army personnel records

To obtain a copy of his service file, I would recommend filling out and submitting an SF-180. You can obtain information on doing so here: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records#toc-military-personnel.Military personnel records for anyone discharged before 1956 are public records so are readily available by following the instructions in the link above.

If he was in the United States armed forces, the best place to start would be the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Be warned, however, if he served in the Army before 1959 (or the Army Reserve prior to 1964) the record was most likely burned in a major fire that occurred in the 1970s.The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records CenterIn those cases of fire destroyed records, its best to mail in copies to NPRC of all official documents that family has in their possession about military service. This way, the staff at NPRC can try and reconstruct a service file using alternate records and sources from the Department of Veterans Affairs.Standard Form 180 (widely available on the Internet) is also a good thing to fill out completely when you contact NPRC. It lists all critical information they need to get started.https://www.archives.gov/files/r...Since also you are a nephew, and not an immediate family member, there will probably also be a research fee, usually between something like $15 for basic work all the way up to $60 (last I checked) for extensive reconstruction cases with multiple documents.Its a good idea to just go with the flow on that and pay whats asked. Based on personal experience, NPRC has heard it all before from nephews, nieces, cousins, and grandchildren, especially the classic story about how the veteran had no children or that the distant family member is the only one still alive. Unless the requester is an immediate family member, and this can be proven with documentation, NPRC will not waive the fees.

Well, easiest way will be to make your self an ineficient lazy indisciplined and useless member of your unit and then apply for voluntary discharge , your commanding officer will be too happy to sanction your discharge. Jokes apart, most armies including Indian Army allow voluntary discharge on genuine grounds like family problems , illnes and even change of profession . There are numerous examples of armed forces personnel who have been granted premature discharge .Indian army does not like to retain unwilling and demotivated personnel, or come in the way of personnel with talent in some other field like sports persons singers etc . In my unit a soldier distinguished himself as a Singer in Indian idol competition and now he is a professional Bollywood singer. However if you have been trained in some special skill by the armed forces or have attended some technical course in the armed forces recently, then there will be unwilling ness to allow premature discharge . you may be asked to pay the cost of your training to the Govt before you are discharged . Under the Indian law , if a member of the Indian armed forces wants to stand for parliamentary or state assembly elections then he has the right to immidiate discharge from armed forces and provided you provide evidence of your intention , you have to be allowed to go . There are large number MPs MLAs and Ministers in India who have taken early discharge from armed forces. To summerise if you have a genuine ground your application on plain paper to your commanding officer is likely to be accepted unless you are a specially skilled indispensible person or your unit is engaged in operation or any other important activity at that timeIndian armed forces are a voluntary force and generally do not like to retain unwilling demotivated persons ..

It’s great that you asked. The answer is NO. Also, whatever you are doing with this person, STOP!Bloody hell, how many of these “I need your money to see you sweetheart” scammers are there? It’s probably that or someone totally misunderstood something.All military paperwork is free! However, whether their commander or other sort of boss will let them return or not depends on the nature of duty, deployment terms, and other conditions. They can’t just leave on a whim, that would be desertion and it’s (sorry I don’t know how it works in America) probably punishable by firing (as in termination of job) or FIRING (as in execution)!!!Soldiers are generally paid enough to fly commercial back to home country.Do not give these people any money or any contact information! If you pay him, you’ll probably get a receipt from Nigeria and nothing else.

I have some remote knowledge about how fake soldiers (in general) operate.Basic KnowledgeThey should know basic concepts of being in the military, like what their identification cards and basic paperwork are called. They should also know what unit they’re in, what their MOS is officially called, and where they got their training.Try asking them “half-truths” and see how they respond. “Did you go to Fort Benning, California?”If they are a liar: They’ll just say yes (even after you affirm “Fort Benning in CALIFORNIA?”), or errs to the half-truth in its entirety.If they are not a liar: They’ll say no, or indicate where they come from, and optionally say “But isn’t Fort Benning in Georgia?”It’s been 10 years and I can still recite my Thai ROTC number.Dress and DemeanorUnlike Thai soldiers, quite a lot of US Soldiers do not wear uniforms off-base (or at least won’t wander too far out in uniform), and US Marines are not supposed to do so at all.While dressed, military members regardless of nation or branch are required to maintain their “military look.” That means no slouching or being “wrong” in their uniforms.Also, they don’t dress up all the time. While commissioned officers are authorized to wear uniforms as they see fit, those with dignity and integrity do so only when required by duty or when socially appropriate.There will also be fake soldiers who don’t know their medals, and wear either medals that are too old for them, too many medals that cannot be earned during the so small years of their fake careers, or medal choices that conflict, like fake marines wearing the Army rainbow. If you know just a bit which medals belong to which branch, and their rough order, you will know quickly if someone is properly dressed.Note that it’s legal (in the US) for someone to wear a coat or jacket of a Soldier, as long as he’s not claiming to be one.BraggartsIf their story is too glorious to be true, it probably is. 90% soldiers do not see combat, let alone those “Medal of Honor” or “Call of Duty” level of action.A lot of military work involves sitting on the dirt or something meaningless and waiting for something equally meaningless to happen.And if someone can call military food delicious, they’re either really lucky, don’t have a tongue, fake, already lost all purpose in life and finds anything enjoyable, or just had … a worse school food (like me). But at least they should be able to explain how … “dining” is like in the Army. It’s one of the things they do routinely but of course fakers don’t understand.But be warned: you need to be able to discriminate between “too much action it’s fake” and “too damn weird this cannot be faked or imagined by a human who hasn’t actually experienced it” stories.As far as I know, both US and Thai Marines have stories that are either 0 or 100: totally boring or totally unbelievable.Discounts and BenefitsAs far as I understand, military members verify themselves for military discounts by their cards, not uniform. It’s a red flag if someone tries to use only their uniform to get a discount or other benefits from you.Also, real US Soldiers are paid well and have allowances to cover life necessities. If they are wandering around asking for money, they’re either fake or fucked up their lives. Both cases do not warrant help from you.E-MailUS military members have .mil email addresses. Ask them to mail you from their military accounts.Also check e-mail headers (use “show original” or “show source” or “see full header” functions in your email apps) to see that the emails actually originate from a US military source. E-mail addresses can be faked. Most of the time, this kind of fakery is detected by Gmail and other e-mail systems, but better safe than sorry.RecordsUnless you have a reason to verify someone’s records, the US authorities probably won’t give them up.However, if you are a next of kin (your grandfather served in WWII and you need his papers for something), or you are HR looking to verify an applicant, you might be able to request information. I don’t know much about how America works in this case.