Plan ahead if you need to get or renew your military-issued ID

  • Published
  • By Richard Essary
  • 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- If your Common Access Card or Uniformed Services ID is set to expire in the next few months, there’s some things you should know.

First and foremost, plan ahead.

Capt. Bill Werner, Military Personnel Flight commander, said the customer support section located in building 430 at Hill serves nearly 2,400 customers for ID cards each month, a major workload for the size of his section.

When it comes to card issues and renewals, he said individuals should not rely on walk-in service if they can help it. Instead, they should plan months in advance of their CAC or USID expiration date by making an online appointment. The online calendar to make an appointment opens up about 90 days in advance.

Customers can create appointments and manage DEERS-related issues from the ID Card Office Online portal at idco.dmdc.osd.mil/idco.

An appointment is made by searching for your nearest "ID Card Office Online" and clicking on "ID Card” option. There are no appointments available for federal holidays, AFMC Family Days, every second Wednesday of the month because of training, and every Thursday because of support to new employee orientation card issues.

“While we ask customers to make an appointment for service, some customers wait and cannot get an appointment before their card expires,” Werner said. “These customers can come in as walk-in customers and will be considered priority if it’s within three days of their card’s expiration.”

The customer support section plans for at least 12 walk-in appointments per day beginning at 8 a.m. Customers can also walk in from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for emergency assistance. For example, personnel who lock themselves out of their cards because they input an incorrect PIN can walk in since they are unable to access their CAC-enabled workstations while they’re locked out.

Werner said the number of customers who walk in because of a locked card varies daily, but they do contribute to the overall wait times for other customers.

The MPF at Hill has five specialized computer terminals called RAPIDS, or Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System, to issue ID cards. The Defense Manpower Data Center determines the number of terminals at an installation and the networks they’re connected with are centrally managed.

“If one terminal goes down, and they do, 20% of our capacity is lost until it’s fixed,” Werner said.

The section continues to look for ways to be to improve its customer service, including implementing best practices from other bases.

“We are in the process of acquiring a new queue kiosk sign-in system to add transparency to the sign-in process along with the wait times,” Werner said. “This new system will allow customers to sign in remotely, one hour in advance to their appointment, and view the queue in real-time.”

While the kiosk won’t necessarily allow the MPF to produce more cards, he said it will help customers know what their wait time looks like.

“We appreciate people’s patience as we work to serve our more than 107,000 military members, civilian employees, family dependents, retirees and veterans throughout the northern Utah and the surrounding region,” Werner said.

Other locations that issue CACs and USIDs in northern Utah include Dugway Proving Ground in Tooele and the 151st Air National Guard in Salt Lake City. The 419th Force Support Squadron at Hill AFB also serves Reserve personnel.

Before traveling to building 430 to update your card, customers can check the status of RAPIDS by calling 801-777-4000 or checking the DMDC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/go2dmdc.

For customer support, call 801-777-1673, option 1.