What official military personnel records are public for National Guard officers and how can they clarify Hegseth’s service dates?
Executive summary
Public access to National Guard officers’ personnel records is constrained by federal privacy rules and a mix of federal and state repositories: limited extracts (dates of service, awards, rank) can be released to the general public through FOIA or state public‑records requests, while full Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) and DD‑214 copies generally require veteran consent or next‑of‑kin authorization unless the separation occurred 62 or more years ago, at which point records become public [1] [2]. To clarify a specific officer’s service dates — including someone like Pete Hegseth — reporters and researchers must use the layered approach of state National Guard records offices, NGB/FOIA channels, and the National Archives/NPRC, while acknowledging the reporting limitation that none of the provided sources reference Hegseth’s files directly [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. What federal repositories hold Guard officers’ records and what they will release
The principal federal repositories for National Guard personnel records are the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) at the National Archives for historical OMPFs and the National Guard Bureau’s FOIA office for NGB documents; both bodies follow the Privacy Act and FOIA rules that restrict general public access to non‑consenting veterans’ records, disclosing limited service information unless the veteran separated 62+ years ago or has authorized release [2] [1] [3]. The Army’s iPERMS system became the official repository for Army/National Guard personnel records for many post‑1996 files, and the NPRC or iPERMS are the conduits for obtaining DD‑214s, OMPF excerpts, or related documentation when proper authorization is provided [7] [2].
2. What state National Guard records offices can provide
State National Guard records offices process service‑record requests for state Guard members and handle SF‑180 submissions for Army National Guard records; these offices will often release verification of service dates, rank, and status through public‑records or FOIA‑style requests, subject to state public‑records law and federal privacy constraints, and many states publish instructions and forms (e.g., NY, NC, WA, MA) explaining how to request records or access iPERMS when authorized [4] [5] [8] [9]. State offices are crucial because certain Guard service records are held at state level and because employment or public‑interest queries about an officer’s service dates commonly route through the state G1 records office [5].
3. What the general public can expect to obtain without consent
Absent consent from the veteran or next‑of‑kin, the general public can typically obtain only limited elements from an OMPF — such as dates of service, branch, rank, and awards — and full OMPFs remain closed until the 62‑year archival threshold passes; the NPRC and National Archives webpages explicitly describe this balance between public interest and individual privacy and outline how to request releasable elements [1] [2]. Where state public‑records laws apply, agencies may release additional administrative records, but federal privacy law still restricts personal medical, disciplinary, or other sensitive entries [1] [6].
4. How FOIA, SF‑180 and iPERMS function as practical tools to establish service dates
A practical investigation to confirm an officer’s service dates starts with submitting an SF‑180 to the appropriate repository (state National Guard records office, NPRC, or NGB) and filing FOIA requests with the National Guard Bureau or state military department when necessary; iPERMS and the Army’s AMHRR are where many modern records reside, but access often requires CAC or proper authorization, and processing times vary by workload at NPRC and AFPC [7] [3] [10] [4]. FOIA can force disclosure of NGB records and unit documents that corroborate mobilizations and orders, while SF‑180 directed to the NPRC or state records office can return an officer’s DD‑214 or service‑date confirmation if the requester has authorization or the 62‑year rule applies [2] [3] [1].
5. Applying this to public questions about a named officer (reporting limits and recommended next steps)
Public reporting seeking to pin down someone’s Guard service dates — for example, public scrutiny around a media figure’s Guard timeline — must rely on requesting records through state Guard records offices and federal FOIA/SF‑180 channels and should disclose that full OMPF access is blocked without consent or elapsed archival time; none of the supplied sources include or reference Pete Hegseth’s files specifically, so definitive claims about his record cannot be made from these sources alone and require targeted requests to the appropriate state National Guard office, NGB FOIA, or NPRC following the procedures above [5] [3] [2]. To resolve disputes over dates, the quickest path is often a state records request for service verification plus an NGB FOIA for orders or personnel actions — combined, those documents typically establish enlistment, commissioning, activation, and separation dates even if sensitive file portions remain redacted [8] [3].