Great thread op...I claim zero expertise in it, but I have strong interest having several times queried similar.
Given the mixed experiences above, it seems to be very random. I left in 2003 and my military medical records seem to have gone to the back recycle bin in the sky....or put another way...as far as the NHS is concerned I only started to exist in 2003.
There's a ton of stuff online about all of this, but none of it has ever helped me get access to mine...that said I've never gone beyond a casual enquiry to whoever my GP was at the time. Inoculations wise, strangely I actually kept all my certificates from the day I joined...not entirely sure why
Anyway, some years back the very helpful (and very yummy mummy) nurse at our local med center went through them all and uploaded any that were still valid in the NHS system. I remember it well, because she was exposing a tad too much décolletage and I remember thinking, I hope she does not want to take my blood pressure.
