Research smarter. Find the records. Understand the service.

Most people do not realize the vast resources available to those researching Navy, Merchant Marine, or Coast Guard service. Nor do they realize that these branches may have records to assist each other. These small-group coaching sessions live on Zoom Meeting are designed to walk you step-by-step through a proven two-part research process, tailored specifically to the military branch you’re researching and your needs. This new program, combining World War II vessels and veterans will guide you through online and offline resources to find the answers you seek.

What We’ll Cover

There will be two guided group coaching sessions, you’ll receive workbooks prior to each session.  These sessions run 1.5 hours.

Session 1: 

• Learn the general two-step research strategy to help you research any veteran from World War II.

• Walk through part 1 of the research strategy specific to Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine service.

• Explore the main pieces of the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) also known as the service file. Learn why this isn't the full story of service.

• Learn about the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) created for all those who died while in military service.

• Build a Timeline of Service specific to these branches to clearly see the history, errors, and gaps.

• Briefly navigate online and offline sources to obtain the basic records you need to reconstruct service.

Session 2:

• Build context so records actually tell a story using unit level records specific to your sailor's service history.

• Live walk-through on Fold3, Ancestry, NARA Catalog, and offline sites to obtain contextual records.
• Learn how to put the full story together for a Navy, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine veteran.

This is not generic military research advice — it’s branch-specific, practical, and immediately usable. If you’ve ever thought “I know the records are out there — I just don’t know how to find them,” this is for you. Join a branch-specific military coaching group and learn how to locate records, understand service, and uncover the story your veteran left behind.

This is not a general presentation. It’s active, personalized research support. Attendance live on Zoom is strongly encouraged.

A replay plus record examples to review will be sent to registrants after the live event.

Jennifer's courses and Zoom chats have removed so much mystery from the process of researching a military veteran. I appreciate the straightforward approach that avoids going down endless trails of research that does not yield any results. She has designed a method to work through the labyrinth of military records which makes it possible for any level of researcher to understand.

I am an experienced researcher and Jennifer opened research doors for me I was unaware of. If you're serious about your research invest the time with Jennifer, her knowledge is the kind only gained from decades of experience in this field.

~Monique 

Jennifer's military sessions are for researchers of every skill level who want to make big discoveries and gain insights. This is high-level, individualized WWII research coaching. Jennifer has deep knowledge of all branches of the military and record sets. Her generous sessions are about your specific projects and veterans. What awaits you are new and in-depth military resources and online documents. Bring your questions and get answers from an expert. Highly recommended.

- Lori