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Whenever an individual’s service record is checked
out, you must make sure a check-out card such as the
one shown in figure 5-29 is completed. The requirement
for completing this card is to make sure you know at all
times the whereabouts
of this member’s service record.
This card also serves as a tickler
system.
Enlisted service records should be allowed to be out
of the personnel office for no more than 5 working days.
This guideline
should
be followed
unless
there
are
legitimate
reasons for allowing
the records to be out of
the office for a longer
period
of time. Such reasons
could include
legal proceedings,
completion
of officer
accession
applications
by
individuals,
and
the
considerable distance between a command that has the
records
and the PERSUPPDET
that
supports
that
command.
When service records are due back in the personnel
office and the individuals
who checked them out have
failed to return them, you should contact these persons
immediately
to inquire
about the records. If you are
unable
to achieve
results,
let your
supervisor
or
personnel officer know about it.
To restrict access to service records, your command
should require
different
commands or departments
to
submit a list of personnel authorized to check out service
records. This way there is no confusion as to who can
check them out. The list
should
contain
the rates,
names, and SSNs of primary
and alternate
individuals
who can check them out. Another
way of controlling
service records is by maintaining
a check-out log that
can be used
only
by the
personnel
specifically
authorized
to checkout these records.
Regardless of the method you use at your command,
you must make sure that as the service records are
returned,
the names of the individuals
who checked
them out are deleted from the log, the card, or whatever
other tickler system your command may use. This is to
make sure you maintain
an effective
service record
check-out/check-in
system.
Your
office should
periodically
account
for all
service records. One way to verify the accountability
of
the service records is to have a current
and up-to-date
alphabetical
listing of all the personnel assigned to your
command
(or
the
commands
served
by
your
PERSUPPDET)
and verify
all the service
records
against this listing.
You can also use the alphabetical
section of the EDVR if no other alphabetical
listing
exists.
We cannot
overstress
the
importance
of
maintaining
proper accountability
of service records
and protecting the information
that these service records
contain. You cannot divulge
any information
from an
individual’s
service
record.
The
information
in
a
member’s service record is only for that member, the
responsible
PN, and authorized
individuals
to know.
Any infractions
insecurity
and accountability
involving
any
member’s service
record
should
be reported
immediately.
TRACING
MISSING
SERVICE
RECORDS
It is not unusual to find out that a service record is
missing
at a critical
time when the service record is
really needed. This is an unfortunate
fact. However, in
spite
of review,
verification,
and
accountability
procedures, and the best efforts of the personnel office,
service records can still get lost.
All service records for which
your
command
is
responsible must be accounted for at all times. You must
be able to have the records returned
to the personnel
office immediately
when there is an urgent
need to
obtain
information.
Previously,
you read about the
service record check-out card system and how you can
contact the person who checked out the service record
as soon as the record is due back. You also read about
the importance in maintaining
a tickler system or file to
determine
the actual location
of checked-out
service
records.
If you maintain
this tickler
system or file
accurately, you should not encounter any difficulties
in
retrieving
service records from those individuals
who
checked them out.
What happens when service records are reported
missing
by the individuals
who checked them out?
What do you do in other cases when service records just
seem to disappear
from the service record file? You
know the service records did not just disappear or walk
away.
It is more likely
there
is a lack of control
somewhere in your check-out
system. If you have an
effective
check-out/check-in
system,
the chances of
misplacing
service records or not being able to account
for them will be substantially
diminished but not totally
eliminated.
What happens if you have exhausted
all efforts in
locating a field service record, and you are still unable
to find it? In this case, the only available
copy of the
service record is in microfiche
form. The only thing
you can do is to send a request
for field
record
reconstruction
to CHNAVPERS
(PERS
3 13C 1).
5-52
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