COLD WAR RECOGNITION CERTIFICATE
The Cold War Recognition Certificate is a recognition certificate awarded by the Secretary of Defense to all U.S. Armed Forces personnel and qualified federal government civilian personnel who faithfully and honorably served the United States anytime during the Cold War era, which is defined as September 2, 1945 to December 26, 1991. Anyone who served in the military or the Federal Government during this period is authorized to receive the certificate.
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
The NPRC, upon request, will provide copies of DD-214s (or equivalent) or SF-50s to authorized requesters. These documents will be needed to validate your service and to apply for the Certificate. For information on how to obtain a copy of your DD-214 (for military service personnel) or SF-50 (for Federal civilian personnel) see:
| MILITARY PERSONNEL RECORDS |
CIVILIAN PERSONNEL RECORDS |
| If the veteran separated from military service before 1955: | If the veteran separated from military service after 1954: | If the Federal civil servant’s employment ended before 1952: CLICK HERE |
If the Federal civil servant’s employment ended after 1951: |
While the NPRC provides proof of service and separation documents; the Center does not supply the Certificate itself, nor does it have the application form available. Congress established the Cold War certificate in Section 1084 of the fiscal 1998 National Defense Authorization Act. The Department of Defense designated the Department of the Army as the Executive Agent for the Cold War Recognition Certificate Program, whereupon the Army established a website to explain the procedure for requesting the certificate.