Service treatment records

Service treatment records, or STRs, are the medical records generated during military service: enlistment and separation examinations, sick call visits, treatment during deployments, dental records, and clinical notes from military treatment facilities.

STRs matter in a disability claim because they document what happened in service. A condition, injury, or symptom recorded in an STR establishes when it appeared, which bears directly on the connection to service a claim must establish. The absence of an in-service record does not end the question, but a documented in-service event is the cleanest starting point a file can offer.

Veterans can obtain STRs through the VA when filing, since the duty to assist covers requesting federal records, or directly: records from recent separations through milConnect, older ones from the National Archives using Standard Form 180.