REQUESTING MILITARY MEDALS AND AWARDS

Requests for the issuance or replacement of military service medals, decorations, and awards should be directed to the specific branch of the military in which the veteran served. However, for Air Force (including Army Air Corps) and Army personnel, the National Personnel Records Center will verify the awards to which a veteran is entitled and forward the request with the verification to the appropriate service department for issuance of the medals.

The Standard Form (SF 180), Request Pertaining to Military Records, is recommended for requesting medals and awards. Provide as much information as possible and send the form to the appropriate address from the following table:

Service Branch	Where to write for medals	Where medals are mailed from	Where to write in case of a problem or an appeal
Army	National Personnel Records Center Medals Section (NRPMA-M) 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 See NOTE below	U.S. Army Soldier & Biological Chemical Command, IMMC Soldier Systems Directorate 700 Robbins Avenue P.O. Box 57997 Philadelphia, PA 19111-7997	Commander PERSCOM Attn: TAPC-PDO-PA 200 Stovall Street Alexandria, VA 22332-0471 See NOTE below
Air Force (including Army Air Corps & Army Air Forces)	National Personnel Records Center Air Force Reference Branch (NRPMF) 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Headquarters Air Force Personnel Ctr AFPC/DPPPR 550 C Street West, Suite 12 Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4714	Headquarters Air Force Personnel Ctr AFPC/DPPPR 550 C Street West, Suite 12 Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4714
Navy	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV 09B33) Awards & Special Projects Washington, DC 20350-2000
Marine Corps	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Commandant Headquarters United States Marine Corps Awards Branch (MHM) Washington, DC 20380-0001
Coast Guard	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Commandant U.S. Coast Guard Medals and Awards Branch (PMP-4) Washington, DC 20593-0001

NOTE: Recently, the Department of the Army and the National Archives and Records Administration entered into an agreement which gives the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) authority to verify entitlement to replacement awards and decorations for discharged, retired or deceased Army veterans. This was previously the responsibility of the Army Reserve Personnel Command (AR-PERSCOM). Army medals requests submitted within the last two years are currently in the process of being transferred from AR-PERSCOM to NPRC. The transfer of this work will take a number of months to complete. Once the transfer has been completed, requests pertaining to these specific Army medals will be answered as quickly as possible.

AR-PERSCOM estimates a backlog of 98,000 routine requests for Army medals, going back two years; and at least 4,300 Congressional requests for Army awards and decorations which may also be up to two years old. We understand the desire to obtain the medals as quickly as possible; however, multiple requests for the same awards will further complicate the process. Once the transfer is complete, we will begin responding to both the backlog of requests and all new inquiries in an expeditious manner. If you are now requesting medals, or you previously wrote to NPRC or AR-PERSCOM requesting medals, we ask that you do not write again. If you wish to submit a medals request for the first time, please do so after March 1, 1999. We appreciate your patience in this matter.