Armed Forces

[ckmcdonald]

Is there an electronic method of determining (in LCR or otherwise) which members of a ward/stake are serving in the armed forces (US)?

[lajackson]

Is there a method of determining (in LCR or otherwise) which members of a ward/stake are serving in the arm forces (US)?

That kind of information is not kept by the Church. You would need to ask the individual members of a ward to determine if they were serving in a military branch of the U.S., just as you would have to ask about any other profession, doctor, accountant, builder, plumber, educator, etc.

[ckmcdonald]

A few years ago the number of members serving in the military was reported at the end of the computer generated sustaining sheets for ward/stake conferences but I can’t remember if the number of military members was provided automatically or had to be manually entered. Does anyone recall which? My memory is telling me it was automatically provided.

[lajackson]

A few years ago the number of members serving in the military was reported at the end of the computer generated sustaining sheets for ward/stake conferences but I can’t remember if the number of military members was provided automatically or had to be manually entered. Does anyone recall which? My memory is telling me it was automatically provided.

It was manually entered. The ward or stake needed to figure out a number to put on the form. In a regular ward, the number was usually small and accurate. In a ward that served many military members, the number was usually estimated but close to being accurate.

At the stake level, we just used our best guess.

The number of full-time missionaries was also manually entered by the unit, but we had a better handle on that one.

[cjbeckert]

As others have pointed out, the short answer is no. While a by-name list like this may seem helpful at times to ward and stake leaders, if it finds its way into the wrong hands, it can also be helpful to those with ill intent. Having served both in uniform and in Church leadership positions, these lists were regarded as a potential OPSEC issue, especially when it consolidated information on not only who was active military but if they were still at home or deployed, TDY, etc. Since wards/stakes I was in often covered a military base you could, theoretically, extrapolate info on military unit movements. One innocent data point when complied with others can create a bigger picture. That's what OPSEC tries to protect. Instead, Church leadership relied heavily on home/visit teachers to keep tabs on family wellbeing and did not keep consolidated lists. Any list developed was focused on family need shortfalls and not military status.