If a personnel record does not contain pertinent documents such as enlistment contract, discharge data, duty stations, or the record does not possess sufficient data to answer an inquiry, consider the record incomplete.
Incomplete records often have a complete record of one term of service, but no document relating to a veteran's other term of service. Check for an additional record in the NPRC Registry System under an alternate number (e.g., try the SSAN if the record in hand was identified under the Service Number. An alphabetical probe may reveal a record filed under an incorrect SSAN or Service Number very similar to the correct one.
A missing separation document does not signal an incomplete record if there are other documents sufficient to verify service. Prepare an NA Form 13038. Also, a missing retirement order does not mean the record is incomplete. If the retiree insists on a copy of the order, loan and transfer the record to the service department. If the personnel record is actually incomplete, and you cannot answer the inquiry, loan and transfer the record to the service department. Be sure to send the requester a referral card or letter.
If you have a fiche record and it contains no mention that the record is being retired incomplete, and it also contains prior correspondence (inquiries), determine if all fiche are in record. It is possible that a previous correspondence clerk failed to return all the fiche to the jacket.
If so, you can request the master fiche from the appropriate liaison office, if service was in the Navy or Marine Corps. A Navy jacket should contain at minimum a 1E, 2E, and 3E fiche. A Marine Corps jacket should contain at minimum a field fiche, service fiche, and health fiche.
Requests for Army fiche may be submitted to AR-PERSCOM; however, they may be difficult to obtain. Certain Army military documents were permanently saved in PERMS by AR-PERSCOM, starting in the mid 1980's through current records. See your team coach for assistance in requesting a PERMS search.
Contact the Air Force Branch Chief for assistance in obtaining AF fiche from CPR. To locate the AF master fiche, you must have date of discharge and the date the F file was accessioned into the NPRC Registry System. The Air Force retired master microfiche in a haphazard manner, and they are very difficult to search.
If you cannot obtain the master microfiche for Army or Air Force service, loan and transfer the record and the request.
The term "open service record" is defined in two ways.
Records in the Center's custody which pertain to deserters who have never been returned to military control. (See NPRC 1865.98).
This term is also defined as a record which has no indication of a discharge action which would close out the record. This latter definition is found in the Reference Service Agreement between NARA and the U. S. Army. This term has come to be used to define any record in NPRC's custody which has not been closed out.
“Open Service Records” should be loaned and transferred to the service department ONLY if you cannot answer the inquiry with available information. If the requester is an Army or Air Force retiree and the retirement order is missing, provide the date of retirement using available documents. DO NOT loan and transfer unless the requester insists upon a copy of the order.
Source: NPRC 1865.98 and Reference Service Agreement between NARA and the U. S. Army