Pentagon Faces ID Record Gap
PHOTO CAPTION: Airmen process Common Access Cards at the 127th Force Support Squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, in November 2022. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Dan Heaton)
About 215,000 active-duty and reserve service members have military personnel records that are missing identity documentation required under federal standards, creating a massive cleanup effort across the Defense Department.
The issue involves records in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, better known as DEERS, which is tied to military identification cards, benefits eligibility and other personnel functions. Pentagon officials described the problem as an administrative record gap rather than evidence that troops were improperly issued credentials.
The affected records represent roughly 10% of the active-duty and reserve force. A Pentagon official told Federal News Network that about 215,000 records were still considered noncompliant as of August.
Federal rules require CAC applicants to provide two original, valid forms of identification, including at least one government-issued photo ID. The problem is that the Defense Department did not always retain the required digital copies of those documents in DEERS.
The Defense Manpower Data Center began notifying affected service members earlier this year and directing them to correct their records. In an Aug. 25 message, the Marine Corps said affected personnel must appear at a RAPIDS identification-card facility and have the required documents entered into DEERS.
The Marine Corps warned that service members who fail to get two valid identity documents entered into their records could face CAC cancellation or forfeiture. However, officials have not reported widespread cancellations so far.
The Army accounts for about half of the remaining problem. Nearly 111,000 Army CAC records were under review as of Sept. 2, although the service said it had not revoked any cards because of the effort.
The Marine Corps reported approximately 21,584 Marines with records still needing correction as of July. Marines who are deployed and cannot reach an ID-card office are permitted to correct their records after returning.
Pentagon officials said there is no evidence of fraud, forgery, malicious activity or a related data breach. The effort is instead intended to bring older personnel records into compliance with current federal identity-proofing requirements.
For affected troops, however, fixing the government's paperwork may require another familiar military experience: gathering original documents and making a trip to the ID-card office.
Source: Federal News Network; U.S. Marine Corps MARADMIN 393/26
Photo
I would use this exact DVIDS photo rather than a generic CAC close-up:
It shows an actual military ID-card office with uniformed personnel and CAC-processing equipment, so the military connection is immediate. The DVIDS image is public domain, 4032×2880, and comes from the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
