How to Find a Friend in the Military
The military encompasses roughly 1 percent of our population; that 1 percent is more than 300,000 people. If you are looking for a friend who joined the military, you might think it is similar to finding a needle in a haystack. Yet armed with a little knowledge and possible leads, you could narrow that 300,000 to a much smaller number and find your military friend quickly.
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Things You'll Need
- Letter writing material such as stamps, envelopes
- Access to the Internet
Instructions
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How to Find a Friend in the Military
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Check with your local sources such as a newspaper if you and your military friend are from the same town. Upon graduation from basic training, many military members fill out an official press release. If you don't know which branch of the military your friend joined, you can find out from a name search. If your friend recently joined the service after graduating high school or college, locate any classmates who may know which branch he decided to join. Recent former employers also sometimes know.
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Register with military-affiliated third party websites such as Military.com. Many military members also join this website listed on an application like "Buddy Finder." Although you may not have direct contact with your friend, Military.com and other sites like it may send an email message on your behalf. Your friend may have listed his last known base location, which would help you find him.
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Write to the actual branch of military service to find the member if you know where he was stationed last. Again, they won't release the information publicly, but the branches can help locate him provided you give as much descriptive information as you can. You will have to pay a fee of $3.50 if you aren't a relative. The branch's locator department will forward letters or correspondence you send to the member.
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Search the public archives if you don't have a lot of information. Per the freedom of information act, limited info such as member's name, rank and branch of service can be released. The National Personnel Records Center has an official form you can fill out to obtain that information. The Archives website can direct you to state military records.
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