That absence is the reason this section exists, and everything else follows from it. A veteran's service can only appear in the national database as free text inside the box marked "circumstances of disappearance," which is not searchable as a filter. If a family does not type it in, it is not there at all.
The four kinds of case
Called a deserter, actually a crime victim. When an active-duty servicemember disappears from a US assignment, the default administrative answer is that they left on purpose — and that answer moves the person out of the missing-person system and into the wanted-person system. Read it at Deserter or Missing
Vanished stateside. Adults have the legal right to go missing. For a veteran with post-traumatic stress or a traumatic brain injury, "chose to leave" is a category error dressed up as a legal finding. Read it at Vanished Stateside
Found after decades. Cases closed by genetic genealogy, by a volunteer dive team, by one relative's DNA sample. Read it at Found After Decades
Still unidentified, and still military. Some of the unidentified dead in this country are veterans, and nobody has counted them either. What identifies them, over and over, is a tattoo. Read it at Still Unidentified
The story that started this section
The Army can find a missing soldier in two days — if he knew something. Six Criminal Investigation Command reports obtained by Need to Share News show what happens when a soldier with a security clearance disappears. Read it at Two Days
If you are looking for someone right now
Do not wait. There is no waiting period to file a missing person report. The 24-hour rule is a myth. Source: Source ↗
The sequence that matters, including what to do if the veteran went missing from a VA facility, is at Family Resources
If the person is a veteran in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is 988, then press 1, or text 838255. It is free, confidential, around the clock, and open to a veteran whether or not they are enrolled in VA care — and family and friends can call about a veteran. Source: Source ↗