Provenance · Verification Methodology

How claims in this archive are anchored and labeled.

This archive separates three kinds of statements and marks the difference. Established fact carries an Army record, a government-produced public source, or a VA determination. Sworn witness testimony is the subject’s first-person account under penalty of perjury. Analysis pending verification is the subject’s interpretation of the record and is not asserted as fact until the supporting documents are on file.

Unit Insignia
25th Signal Battalion coat of arms
25th Signal Battalion Parent unit · 230th Sig Co (TIN)
160th Signal Brigade distinctive unit insignia
160th Signal Brigade Higher HQ · Finest of the First

Three tiers of claim

No statement on this site is presented without an anchor. Each claim is treated as belonging to one of three tiers, and where the distinction matters the archive says which tier is being used.

TierWhat it meansHow it is anchored
Established fact Verifiable directly against a document or an external agency determination. Army record (OER, DD 214, promotion order, permanent order), a government-produced public source (DVIDS, unit publication), or a VA rating decision.
Sworn testimony First-person account by the subject of events he witnessed or experienced. Sworn testimony from the subject of record, presented in clearly labeled witness panels.
Analysis pending verification The subject’s interpretation of the record, not yet asserted as fact. Marked with an amber flag. Resolution depends on FOIA returns and continuing documentary work and is not to be cited as established fact until the underlying document is on file.

Claim-to-anchor map

The principal claims across this archive map to their anchors as follows. Where an anchor is a document not yet returned under FOIA, the claim is held in the analysis tier until that document is received and added to the record.

ClaimTierAnchor
OEF deployment Sep 2011 – Jul 2012; 230th Signal Company assignment Established fact OER #1; DD Form 214 (Army)
VBIED exposure, 4 October 2011 Established fact / testimony Service medical records; sworn declaration
Closed-head injury with loss of consciousness, on or about 12–22 October 2011 Testimony; date pending Sworn declaration; exact date held by battalion records
VA 100% service-connected TBI, effective 21 August 2012 Established fact VA rating decision
Meritorious Service Medal (PO 12-130-05, 9 May 2012) Established fact Permanent order
MUC order date range (Oct 2010–Sep 2011) vs. actual service (Sep 2011–Jun 2012) Established contradiction PO 119-11 on its face vs. OER #1 / DD 214
Doctrinal influence on FM 6-02 / 80–90% of Signal Captains Career Course curriculum Analysis pending verification Subject’s analysis; FM 6-02 returned under FOIA in May 2026 — paragraph-level comparison ongoing
Coalition fiber link as first NATO–U.S. signal connection in RC-West Testimony / analysis Sworn declaration; corroborating unit records sought