In the US armed forces, separation means that a person is leaving

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...

but not necessarily the service entirely. Separation typically occurs when someone reaches the date of their Expiration of Term of Service (ETS) and are released from active duty, but still must complete their military reserve obligations. Upon separation, they receive Form

DD214 DD, dd, or other variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment *"D.D.", a track on mixtape ''Echoes of Silence'' by The Weeknd *DD (character), a character in ''The Saga of Seven Suns'' novels by Kevin J. Anderson *DD National or DD1, an India ...

, which verifies their military service. It is important to keep a copy of DD-214 since it must be shown to receive

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

(VA) benefits. A veteran or next of kin may request a copy of the DD214 form by going to National Personal Records Center's website. When service members completes their full military obligation, they are discharged and receive a formal certificate of discharge, usually an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

References

United States military policies Military terminology of the United States {{US-mil-stub