way such things might need to be handled...if need be, you can also always file a DD Form 149 for the Army Board for Corrections of Mil Records (BCMR), though correction board stuff can often take a really, really long time, plus, while you don't absolutely need a lawyer, it obv helps, plus, you'd need to completely document everything six ways from Sunday...that's why I'm saying ask the Congress ofcs, all three...you can also ask the major vet groups, county vet ofcs, as well as law school vet law clinics, though while we've tried using one near us for what we thought was minor stuff, faculty, not the law students, decide about which cases are actually taken...look at http://www.vetadvocates.org, as well, they do VA disability, however, their attorneys and main ofc are often quite useful to ask questions of for nom-VA-disability cases, though that's obv their main focus...call their !ain ofc, also check their search engine for who they have near you, OK? Hope that all is of at!least so!e use, of you'd care!to chat further, I'll try to suggest more, no rush, whenever convenient, I'd be most eager to hear more as well, certainly, OK?

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Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 11 at 2019 11:35 AM

2019-03-11T11:35:18-04:00

I have a file full of the records of my service. It is a shame that many do not get that good advice from the full time support staff. I had a friend that did way over 20 years in the navy Reserve and they denied him a retirement because of a lack of documentation. Such a shame.