My dad was Air Force Reserve in the 60's and 70's.  He never deployed to Vietnam but his unit was alerted a couple of times.  He got out in 72 or 74 I think but he doesn't have a DD214.  He's contacted St Louis and they said they don't have one for him either.  He has some paperwork from his service but not a DD214.  Did the Air Force issue 214's to AFR personnel when they were discharged upon completion of service?  He didn't retire; just ETS'd.  If they did, how can he get another copy?  Already tried the county courthouse and they don't have a copy either.

Only Veterans receive DD214s.  If your Dad never deployed, and was never on active duty for more than 90 days, he may not have a DD 214.  The county courthouse would only have a copy if your father had filed it with them.

I got one when I got back from AIT but I'm Army.  I was Army Guard at the time and was not on active duty more than 90 days.

^^   Basic Training and AIT are considered active duty.  


To be considered a Veteran by VA you have to have 2 years Active Duty status or 6 years Reserve/Guard time.

Or, oddly enough, 45 days of activation time for an active duty mission.  

Also you need a member 4 copy of your DD214 to get benefits - it does not matter if you have an honorable discharge.  The VA wants the DD214 member 4 - I am facing this issue right now getting another VA loan even though I had one in 2008 and I am/was in the system.  When you get back from active duty or deployment - a member 4/6 copy of your DD214 is sent or maybe sent to your home state VA.   Vetrecs in St Louis should have most of your dad's personal 201 file records - possible DD214, but it depends on how good the UA was in transferring records to the national archives.  Keep copies of everything and depending on what branch you serve - request your records to see what is on file - you may be surprised what is and is not documented of one's service record.  Also - one state's VA system cannot make requests from other state's VA branches - you have to file paperwork and mail / fax it in most of the time for it to get mailed to you.

IM Sent