Piecemeal update of US military base ID rules continues

The U.S. military is upgrading its digital ID requirements in bits and pieces, including as part of pandemic control.

Two hundred Uber drivers in the U.S. state of Texas have registered for a biometric identification program newly required for ride-shares on a Fort Worth naval air station.

And, in Massachusetts, civilian retirees and some volunteers are being required to get Real ID-compliant documents to get on a local base.

Officers at naval air station joint reserve base Fort Worth want to give residents the option of ride-sharing services off base if they have no car or if they are not able to drive.

In order to ferry personnel from specially assigned pick-up and drop-off locations on the base, 187 Uber drivers have so far gotten Defense Biometric Identification System accounts. The ID verification program collects data including biometrics and demographics.

Unlike with Defense Department personnel, the drivers are issued a program card. For personnel assigned to the base, the collected data becomes part of a person’s identification file and accessed through the various identification programs in use by the military.

Meanwhile, at Hanscom Air Force Base in the state of Massachusetts, retired Defense Department employees and some volunteers are being told to get Real ID license and other ID documents to enter installations.

Real ID-compliant documents are becoming base identification, according to the Air Force Materiel Command.

The federal program’s goal is to standardize the formatting of state IDs. A lack of standards has resulted in misidentifications and other errors by law enforcement.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  identity verification  |  Real ID  |  U.S. Army  |  Uber