JULY 22, 2024 – Beginning in 2026, the legacy Uniformed Services Identification (USID) card will no longer be accepted for access to benefits, privileges, or DoD bases.
According to the DoD Common Access Card website, USID cards are issued to retired military and Reserve members, dependent family members of uniformed Service members, and other eligible individuals in accordance with DoD policy. On July 31, 2020, the DoD started issuing the Next Generation USID cards at select DoD ID card facilities with a phased implementation for all facilities which was completed in December that year.
Tech. Sgt. Marlene Chavez, noncommissioned officer in charge of customer support for the 911th Force Support Squadron, stated the plastic cardstock Next Generation USID card’s new features will help battle against counterfeiting and fraud in response to the implementation of the Real ID Act.
“The old IDs were laminated paper that weren’t secure enough for us,” Chavez said. “Now, it’s a format that no one can easily make any version of.”
In the wake of the Real ID Act, the DoD also terminated the civilian retiree ID card in August 2023, stating that civilian retirees were to present their retirement documents to enroll a Real ID act-compliant driver’s license as an alternate to the DoD civilian retiree ID card.
Chavez also emphasized the importance of planning ahead when it comes to IDs, stating that appointments book up fast as she helps renew or update about 100 IDs a week. With Pennsylvania having the fourth-largest veteran population in the country, it is important to be proactive when it comes to updating the USID card.
“You can go to any facility, and it doesn’t matter the branch.” Chavez said. “As long as they have a working [Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System] machine, you can call and make an appointment, or make it online.”
Moon Township is home to four separate facilities that can provide military retirees and dependents card issuing services. Two of which, the 911th FSS and the Naval Operations Support Center can be found at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Stations installation. The other, the 171st Air National Guard and McGarity Army Reserve Center are within the Pittsburgh Airport area as well.
Eligible members still using a legacy USID card are encouraged to make appointments with their local DoD ID card facility as soon as possible to avoid any access issues in the future. Military retires and dependents can find more information, to include locations and phone numbers, and book appointments online by visiting https://idco.dmdc.osd.mil/idco/.
Story by Tech. Sgt. Lucas Weber
911th Airlift Wing