About four years ago I submitted a request to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to get copies of all my military service records. I think it took a couple of months but, I don’t really remember. I did it mostly because wanted to know what was in there and have my own copies. A lot of veterans need those records for evidence to help prove their VA claims. But as of the middle of 2021 and off into the foreseeable future, I hope you aren’t one of those veterans that needs your records from the NPRC.
The NPRC is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). When you submit a claim for VA Benefits, if you need more evidence to prove your claim and that evidence is in your service records, you can ask the VA, to pull your records from the NPRC. The VA may also submit a request to the NPRC on its own.
The problem right now, and again into the foreseeable future, is that the NPRC basically shut down when everything else did because of COVID, and as of March 2021, they were still only had 25% of their people. Now, just because the NPRC shut down, doesn’t mean veteran’s stopped and the VA stopped requesting records. A few members of Congress sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense on the subject asking the DOD to help the NARA. That letter noted that as of May 20, 2021, there were over 500,000 delayed requests and a backlog of over 400,000 records that need to be refiled. And further on, that letter states the NPRC is only processing emergency requests and it will likely take two years to resolve the backlog.
This is a total failure. I’m not trying to villainize the individuals who work at the NPRC. What I’m saying is, regardless of the cause, it is an institutional failure for a Veteran to have to wait two years, likely longer, to get information from the NPRC that they need to support their claims. Remember, we’re not talking about two years to get a decision from the VA, that’s two years before the VA has evidence it needs to process the claim. I’m working with a veteran right now in this situation and the VA won’t even give him a C&P exam until they get the NPRC records even though there’s enough evidence as is to justify a C&P exam right now.
What can you do about it? First, know exactly what evidence you need to support your claim and whether you need service records. If you need service records, try to get them from somewhere else if you can. You can try milConnect to see if they have the records you need. The NPRC is trying to help. On their website, they have a table that explains where to go and ask for your service medical records depending on your branch and dates of service. You can also go straight to the military hospital where you were treated and see if your records are there. And you can try to make up for the lack of personnel records with buddy statements. There’s not a perfect solution here, but I hope it helps. As always if you want me to help you with this or any other VA problem, you can set up a call with me or reach out to me through my website.