Navy Enlistment Records

Survey designed to find record system's troubles

In the last two years, Navy officials have digitized nearly 400,000 active and reserve enlisted service records. With just a few aircraft carriers left to finish this year, the transition to paperless records is nearly complete.

But the switch to actually using those records is not going as smoothly. The move is a huge cultural shift, the effect of which has been long underestimated, officials concede.

For example, many sailors, now responsible for checking their own records online, have no idea how to do it.

“We have convincing, telltale indicators from fleet sailors that the system is not as easy to use and responsive as it should be,” said Alex Watt, who manages fleet feedback on information technology systems for the chief of personnel. “‘We need to investigate further and listen to what they say and then go and find out what the ground truth is.”

Watt said his office is beginning an extensive fleet survey that he expects will identify where the disconnects are, both in how the system works and the level of understanding by individual users.

Both deck-plate sailors and their leaders are telling Watt they don’t know “when and how often should I access them, what should I do when I’m in there, and if I find omissions or incorrect data, how do I get that fixed,” he said.

A pilot version of the survey is underway on board the amphibious transport dock New Orleans in San Diego and at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. Watt said both commands have finished the first phase of a four-part survey that’s expected to last from six to nine months.

By fall, the pilot will expand to at least 17 commands across the Navy, including afloat commands both in the states and overseas, as well as shore duty in both places as well. Those commands are being identified, Watt said.

At each command, reviewers expect to assess as many as 20 individual sailors in a range of paygrades, as well as those in leadership positions.

In the first phase, assessors will learn “what the command’s level of knowledge is, what barriers they’ve encountered, what systems are working and what systems are not,” Watt said. They’ll use a combination of paper surveys and in-person interviews.

Next is what he calls the “intervention phase.” Using the information they gathered from the initial survey, a custom training plan will be built for the command.

US Naval enlistment records - FamilySearch Forums - Beta

If you can locate his death place, you may find an obituary in the local newspaper that gives more info on his military service. Also, with his military service, he should have qualified for a military burial and you can check that. In order to be eligible, there would have been a series of questions answered and information given that you can request from the cemetery or military. Here is the national locator for military graves: You may also contact the Local Veterans Affairs Office in your county or state. There is usually a Veterans Affairs Officer whose job is to help veterans and their relatives with a number of issues. Some help with social service needs, getting a replacement Purple Heart that a long dead relative received, etc. explain that the Navy says there is no record and see if they can intervene. If you can not find it in the phone book, call the local VA Hospital and ask.

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