Actually, there's still a fair amount of paper in the Department of Defense. VA is the custodian of the Department of Defense's paper records for those who are either separated or retired from the military. Those are sent to a place in St. Louis, Missouri, where if the veteran applies for a benefits claim or seeks health benefits from VA, those records are available to either be sent to Veterans Health Administration Benefits or to the veteran themselves. If that military person seeks care from us, then we can access those records, but if they do not seek care, we cannot access the records.
On March 23rd, 2009. See this statement in context.