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Finding Military Personnel

| Military Locator Service | Army | Navy | Air Force | Marine Corps | Coast Guard |
 
| Locating Private Individuals | IRS | SSA | Salvation Army | Department of State|

The following list of Federal agencies and private organizations assist individuals in locating persons of unknown whereabouts. The Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits Federal agencies from providing the home addresses or telephone numbers of individuals without their written permission. Keep this in mind before beginning your search. In most cases, the agency or organization will only agree to let the person know you are trying to locate them. They may also agree to forward a letter written by you to the person that you are trying to locate. Be sure to include the appropriate first class postage with the letter to the locator service. It will be up to the individual to respond.

Of course if you suspect the person you are unable to locate has been the victim of a crime, you should immediately contact your closest law enforcement agency.

Military Locator Services

This information can help you to locate active, reserve, and retired Department of Defense (DOD) military personnel.

Each of the five branches of the military has separate procedures for contacting active or past service members. In cases of emergency, immediate family members should contact the local chapter of the American Red Cross. The telephone number and address are available from your local telephone directory, directory assistance, or by calling our National Contact Center toll-free at 1 (800) FED INFO, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., eastern time.

Provide as much identifying information as possible about the person you wish to locate, such as full name, rank, last duty assignment/last known military address, service number, and Social Security number.

The locator service is free to immediate family members and Federal and State government officials. Other family members, civilian friends, businesses, or any others must pay a non-refundable fee of $3.50 in the form of a check or money order made payable to the U.S. Treasury.

Image linking to top of pageArmy

To locate an active-duty member at the U.S. Army:

Army Worldwide Locator
U.S. Army Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center
8899 East 56th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46249-5301

Voice:  703/325-3732 (Recording with menu)

To locate an Army retiree:

Army Reserve Personnel Center
ATTN: ARPC-VSE-VS
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5200

To locate an Army separatee:

National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5200

Current addresses are not maintained for separatees who are not serving under reserve obligation. In such cases you might want to try a military organization such as the American Legion or VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars).

Image linking to top of pageNavy

To locate an active-duty member at the U.S. Navy:

Navy Worldwide Locator
Bureau of Naval Personnel
Pers-312
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, Tennessee 38055-3120

Voice:  901/874-3388 (Recording 24 hours per day, live assistance available - 7:00a.m. - 4:30p.m., central time)

To locate Navy retirees and separatees:

Limited service is available by writing to the address above. Letters will be forwarded, if possible, to the retiree. A locator notice can also be posted in the Navy retiree’s newsletter Shift Colors or you may advertise for former shipmates in any of the many veterans’ organization magazines.

Image linking to top of pageAir Force

The Air Force Worldwide Locator can locate active duty personnel, as well as retirees, reservists, and guardsmen. Parents, spouses, and government officials may call 210/565-2478. Letters requesting locator service should be mailed to:

HQ AFPC/MSMIDL
550 C Street, West, Suite 50
Randolph AFB, Texas 78150-4752

Voice:  210/565-2660 (Live assistance - Monday - Friday 7:30a.m. - 4:30p.m., central time)

This service will not help in locating Air Force separatees or Army Air Corps retirees. You may write to the National Personnel Records Center below or contact one of the various veterans’ service organizations to help in locating these persons.

National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
Saint Louis, Missouri 63132-1500

Image linking to top of pageMarine Corps

The Marine Corps Locator Service can provide the duty station for active duty personnel and reservists. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., eastern time. The telephone number is 703/784-3942. Your written request should be mailed to:

Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
Personnel Management Support Branch (MMSB-17)
2008 Elliot Road
Quantico, Virginia 22134-5030

Voice:  703/784-2507

The Marine Corps is not able to assist in locating former Marines. They suggest you place an ad in Leatherneck Magazine. There is a monthly feature called "Mail Call" that includes locator requests. There is no charge for the service and you may send your request to:

Mail Call Editor
P.O. Box 1775
Quantico, Virginia 22134

Coast Guard

To locate an Active Duty Member at the U.S. Coast Guard:

The Coast Guard World Wide Locator has duty stations for active duty personnel. To locate Active Duty Personnel Only: The telephone number is (202) 493-1697 or

Send us an e-mail with the person's full name to GOverall@Ballston.uscg.mil

Coast Guard Personnel Command does not have custody of crew lists or current addresses for former Coast Guard service members.

To locate Coast Guard separatees:

The Military Reference Branch, National Archives, Washington, D. C. 20408, holds copies of most deck logs. The Suitland Reference Branch, National Archives, Washington D. C. 20409 has custody of muster rolls.

The National Personal Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri has a repository of records for retired and separate military members.

You will need to fill-in Standard Form 180 to request military records information. (http://www.nara.gov/regional/mprsf180.html)

The address is:

National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Ave
St. Louis, Missouri 63132

Individuals have also had success locating former and retired military personnel by placing advertisements or reunion notices in Coast Guard periodicals. These magazines have a combined circulation of several hundred thousand. Please contact the individual editors for assistance.

Other Sources from the Coast Guard:

Fred's Place offers an online E-Mail Directory of Active Duty, Reserve, Retired, Auxiliary and Civilian co-workers of the U. S. Coast Guard. This Directory is a listing of individuals that have voluntarily registered at Fred's Place and is not a complete listing of Coast Guard Personnel.

Fred's Place offers a Locator Page at: www.fredsplace.org.

Locating Private Individuals

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration, and the Salvation Army can assist you in locating individuals here in the United States. The Department of State’s American Citizens Service Abroad can assist you in locating relatives or friends living or visiting abroad and who are U.S. citizens.

Please review the policies and guidelines for each agency/organization below:

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The IRS may forward a letter to someone when humane reasons are involved. For example:

To notify someone of a serious illness, imminent death, or death of a close relative,
To seek an individual for a medical study to detect and treat medical defects, or
To notify an individual who cannot otherwise be located that he or she is entitled to certain assets. 
The IRS will forward a letter from an attorney, estate administrator, or other person who directly controls the assets.

For more information and clarification as to what may constitute "humane" reasons, you may refer to the IRS Handbook 1.3, Chapter 11, which you may find in Other Information Available to the Public.

If you would like the IRS to help you locate an individual, place a personal letter addressed to the individual in a blank envelope. Include first class U.S. postage, and do not seal the letter. Place the unsealed letter in another envelope and address it as follows:

Internal Revenue Service
Office of Disclosure Operations
1111 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20224

Image linking to top of pageSocial Security Administration

The Social Security Administration will attempt to forward a letter to a missing person for reasons similar to those mentioned in the IRS section above. There is a $3.00 charge for forwarding letters to inform persons about money or property they may be owed. Humanitarian letters are forwarded free of charge.

Follow the same guidelines for sending a letter, and address it as follows:

Social Security Administration
Office of Public Inquiries
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, Maryland 21235

Image linking to top of pageSalvation Army

The Salvation Army has operated a Family Tracing Service since 1885. The service is designed to help people reestablish contact with close relatives they may have lost touch with a few years ago or many years ago. The service is available in many of the 100 countries where the Salvation Army is located.

The Salvation Army will not help to locate someone in the following instances:

  • Friends

  • Situations where adoptions have taken place

  • Alleged fathers of non-marital children

  • Young people under 17 years of age

  • Former husbands or wives

  • Spouses for divorce purposes

  • Estate or similar business matters

  • Genealogies

From the United States, you may contact the Salvation Army Territory Office for your state. Local Salvation Army office numbers are listed in your local telephone directory. You may also contact them to begin your search.

Image linking to top of pageDepartment of State

The US Department of State, Overseas Citizens Services will help locate relatives or friends who are overseas when there is concern about their welfare or a need to notify them of emergencies at home.

The Privacy Act requires that U.S. citizens over the age of 18 provide a Privacy Act waiver before information about them is released to a third party.

Persons in the United States may inquire about the welfare or whereabouts of U.S. citizens abroad by calling the Overseas Citizens Services at 202/647-5225. You may also contact the American Citizens Service Section of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate directly.

You will need to include the following information before you call or contact the Department of State:

  • Your full name, address, telephone number, and relationship

  • Their name of the person abroad

  • Their date and place of birth

  • Their passport number (if known)

  • Their last known address and phone number; itinerary

  • Reason for their travel/residence abroad (business, tourism, etc.)

  • Date of last contact

  • Other points of contact abroad (friends, relatives, business associates, etc.)

    For emergency messages, also include:

  • Nature of the emergency

  • What message should be provided to the person

  • Name, address and telephone number and relationship of person you wish to be contacted after the emergency family message is delivered by the U.S. embassy or consulate

If you would like more information about locating persons of unknown whereabouts, you may call our National Contact Center toll-free at 1 (800) FED INFO, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. eastern time.Image linking to top of page

Reviewed: August 4, 2004

Logo of the General Services AdministrationThis service is provided by the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration. If you have a comment or question, e-mail us.