Find people in the Military 

 Official US Govt info  

Limited information from Official Military Personnel Files is releasable to the general public without the consent of the veteran or the next-of-kin. You are considered a member of the general public if you are asking about a veteran who is no relation to you, or a veteran who is a relative but you are not the next-of-kin. Next-of-kin is defined as the unremarried widow or widower, son or daughter, father or mother, brother or sister of the deceased veteran.

The veteran (or next-of-kin if the veteran is deceased) must authorize release of information which is not available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):

FOIA info available: Name, service number, rank, dates of service, awards and decorations, place of entrance and separation. If the veteran is deceased they can also tell you: place of birth, date and geographical location of death, place of burial

National Personnel Records Center
---> Use the Official form

Veteran's Affairs says:

As a Federal agency, according to the Privacy Act, we are obliged to protect the privacy of veterans' personal information. Therefore, VA cannot release personal information about a veteran in our records system without that person's permission. We can, however, forward a message from you to the veteran, providing the veteran has filed a claim with VA and we have an address on record.

Please write your message and place it in an unsealed, stamped envelope. Also include a note to VA explaining who it is you are trying to reach and add as much identifying information as you have. Place all of this in another envelope addressed to the nearest U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office (you can find the address at Facilities Director or in the "blue" pages of your telephone book).

• Marine Corps Locator
• Soldiers and Sailors Certificates - confirm whether an individual has ever served in the military for $5.20
• Requests For Military Mailing Addresses - info from DefenseLink
• Nationwide Graveside Locator
• Vietnam POW/MIA Database
• More info on getting records...

 Very Useful Book 

How to Locate Anyone Who Is or Has Been in the Military: Armed Forces Locator Guide (8th Ed)

Included are directories of U.S. Military Installations; Overseas Military Installations; Military, Patriotic and Veteran Organizations; Military Union Reunion Asociations; Armed Force World-Wide Locators; and Fleet Post Offices

Shows you:

• How to use the Internet to find current or former military personnel
• How to locate birthparents who served in the military
• How to locate veterans of any age
• How to verify military backgrounds
• How to locate Active Duty, Reserve or Retired military
• How to locate Reserve and National Guard
• How to obtain military recordsH
• How to locate veterans for a reunion
• How to locate women veterans
• How to determine if a veteran is deceased.

"It is my opinion that virtually every veteran of our military services, in peace or war, does at some time want to contact a buddy with whom he or she served. Until now, that has been unusually difficult. But now, thanks to Colonel Johnson, it can be expeditiously accomplished."

William C. Westmoreland
General, United States Army, Retired
Charleston, South Carolina

 3rd Party Registers 

It's a shame there are so many - I recommend signing up to all that apply. (some have been discontinued since the war on terror began)

• Military.com - 10 million records in their Buddy Finder.
• GI Search - free registration required to be listed, or to see result details
• MilitaryUSA - free registration required
• Military Connections - free reg. req.
• Vet Friends - 200,000 subscribers
• American War Library - world's largest on-line Military, Veteran, and Military Family Registry... Over 29 million listings and growing daily.
• American Veterans Confirmation Service - offers the largest on-line veteran and active-duty personnel verification service dating back to the Revolutionary War. Over 15.4 million names (as of March, 1997) from all Service Branches are listed. Part of the American War Library
• Veterans Photo Registry - part of the American War Library
• Fake Veterans - use this site to help investiagate frauds
• American Veteran Search - has a huge Message Board area divided into 140 categories

 Airforce 

The official address for locating air force personnel on active duty, is:

Air Force Worldwide Locator
550C Street West Suite 50
Randolph AFB TX 78150-4752

• Air National Guard Units
• Unofficial US Airforce Email Locator - 25,000 listings

 Army 

The official address for locating army personnel on active duty, is the Army World Wide Locator:

Commander
U.S. Army Enlisted Records & Evaluation Center
ATTN: Locator
Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249-5301

• West Point Connection - running more than 300 listservices in support of most USMA classes, 29 West Point Societies, and 37 West Point Parent Club

 Navy 

Official use, family members, active duty personnel and Navy retirees may use this locator system. To do so, you must have the service member's full name, Social Security number, grade or rank, and, if possible, last known duty station. Write to:

World Wide Locator
Bureau of Naval Personnel
Pers-312
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-3120

To locate Navy retirees, use the address above. Correspondence will be forwarded, if possible, to the retiree as addresses are not releasable by law under the Privacy Act.

• Goat Locker - 40,000 Navy email addresses
• VP Navy - 9,000 entries
• Hull Number - 4,127 U.S. Navy Command personnel rosters, searchable by hull number
• DeckLog - 8,000 shipmates in database
• U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
• VeriSEAL - find out if someone who claims to be a former Navy SEAL is telling the truth.