06-05-2003, 02:35 PM
What is a 'Complete Service Record'?
You've probably heard or read of a group with a 'Complete Service Record', or a 'Personnel File'. What has happened here is that the person requesting the research also wanted copies of the persons personnel record folder. These can be anywhere from 10-80 pages in length, depending on who the person was, how well their file was maintained, and how long they served in the military.
In a totally complete service record, you'll have not just the citations, but also the person's complete service history, all in nicely typed format, often at least one copy of an autobiography, if not several from different years, all of their fitness reports and promotion documents, Party paperwork, official letters and correspondence and retirement papers.
What does this give you? By having all of these papers, you have a wide view of the persons career and their background history. You know who their family was, the personal triumphs or tragedies, the quality of officer they were, and so on. Sometimes, this is the only way you can know about their participation in the Civil War, as well as promotions past the time that their award card was issued (especially for general officers.) Additionally, on several occasions, I have found citations for awards that had been misfiled into their service record, rather than in the proper books!
Does everyone have a service record? No. These are mostly only available on senior officers, and sometimes even with them, they don't exist. Up until the persons retirement from the military, their service record was kept at their local unit. The units were supposed to send the records to the Central Archives upon the persons detachment from the military. However, they were often lost, misplaced, or sometimes given to and kept by the service member themselves!
Is it worth requesting a complete service record? Yes, in my opinion it is, especially for senior officers. It can open a whole new dimension to that person that isn't evident in their citations, often radically changing your perspective on that person.
You've probably heard or read of a group with a 'Complete Service Record', or a 'Personnel File'. What has happened here is that the person requesting the research also wanted copies of the persons personnel record folder. These can be anywhere from 10-80 pages in length, depending on who the person was, how well their file was maintained, and how long they served in the military.
In a totally complete service record, you'll have not just the citations, but also the person's complete service history, all in nicely typed format, often at least one copy of an autobiography, if not several from different years, all of their fitness reports and promotion documents, Party paperwork, official letters and correspondence and retirement papers.
What does this give you? By having all of these papers, you have a wide view of the persons career and their background history. You know who their family was, the personal triumphs or tragedies, the quality of officer they were, and so on. Sometimes, this is the only way you can know about their participation in the Civil War, as well as promotions past the time that their award card was issued (especially for general officers.) Additionally, on several occasions, I have found citations for awards that had been misfiled into their service record, rather than in the proper books!
Does everyone have a service record? No. These are mostly only available on senior officers, and sometimes even with them, they don't exist. Up until the persons retirement from the military, their service record was kept at their local unit. The units were supposed to send the records to the Central Archives upon the persons detachment from the military. However, they were often lost, misplaced, or sometimes given to and kept by the service member themselves!
Is it worth requesting a complete service record? Yes, in my opinion it is, especially for senior officers. It can open a whole new dimension to that person that isn't evident in their citations, often radically changing your perspective on that person.
Under the banner of Marxism-Leninism, under the leadership of the Communist Party--forward to new victories in the construction of communism!
