My father served in the Air Force for 32 Years. He retired in 1982. Is there a way to obtain unredacted service records?

Funny, I did 32 and out as an O-6. Last thing I did before retiring was to get a fiche of my official record. The "stuff" that's not supposed to go into it never did, so there's nothing to redact. The record shows my assignments, but not where the assignments took me. The record won't show what you did with the exception of the name of the billet, whatever was allowed (nonclassified) in the fitness reports, and whatever is allowed on the awards. Like most everyone, there is the record and then there is what you actually did. Two different things. There'd be other records, but they'd be classified. Most classified is never declassified for public consumption. If you fill out the forms right, you'll get what is allowed to be given.

Tell you a true story. Look up "Project Coldfeet". The main guy, Lenny LeSchack, lived nearby and we did our "535 Club" thing every Thursday. Yes, he had a service record, but only a portion of the real story became evident years after when the CIA declassified some of the stuff. Imagine being a very junior O-3 with a LOM on your chest that you can't talk about. There's other stuff about his life that now rests with him at Arlington. We talked a lot because we both spent a pile of time in Antarctica, 20 years apart. Great guy but a tragic ending with a faulty heater and carbon monoxide. He didn't have long anyways given his affirmaties and maybe that was a blessing. I have some of my father's record. It talked about being deep in China during WWII. What he did was another story for which his personal record along with photos told a deeper and more brutal story.

Sorry you can't receive full records due to Security Clearances. I hzd the same problem with my Dad.

Some things never get into official records, simply because performance reports are summaries and highlights of what a person has done within a designated reporting period, which is usually a year or less. Top secret mission details are never included in such reports for national security. What you see in those reports is what was allowed at the time. Blanket TDY orders, which are not accessible because they existed at the unit level and were usually destroyed after their required retention period of 5-7 years, also did not tell where a member was assigned temporarily in the performance of certain missions. Unless you got the stories directly from your dad, there is lots of stuff you may never be able to recapture, which is simply the “nature of the beast.” Having said that, review your dad’s file for the units to which he was assigned then look through the Air Force Assn Magazine (you can access online) for unit reunions. You may be able to find connections through those groups who may have known your dad and may be able to discuss declassified activities with which he was associated.

Honestly - it depends on what he did, and if the information can carry consequences, even remotely. I am pretty sure from 1950 to 1982 there is a good chance that he was part of some hush hush ops, even if it was on a fringe basis, we are talking about the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, and other, smaller, operations that may seem irrelevant, but if pieced together with other information, can paint a pretty clear picture.

USA Military service at VA

Yes, they can be obtained by submitting as Standard Form 180 to the National Archives. The request has to be made by the veteran, or by the next of kin if the veteran is deceased. In the case of a deceased veteran, the next of kin should be prepared to show that the veteran is deceased and prove the relationship. It really is very simple.

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html