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For military members, retirees and their families, Common Access Cards and dependent or retiree identification cards grant access to military installations and the services provided on them.
But what happens when an ID is lost or stolen? Not only can the security of the base be at risk, the person whose ID is missing is also at risk for scams and identity theft.
“A CAC or ID card left in the hands of an unauthorized person can have serious implications on our overall security,” said Michael Velez, 86th Airlift Wing chief of information protection. “An authorized person with the know-how skills can possibly get access to our network systems and gain entry onto the installation and sensitive areas, which will have an impact on operations security and the protection of our personnel.”
The ID card office replaces anywhere from 100 to 150 cards in a given month. With cards costing $10 to $12 per card to replace, that’s roughly $1,000 to $1,800 a month it costs the Air Force to replace ID cards at Ramstein, said Tech. Sgt. Cyrus Bangunan, 86th Mission Support Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of ID cards.
To decrease the risk of lost or stolen IDs and help save money, Sergeant Bangunan offers the following tips:
• Be mindful of where your ID card is and where you put it at all times.
• Everyone needs to be responsible for their ID cards and their dependent’s ID cards.
• Use ID cardholders. The ID card office has both hard and soft ID-cardholders.
• Keep cards in your wallet, instead of in your pocket.
• Always carry your ID card with you when you leave your desk or house. Take your ID card out of the card reader at work when you’re not at your desk.
One of the most common reasons Sergeant Bangunan said ID cards get lost is because people put IDs in their pockets.
“People put keys in their pockets along with their ID. In winter, they also have their gloves in their pockets,” he said. “All this stuff they mix in their pockets, and when they go to pull out their gloves or other items, their ID card will fall out of their pocket without them knowing it.”
So when an ID card is lost or stolen, what should someone do? Military members need to fill out a lost letter form and get their first sergeant’s or commander’s signature. This also applies to dependents whose sponsor is a military member.
Department of Defense civilians need to fill out a civilian lost letter form and get either the Civilian Personnel Office or Human Resource Office to sign the letter, depending on which office hired them. This also applies to dependents whose sponsor is a DOD civilian. The lost letter form can be found as a hard copy at the ID card office or in soft-copy form on the Air Force Portal at the 86th MSS military personnel flight’s Web page under the “ID Cards/DEERS” section.
After turning the form into the ID cards office, Team Ramstein members should notify law enforcement of the lost or stolen ID.
“It is important to report it to law enforcement, so they can flag it in the system that your ID card was lost or stolen,” Sergeant Bangunan said. “This will help if someone tries to gain access to base using your ID. If somebody finds a lost ID card and tries to use it to gain entry to base and it’s not flagged that it was stolen or lost, then that person can actually use the card to get onto base.”
At the end of the day, awareness is the key to safeguarding IDs.
“Stuff happens. It’s out of our control” Sergeant Bangunan said. “Knowing where your ID card is can help you avoid a lost or stolen ID.”
