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Requests For Military Mailing Addresses

Responsibility for military personnel records falls within the jurisdiction of the military departments, not the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Therefore, requests for military addresses should be sent to the respective service of the individual whose address is being sought. There is no comprehensive source for e-mail addresses. Even if there were, military regulations and the Privacy Act of 1974 do not permit the military departments to provide home addresses or telephone numbers of service personnel. Moreover, regulations do not permit random dissemination of listings of names and addresses of service personnel. These regulations have been established to protect individual service men and women from commercial exploitation and to respect their right of privacy. Because of the large volume of requests that each service locator receives, please allow four weeks processing time for written requests.

Specific information

The following information is needed for all requests for all locator services:

  • Give 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 government officials. Other family members, civilian friends, businesses and others must pay $3.50. The check or money order must be made out to the U.S. Treasury. It is not refundable.

United States Army

The Army will help you locate individuals on active duty only, not retirees. The place to start is the Army World Wide Locator. The address is:

Commander
U.S. Army Enlisted Records & Evaluation Center
ATTN: Locator
8899 East 56th Street
Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249-5301

United States Navy

The Navy's locator service helps locate individuals on active duty and those whose service ended less than a year ago. In addition, the Navy will forward letters as long as the correct postage is affixed to the envelope. You can call the locator service at 1-901-874-3388. Unless you are active military, local or federal government, or a family member, the fee for researching an address is $3.50 per address. Fees are retained in cases resulting in an unsuccessful search or for unreleasable addresses. Mail your correspondence with your fee, check or money order payable to UNITED STATES TREASURER, to the following address:

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

There is also some related information in the Navy "Frequently Asked Questions" section.

United States Marine Corps

The Marine Corps can provide the duty station for active duty personnel and reservists. For retired individuals, the locator service can provide the city and state, but not an address. The service will provide the service member's current rank and unit address; however, due to the locator's staffing, the office cannot forward mail except in special cases. Telephonic requests to 1-703-640-3942/43 are free of charge to immediate family members and government officials calling on official business. In addition, telephonic service will be provided at no cost to any individual, business or organization, if the Marine locator decides the information would benefit the individual. Send written locator requests to:

Commandant of the Marine Corps
Headquarters, USMC
Code MMSB-10
Quantico, VA 22134-5030

United States Air Force

The Air Force can locate active duty personnel, as well as retirees, reservists and guardsmen. This information is not available for those who have separated from the Air Force or are Army Air Corps retirees. Information on individuals stationed overseas or in a sensitive position will not be released. However, the locator service will forward mail to that person for up to 90 days, as long as the correct postage is on the envelope and any required fee has been paid. Parents, spouses, and government officials may call 1-210-652-5774 for a recorded message or 1-210-652-5775 for non-recorded service. For locator service write to:

HQ AFMPC/RMIQL
550 C Street, West, Suite 50
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4752

Updated: 27 May 1998
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