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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

 

 

 

 

BECOME A SOLDIER/JOIN THE ARMY

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Enlistment into any branch of the U.S. military, by citizens of countries other than the United States is limited to those foreign nationals who are legally residing in the United States and possess a Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services Alien Registration Card (INS Form I-151/551 - commonly known as a "Green Card"). 

Applicants must be between 17 and 35, meet the mental, moral, and physical standards for enlistment and must speak, read and write English fluently. 

The U.S. military branches cannot assist foreign nationals in obtaining admittance into the United States.

Questions concerning immigration to the United States should be asked of the U.S. Embassy.

Only after immigration procedures are completed and an applicant is legally residing in the United States may an application for enlistment be accepted. 

The U.S. Government agency which is responsible for immigration and naturalization is the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services within the Department of Homeland Security. Check out the Military section at: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/
 
Contact the U.S. Military Academy at West Point directly at admissions@usma.edu 

Or visit their website: http://www.usma.edu/admissions/

BENEFITS/ISSUES

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The Information you seek can be found at the following links:
www.militaryrates.com
www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/military-pay-charts.html

 
The following link will provide for you information about contacting your regional TRICARE office by phone:

North-Health Net:(1-877-874-2273)
South-Humana Military:(1-800-444-5445)
West-UnitedHealthcare:(1-877-988-9378)
Overseas-International SOS

Website: http://www.tricare.mil
 
Learn what educational benefits you are eligible for at:  http://www.gibill.va.gov

Or call Education (GI Bill): 1-888-442-4551

 
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a Burial Benefits section on their website at: 
http://www.cem.va.gov/burial_benefits/index.asp

MILITARY RECORDS

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Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents from the National Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC) at the National Archives Center.

Veterans and next of kin may access this application at www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/ 

 

 
Veterans: www.archives.gov/veterans/

Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site.

The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records center's mailroom processing time.

Also, because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized.

Former/retired Army Civilian employees:
Contact the National Personnel Records Center at:
Civilian Records Facility 111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63118-4199 

At minimum, please include the service member's complete name, Social Security number and/or serial number, and the requester's return address. Website is: www.hrc.army.mil/tagd/Human Resource Service Center  
 
In order to get your military service records upgraded/changes, you must contact the Army service Board for Correction of Military Records.

Contact information for board is below:
Army Board of Correction
Crystal Mall 4, Room 220
Arlington, VA 22202-4508
Phone: 703-607-1611
 
Requests for military addresses should be sent to the respective service of the individual whose address is being sought.

Military regulations and the Privacy Act of 1974 do not permit the military departments to provide email addresses, home addresses or telephone numbers of service personnel.

Moreover, regulations do not permit random dissemination of listings of names and addresses of service personnel.

These regulations have been established to protect individual service men and women from commercial exploitation and to respect their right of privacy.Because of the large volume of requests that each service locator receives, please allow four weeks processing time for written requests.

The following information is needed for all requests for locator services:

Give as much identifying information as possible about the person you wish to locate such as full name, rank, last duty assignment/last known military address, service number, and Social Security number.

The locator service is free to immediate family members and government officials.

Other family members, civilian friends, businesses and others must pay $3.50.

The check or money order must be made out to the U.S. Treasury.

It is not refundable.

The United States Army will help you locate individuals on active duty only, not retirees.

The Army World Wide Locator address is:
Commander U.S. Army Enlisted Records & Evaluation Center 
ATTN: Locator 8899 East 56th Street 
Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249-5301
 
Department of State application for consular report of birth abroad of a citizen of the United States of America (PDF): www.state.gov/documents/organization/156216.pdf
 
In order to obtain a replacement medal you will have to contact the following institution at:

National Personnel Records Center 
Attn: Army Reference Branch 
9700 Page Avenue 
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 
Phone (314) 538-4261

You may be charged for the replacement of the medals

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