45.2—Applicability and scope.
(a)
The provisions of this part apply to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Services, the Joint Staff, and the Defense Agencies (hereafter referred to as “DoD Components”). The term “Military Services,” as used here, refers to the Army, Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and, by agreement with the Department of Transportation, to the Coast Guard.
(b)
Its provisions include procedures on the preparation and distribution of DD Forms 214, 214WS, 215 (Appendices A, B, and C) which record and report the transfer or separation of military personnel from a period of active duty. (NOTE: Computer-generated formats are acceptable substitutes provided Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management and Personnel) approval is obtained.) DD Forms 214 and 215 (or their substitutes) will provide:
(1)
The Military Services with a source of information relating to military personnel for administrative purposes, and for making determinations of eligibility for enlistment or reenlistment.
(2)
The Service member with a brief, clear-cut record of the member's active service with the Armed Forces at the time of transfer, release, or discharge, or when the member changes status or component while on active duty.
(3)
Appropriate governmental agencies with an authoritative source of information which they require in the administration of Federal and State laws applying to personnel who have been discharged, otherwise released, or transferred to a Reserve component while on active duty.