	Background

NPRC maintains the personnel and medical records of nearly all former members of the U.S. military service departments who served during the twentieth century and responds to requests for these records. NPRC officials expect these two features to significantly improve timeliness. NPRC Response Time Lagging

In fiscal year 2000, on average, NPRC took 54 days to respond to written requests for records. Although NPRC completed about 6 percent of record requests within 10 days in fiscal year 2000, its goal is to eventually complete 95 percent of requests within 10 days by fiscal year 2005. Conclusion

NPRC is attempting to improve its timeliness in responding to requests for veterans’ records. NARA stated that the NPRC backlog is not a factor in the timeliness of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA’s) servicing of disability compensation claims. Appendix: Comments from the National Archives and Records Administration
Why GAO Did This Study

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is responsible for maintaining the official military personnel records of discharged members of the military services. Veterans frequently need their records for a variety of reasons, such as obtaining disability compensation, health benefits, GI bill education benefits, home loan guarantees, and burial in national cemeteries. However, access to these benefits has been hampered due to delays in obtaining documentation of their military service from NPRC. This report evaluates NPRC's timeliness in responding to veterans' requests for records. GAO reviewed (1) how long it took NPRC to answer veterans' requests for records and (2) whether the actions NPRC was taking would improve response time.

What GAO Found

GAO found that, in fiscal year 2000, NPRC took an average of 54 days to respond to written requests for records, answering about six percent of written requests within 10 working days. Actions NPRC was taking to respond more quickly were unlikely to significantly improve timeliness soon, and the prospects for meeting its fiscal year 2005 goal of answering 95 percent of requests within 10 working days were unclear.