GETTING YOUR DEPENDENT'S ID

One of my first impressions of the Army can be summed up into one word: Paperwork. When you marry a person in the armed forces, get ready for tons of confusing paperwork and processes. My soldier moved across the country to begin BOLC a month after we got married. Once he arrived in his new “home” we had a really difficult time determining what needed to be done and where to do it. So in honor of the frustration I felt as I tried to get our lives sorted out, my first post is dedicated to onboarding a spouse into the Army.

The end goal of going through onboarding is to get a dependent’s military ID. This card will allow you to get on posts without your soldier and will also act as your benefits card (Health and Dental Insurance)

The first thing your soldier will need to do is enroll you in DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System). This is a worldwide system that verifies those who qualify for military benefits and will give you access to TRICARE which is the military’s health insurance. The TRICARE plan that spouses qualify for depends on where you live and your soldier’s military status. You can find more information at this link: http://www.tricare.mil/LifeEvents/Marriage.aspx

I was initially enrolled in TRICARE Standard but learned that we qualified for Prime and immediately changed my coverage to TRICARE Prime. Be cautious that your coverage might not start right away! I was enrolled in Prime at the end of July but was unaware that my coverage did not start until September 1st. We ended up having to pay $80 out of pocket to cover a wellness visit I had on August 31st! Learn from my mistake and make sure that your coverage has started before making any routine appointments. If you aren’t sure, look up your regional TRICARE phone number and just ask the enrollment help desk.

To enroll a spouse in DEERS, your soldier will need to go to the DEERS or ID Card Office on their post to sponsor you. You can use this link to find the location closest to you: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/appj/site?execution=e1s1

I would highly recommend making an appointment; some locations won’t see you without one!

During their visit your soldier will need to bring original or certified copies of your marriage certificate, spouse’s birth certificate, spouse’s Social Security card, and spouse’s photo ID. The dependents do not need to present for this but absolutely can be. While at their appointment all service members fill out DD Form 1172-2 (http://www.cac.mil/docs/dd1172-2.pdf) and your soldier fills out DD Form 1173 for Dependents of Active Duty Members or 1173-1 for Dependents of Guard and Reserve.

Since my husband and I were living in different states at this point, my husband took care of all of this and actually used his CAC Card to submit all of the paperwork I needed to the ID Card Office. Isn’t he the best?!

When you go to get your ID, you must bring all of the paperwork and two forms of ID (at least one with a picture on it). I brought my driver’s license and my Social Security card. The office then pulled up the paperwork my soldier had submitted, I signed, and we were done. They will take your picture for your ID (so make sure to shower that morning… lesson learned) and make your ID right then and there so you can take it home with you.

Once you have your ID you will present it at gates to get on post, use it as your health insurance card, and use it to get into things like the commissary (on post grocery store) and PX (on post store similar to Target).

#MILITARY #RESOURCES