LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Determine when a health record should be opened, and select the appropriate record jacket and sequence of medical forms to be placed within a new record.

This section will discuss the opening of active duty HRECs. HRECs are opened when an individual becomes a member of the Navy and Marine Corps, when a member on the retired list is returned to active duty, or when the original record has been lost or destroyed.

When establishing the four-part health record, the appropriate military health record jacket and required forms must be current and assembled in accordance with current directives.

OPENING HEALTH RECORDS FOR ACTIVE DUTY OFFICERS

Recruiting offices open HRECs for civilian applicants who are accepted for an officer

Primary Group Secondary Group Third Group

Figure 12-1.-Example of social security number grouping
and family member prefix.

appointment. The health record is then forwarded to the new officer's first duty station.

Midshipmen or former enlisted members appointed to commissioned officer or warrant officer grade continue to use their existing HREC. The MTF having custody of the record at the time of acceptance of appointment will make necessary entries to indicate the new grade and the designator or MOS. Also, the record custodian should prepare summary information entries on SF 600 and NAVMED 6150/4 to include date, place, and grade to which the member was appointed.

Health records of civilian candidates selected for appointment to the Naval Academy should be prepared at the Naval Academy at the time of appointment. Health records for civilian applicants selected for officer candidate programs should be opened upon enrollment in the program.

OPENING HEALTH RECORDS FOR ACTIVE DUTY ENLISTED PERSONNEL

The HREC is opened by the activity executing the enlistment contract upon original enlistment in the Navy or Marine Corps. An exception to this rule involves service members who are enlisted or inducted and ordered to immediate active duty at a recruit training facility. In this instance, the HREC will be opened by either the Naval Training Center (NTC) or Marine Corps Recruit Depot, as appropriate. Copies of the service member's SF 88, Report of Medical Examination, and SF 93, Report of Medical History, are sent to the appropriate NTC or recruit depot, and added to other applicable HREC forms in the member's HREC.

OPENING HEALTH RECORDS FOR RESERVISTS

The Naval Reserve Personnel Center (NRPC), New Orleans, is the HREC custodian for inactive reserve personnel. In addition, NRPC is responsible for the records' preparation and maintenance. When inactive reservists are called to active duty and their HRECs have not been received by their duty station, a request for their records should be initiated. Requests for Navy personnel are sent to NRPC. Marine Corps personnel requests are sent to the Marine Corps Reserve Support Center. For Navy and Marine Corps service members who were discharged before 31 January 1994, requests should be sent to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for record retrieval. For service members who were discharged after 31 January 1994, requests for record retrieval are sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Addresses of each of these activities are listed in the MANMED.

PREPARING THE HEALTH RECORD JACKET

A new military health record jacket, NAVMED 6150/20-29, should be prepared when an HREC is opened or when the existing jacket has been damaged or is deteriorating to the point of illegibility. The old jacket should be destroyed following replacement.

Preparing the Outside Front Cover and Inside Back Cover