MREC-01 · MILITARY RECORDS LIBRARY
Personnel Files & OMPF
MREC-01: The authoritative personnel spine for identity, component, appointments, promotions, assignments, evaluations, qualifications, administrative history, and many later corrections.
What this record can establish
Named service identity; component/status entries; promotions and appointments; assignments; evaluations; qualifications; personnel actions recorded in the file.
What it does not establish automatically
An OMPF is not necessarily a complete operational, medical, pay, or mission record. Absence of a document from one copy does not prove the event never occurred.
Preservation package
Complete source copy; request/response correspondence; folder/index structure if supplied; page numbers; certified copies where relevant; any later correction decision.
Minimum source metadata
- Stable source ID and record class
- Creator or issuing office
- Document date and covered period
- Subject identifiers
- Repository and exact locator
- Provenance or acquisition note
- Proposition supported and express limits
- Evidence-status code and derivative/OCR/transcription lineage
Evidence testing
- Identity: Is the record tied to the correct person, unit, platform, or event?
- Chronology: Separate document date, effective date, event date, and covered period.
- Institutional purpose: Understand why the record was created and what it was designed to record.
- Corroboration: Seek independent records; copies and derivatives from one source do not create independence.
Evidence status key: D1 direct primary; D2 corroborated primary; S1 authoritative secondary; S2 credible secondary; I inference; C conflict; U unverified; N negative research result.
Connected Life Record chapters
- MLR-01 — Before Service
- MLR-02 — Entry & Oath
- MLR-03 — Training & Qualifications
- MLR-06 — Career, Assignments & Deployment
- MLR-10 — Legal, Discipline & Administrative Record
- MLR-11 — Separation & Transition
- MLR-12 — Retirement
Related navigation guides
- Obtaining Missing Military Records
- Correcting Military Personnel Records
- Post Service Record Corrections
Retrieval and authority status
This page defines the evidence family and preservation method. Repository-specific access rules, privacy limits, request forms, retention schedules, service/era differences, and governing authorities must be verified for the particular record before treating retrieval instructions as final. Start with current official repositories and the linked Navigation Guides.
