The Tea on Your Mil-ID
There’s one little thing absolutely no military spouse can leave home without--hint, it’s not a cell phone! It’s your military ID. As a new spouse, one of the first things we are issued is our dependent ID card. This little pinkish, laminated, typically bad photo (it's them, not you, trust me--you, fellow milspo, are gorgeous!) is literally your ticket to spouse-hood.
So why exactly do you, as a spouse, need a dependent ID? While an ID is not correlated to a security clearance; meaning your ID does not grant access to any information privy to those with security clearances like our service members and DoD employees are allowed access to. However, there are some key things that your ID is needed for. Here are the things that your ID does allow you to do!
Access A Military Installation
An ID is crucial in gaining access to a military installation. While you are able to access via a visitor’s pass (at many, not all) installations through the visitor’s center located by the main gate, it can be a complicated process. Your military ID allows you easy access to post through any gate. After presenting your ID to a guard, you are allowed to proceed onto post.
Shop at the Commissary and Exchange
A dependent ID grants you access to privileges such as shopping at the commissary and exchange locations. This includes Class 6, shoppette, and other on-post shopping entities owned by AAFES. The commissary requires cashiers, including self-checkout, to scan the patron’s ID card to continue the transaction. Make sure to have your card with you before entering these locations or you will not be able to complete your shopping transactions.
Insurance and Medical Care
Your military ID also acts as your insurance card and allows you to receive medical care at on-post medical centers. Clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms on base will require you to show your military ID prior to treatments or appointments. Always have it handy! Children under age 10 will come up in the systems under their parent’s dependent ID number--so be sure to have it handy for children’s appointments as well. If using off-post medical centers, specialists, clinics, or dentists your military ID acts in place of a traditional insurance card.
Use of Military Facilities
Other facilities on post such as outdoor centers, rental centers for recreational equipment, movie theaters, bowling centers, gyms, and other MWR facilities often check for military IDs as well. This is to ensure that our military personnel and their families are the ones benefiting from the great programs offered on your installation.
There is power in your military ID! Make sure to keep it in a safe place to ensure it isn’t lost or stolen. Our military dependent IDs are our access to almost everything when it comes to using on-post facilities and accessing military installations. If you still need a military ID, chat with your mentor on the process.
