House GOP moves to ban public access to service members' military records
The proposal comes after the Pentagon erroneously released the personal information of several Republican politicians who were current or former members of the armed forces.
June 19, 2023, 1:27 PM EDT
By Courtney Kube
House Republicans are attempting to end the decades-old practice of the Defense Department’s releasing summaries of the service records of members of the U.S. military to the public.
The House Appropriations Committee bill would prohibit any funds from being used to release personal information about current and former service members, which news organizations and some employers use to verify people’s military service.
According to the Pentagon, the types of information that can currently be released vary but generally include full name, rank, date of rank, past and present duty assignments, awards and decorations, attendance at professional military schools, duty status at any given time, home of record and official photo.
Under the new proposal, members of the public, new organizations and some employers would have to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the military service branch to obtain the information, and the individual must be notified before the information can be released. But the FOIA process is notoriously backlogged and can take months or even years to fulfill a request.
The only exception would be if the request comes from a federal government entity or state and local law enforcement, which the military can fulfill.
Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman declined to comment, saying, “It would be inappropriate to comment on pending legislation.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/house-gop-moves-ban-public-access-service-members-military-records-rcna90031