Veterans ID Card should be issued to all honorably discharged veterans!

SSgt Timothy Butterworth — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:09:41 -0400

We as veterans need to engage congress and The VA to make Veterans ID cards available to all honorably discharged veterans. The DD-214 is not good enough and currently only Texas seems to have a Veteran Identifier on their drivers license which is a larger hassle to get.

It is currently almost impossible for homeless honorably discharged veterans to receive this ID even if they are getting services through the VA.

Simply put the DD-214 is not good enough and we should not be expected to turn over so much PII information to companies offering hiring incentives or discounts to prove we are veterans.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jun 3 at 2015 1:10 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:10:45 -0400

I think that is a great idea!

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jun 3 at 2015 1:11 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:11:24 -0400

I would say yes to two separate IDs. One for veterans and one for retired members. This since the benefits are different for each group.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2015 1:13 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:13:16 -0400

Not a bad idea. It would be interested to see if it passess or not.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Jun 3 at 2015 1:18 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:18:22 -0400

SSgt Timothy Butterworth, actually most states already have this.

http://militarybenefits.info/veterans-id-on-drivers-license-id-card-by-state/

Response by CPO Ed Ball made Jun 3 at 2015 1:21 PM

CPO Ed Ball — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:21:46 -0400

Veterans that are residents of our county, stop by their local County Veterans Service Office, if they do not have a military I.D. or a VAMC I.D. we will make them a veterans I.D. upon receipt of DD-214/AGO-53 along with a second I.D. to confirm they are who they say they are.

Local vendors i.e., Lowes, Home Depot, etc.. give 10% discounts for veterans. Our office is operated on a .5mil levy on county property tax, hence the requirement for residents of this county.

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Jun 3 at 2015 1:41 PM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:41:28 -0400

over 20 states have the option of having a veteran identifier on your license.

Response by CW4 Abdulaziz Bulling made Jun 3 at 2015 1:44 PM

CW4 Abdulaziz Bulling — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:44:20 -0400

I currently have an ID Card issued by the VA in addition to my retired card. I believe that any veteran that is enrolled in the VA system can get a card.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 3 at 2015 4:15 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 16:15:27 -0400

Good Point and Interesting Idea!

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 3 at 2015 11:15 PM

PO1 John Miller — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 23:15:01 -0400

I have my retired ID but I also have the word VETERAN on my Arizona driver license.

Response by SSG James Arlington made Jun 4 at 2015 12:30 AM

SSG James Arlington — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:30:10 -0400

Yes. Would make it easier than taking a copy of my DD214 to the pie shop on veterans day!

Response by SPC Chad Kolod made Jun 4 at 2015 12:30 AM

SPC Chad Kolod — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:30:44 -0400

So in Maine if you were honorably discharged and you bring your dd214 for confirmation the DMV will put an American flag behind your picture on your drivers license.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2015 12:54 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:54:10 -0400

I am a retiree, but I think that if you have served your country honorably (no matter how long) - you should at least have something other than your DD214 to prove that you gave your service to this country.

The government should give every man and woman who served honorably an ID indicating they are a veteran upon departure from service - it shouldn't just be a reward just for those that were able to stay in for 20 or more years.

Just like the little benefit of the exchanges and commissaries - should be a benefit to all who have served in the military. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. - Those men and woman who made it through alive but didn't stay in to retire should have been given the benefit as well as an ID showing that they were veterans.

To me this feels like what the senate and congress do to the military benefits after conflicts fade in memory. They have made veterans who got out before retirement look like lower class individuals and have treated them like society treats our homeless citizens and homeless veterans.

Anyone in my eyes who served in the military deserves the respect and honor of this nation – at least with an actual government issued ‘veteran’ ID and a little benefit like access to exchanges and commissaries is a very small thing to ask.

In this day and age of stolen valor it would be a quick way to establish someone’s credibility if they were issued an actual ‘veteran’ ID upon separation (with all the water marks and identifiers that the retired ID’s have. I don’t know anybody that carries a copy of their DD214 on them just to prove their credibility of being a veteran – especially with all the PII on it.

Response by SP5 Joel O'Brien made Jun 8 at 2015 10:10 AM

SP5 Joel O'Brien — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 10:10:09 -0400

When I separated from active duty I was given five or ten copies of my DD-214. In addition, I received a mini-copy of it, laminated, about the size of a credit card, that I have carried in my wallet every day since. When asked once at the VA for a copy of my 214, I produced this item and the gent looked at it with amazement as he'd never seen one before viewing mine. This copy was made for me at the time of separation at Fort Dix. Are these are no longer made? It sure has been handy for me. Also, why would a DD-214 not be enough evidence to prove ones veteran status, when presented with a photo ID such as a driver's license or state-issued ID?

Response by SFC William Farrell made Jul 22 at 2015 11:15 PM

SFC William Farrell — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 23:15:05 -0400

It looks like the ID Card bill may have passed the House and Senate if i am reading this right.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/91

H.R.91 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Veterans Identification Card Act 2015 | Congress.gov |...

Summary of H.R.91 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Veterans Identification Card Act 2015

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 23 at 2015 8:14 AM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 08:14:06 -0400

I'd like a veteran ID card because there are times I need to prove my status. It is appropriate in my opinion.

Some places offer discounts to vets and without some form of proof it's hard to get them.

Response by TSgt Kevin Miller made Jul 30 at 2015 12:41 AM

TSgt Kevin Miller — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 00:41:23 -0400

I agree with you. One of the reasons that I would like one is that many, if not most people and businesses, don't really know what a veteran is. Many think that a vets are only those who retired from the military. Last Veterans Day there was a lot of confusion about what proof a restaurant should require. At least one restaurant that i know of stated that vets can receive a discount if they show their retired military ID Card. I have had friendly arguments with friends in the past about what "they" think a vet is. I have even been told that only those who have been in combat are true vets. The DD-214 is too cumbersome to carry around and i haven't looked at mine in ages but i believe that the SSN is on there. Nowadays that needs to remain confidential and not flashed around. I remember the time in the 70's when being in the military or being a vet was greatly looked down upon. Now it's again popular to be a vet and I would like to have a Veterans ID Card.

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Sep 12 at 2015 4:26 PM

PO1 Glenn Boucher — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 16:26:26 -0400

I don't think anyone should be carrying around their DD-214 anyway, you lose it and someone can take advantage of you and its not easy to replace a DD-214 regardless of what people say.
I think there is good sense in having a Veterans ID for those that have the proper discharge, but knowing the VA it will become a huge hassle to get a simple ID in a timely manner. It took me 10 days just to get my VA Medical ID.

Response by Sgt John Henry made Sep 17 at 2015 1:48 PM

Sgt John Henry — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 13:48:46 -0400

A Veteran ID card would be a convenient way to show you are a real veteran.

I hate to bring it up here, but there is a serious problem in the Boston area, perhaps in some other parts of the US as well, some individuals who claim to be veterans and are not. They claim benefits and respect when in fact they are fraudulent. A ID card could solve this problem.

Response by SGT Debra Jahnel made Jun 28 at 2019 3:13 PM

SGT Debra Jahnel — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 15:13:51 -0400

Just an aside: when I ETS'd the Army, I married into the AF, got my pretty little pink dependent ID card. He retired, I have my retiree dependent ID card. Tried to access MilPerCen online last week because I've misplaced my DD214 & was told "my records are no longer accessible online because I can have only 1 online record & because of retiree benefits it has to be my dependent record. Doesn't matter that I'm also 50%+ disabled.

Response by SGT Debra Jahnel made Jun 28 at 2019 3:17 PM

SGT Debra Jahnel — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 15:17:35 -0400

Just read a comment about VA issued id card - be careful, they issue 2 cards: veterans ID card and a VA IDCard which is not supposed to be used outside VA facilities because some spouses get them as well.

Response by PO3 Larry Nobles made Nov 4 at 2019 4:02 PM

PO3 Larry Nobles — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 16:02:57 -0500

With your DD214, the VA will issue you a photo ID card.