NA FORM 13038, CERTIFICATION OF MILITARY SERVICE

The NA Form 13038 is primarily used to replace a lost or destroyed Report of Separation.  MPR uses this form most often when reconstructing military service data lost in the fire.  NOTE that the following instructions do not apply to fire-related records.  If you are working a reconstruction case, see the Reconstruction Section of this Guide.

NA Form 13038 may be prepared to replace a lost or destroyed Report of Separation that covered only one period of service, or more than one period of service may be included on a single form.  If separate NA Forms 13038 are prepared, each should reflect the same service information the original separation document contained.  If all periods are combined onto a single form, the form must show the form-to dates of the last period, and the from-to date of each period of prior service must be shown in the Remards section.

However, an NA Form 13038 must not be prepared in the following situations:

1.  to verify service for which a separation document would not have been issued.  DO NOT prepare an NA Form 13038 if service member was a reservist who performed no active duty or active duty for training of 90 days or fewer.  Send the requester the appropriate pages from the service record (enlistment contract, discharge order or page). If verification of active duty training dates is needed, prepare a Complex Statement of Service.

or

2.  to document an individual period for which a separate DD Form 214 was never issued because the veteran performed consecutive periods of service and each of these periods was included within one final DD Form 214.  This applies to the Air Force separation documents issued since 1979, whenever the member re-enlisted immediately after being discharged.  See paragraphs 3 and 4 of the CRG entry on Separation Documents.

The NA Form 13038 will verify the service member's name, component, service number or social security number, date of entry on active duty, date of separation from active duty, and rank at separation.  Primary source documents for extracting this data are enlistment contracts, active duty orders, commission/appointment papers, and discharge orders or pages.  Promotions and reductions can be found on SRB pages, AF Forms 7 or 11, and DA Forms 20 or 2-1.

IMPORTANT!  You must verify the data directly from the record.  If a previously prepared NA Form 13038 is in file, DO NOT assume the data shown to be correct.  If you discover the previously prepared NA Form 13038 to be in error, write void across the top and draw a large “X” or diagonal line through form.

PREPARING NA FORM 13038:  DO NOT Abbreviate.  Exception:  Navy, but only if necessary.

• Branch

  Different branches of service cannot be verified on a single NA Form 13038.  A separate NA Form 13038 MUST be prepared for each branch of service.  You may not combine Navy and Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Navy, Army and Air Force, etc.

  Note:  When appropriate, reenlistment data should be shown in the remarks area.

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• Dates

  Consecutive periods of Honorable service, in the same branch of service, may be combined on a single NA Form 13038.  In other words, you may string all consecutive periods of service together by providing the first/original enlistment date and the last/final discharge date.

  Nonconsecutive periods of service may be shown on one NA Form 13038.  In this instance, you would show data for the last period at top and all prior service in the remarks area.

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• Character of Service

  The ACTUAL CHARACTER of service should be shown as indicated in the record:

  • Honorable Discharge
  • Under Honorable Conditions Discharge
  • Undesirable Discharge
  • Bad Conduct Discharge
  • Dishonorable Discharge
  • General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions

  NOTE:  If some other terminology appears in the record, consult source: NPRC 1865.51, Figures 3-5.4 and 3-5.5

  Different characters of service (e.g., Honorable, Undesirable, Other Than Honorable) may be verified on a single NA Form 13038.  However, the last period is shown on top and all prior service is shown in the remarks area.  Under NO circumstances may a period of less than Honorable service be combined with an Honorable period of service. 

  Types of Separation

  • Discharge
  • Death
  • Relief from Active Duty
  • Release from Active Duty
  • Transfer to Fleet Reserve
  • Furloughed to _______________ Reserve
  • Mustered Out
  • Terminated by Operation of Law
  • Retirement
  • Dismissed

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•  Ranks

  MAY NOT BE ABBREVIATED.  Exception:  Navy, but only if necessary.

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• REMARKS

  The space available under "Active Duty Dates" MUST BE USED TO SHOW DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH, IF AVAILABLE IN THE DOCUMENTS OR RECORDS BEING USED TO CREATE THE NA FORM 13038.  The date and place of birth should be used, along with the other identifying information in the request and in the records being used, to verify that the certification is being prepared for the correct veteran.  If the date and/or place of birth is not available to you, show "DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:  NOT AVAILABLE."

  The space available under "Active Duty Dates" may also be used for specifically requested additional information, or to clarify the certification itself.  Information such as Active Duty dates, foreign service, or prior military service dates may be listed here.

Source:  NPRC 1865.51