Luckily, when the other spouse is in the military, there are several resources that can help you find the service member. For all of these resources, you will need the service member’s social security number. Oh, one more thing. Despite the title of this post, these resources can be used for any civil proceeding, not just divorces.

If You Live Near or On a Military Base

There are a couple of resources that are found on most, if not all, military bases.

The first of these is the base locator. If you know that the service member is stationed on the base, but you don’t know the command to which he is assigned, the base locator should be able to give you this information. You can then serve the military spouse with process at the duty station.

Another resource located on-base is the legal assistance attorney (LAA). This is either a civilian attorney or judge advocate whose function is to aid servicemembers and their family members advice on civil legal matters. You can use the LAA at a base even if you are affiliated with another branch of the military. For example, a Navy spouse can use the LAA at an Army base.

Worldwide Locators

If you cannot use one of the above resources, you may have to use one of the worldwide military locators. To use these, you must give as much information as possible about the service member, such as name, social security number, rank, and last known duty station. This service is free for immediate family members, and everyone else must pay a small fee.

For some of the services, the locators only have records for active duty personnel. Others may have information on reservists and National Guard.

U.S. Army

Commander
U.S. Army Enlisted Records & Evaluation Center
ATTN: Locator
8899 East 56th Street
Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249

U.S. Navy

World Wide Locator
Bureau of Naval Personnel
PERS 312F
5720 Integrity DR
Millington, TN 38055

U.S. Marine Corps

Commandant of the Marine Corps
Headquarters, USMC
Code MMSB-10
Quantico, VA 22134

U.S. Air Force

HQ AFMPC/RMIQL
550 C Street, West
Suite 50
Randolph AFB, TX 78150

(Photo credit: DVIDS)

So, how do you know if you will be eligible to receive some of your spouse’s benefits if you divorce him/her? You follow what’s called the 20-20-20 Rule. An excellent discussion of the rule is found at Christine Bauer’s Florida Divorce & Family Law Blog. To quote Christine, “If you have been married for 20 years, your spouse has been in the military for at least 20 years, and you have 20 years of marriage overlapping your 20 years of military service, then you are entitled to the same benefits as your soon to be ex-spouse.”

There is also a 20-20-15 rule, and I invite you to check out Christine’s site to learn more about it.