FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Ensuring the Defense Logistics Agency and tenant organization employees, active-duty service members, retirees and their dependents are issued a government Common Access Card is just one job function for McNamara Headquarters Complex Pass and Identification Card Office employees.
The team of eight employees and their supervisor also manages building access control and processes visitor requests and monitoring at the Visitor Control Center. Saine’s team also conducts monitor secure facilities across the agency and its tenant organizations to ensure employee safety.
“We provide on average 150-300 CAC cards a day,” said Timothy Saine, site security manager. “We also provide another 100-200 building access [badges] a day.”
Saine said the HQC office is one of the few full-service Real-time Automated Personnel Identification System, known as RAPIDS, sites in the area, making his office very busy. RAPIDS, a Department of Defense system managed by the Defense Manpower Data Center, facilitates the issuance of identification cards to military personnel, their family members, retirees, and other eligible individuals. For those looking to save time, Saine said, he highly recommends making an appointment on the CAC/ID Appointment website.
On the website, customers can select sites by state, name, zip code or country. Once a site is selected, customers pick dates from the online appointment calendar.
Saine said people often ask why it takes so long to print an ID card.
“The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System enrollment and ID card issuance process consists of 20 steps to ensure the correct ID card is issued. The ID card is also given a digital signature to ensure the appropriate benefits, privileges and building accesses are assigned,” he said.
New hires
DLA Security Assistant Verifying Official Patricia Lily joined the agency 14 months ago while seeking a career change after working many years in childcare. Lily said she enjoys helping people and that she doesn’t have to do the same things every day.
“I enjoy solving problems and providing our customers with guidance or policy to highlight what our office can or can’t do to help them obtain their ID card,” she said.
To reduce the wait time and number of visits to her office for new hires, Lily recommends individuals take the appropriate actions before they visit.
She said new employees should check with their servicing HR specialist before visiting the PASS and ID office to ensure all necessary paperwork has been submitted and completed in RAPIDS.
She also recommends giving her office a call to ensure someone on her team can see the completed profile prior to coming to the PASS and ID office card office. Finally, Lily said, customers should remember to bring two forms of ID when visiting the Pass/ID office.
“Our office requires a picture ID, which can be a current CAC [Common Access Card], driver’s license or passport,” Saine said. “The second form of ID can be your birth certificate, social security card, voter registration or concealed carry card.”
Lily explained these are just a few reasons people sometimes get turned away from her office.
Incapacitated Dependent or Parent
Saine offered a tip to military sponsors who have dependent spouses, children or parents who have been declared medically incapacitated.
“The expiration date on the dependent’s ID card says ’indefinite,’” Saine said. “Whether the dependent’s incapacitated diagnosis is temporary or permanent, the sponsor is required to certify with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service every four years to show that their dependent’s condition has not changed to avoid losing coverage.”
Veterans with 100% VA Service-connected disability
Maria Jones began her career at DLA with the Police Force before accepting a role as a Security Assistant Verifying Official in the HQC PASS and ID office card office six years ago. Jones said she enjoys providing customer service and sharing information to ensure customers who are veterans have access to all the benefits they have earned.
“Many veterans who have a 100% service-connected disability rating through Veteran Affairs are unaware that they are eligible to receive a military ID card,” Jones said. “With the military ID card, the service member and their family members can go shopping at the commissary, post exchange, and use the gym on base,” she said.
Walk-ins to the PASS and ID office Card Office are accepted Monday-Friday for HQC employees and Wednesday-Friday for non-HQC employees. Business hours are 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
To use the RAPIDS scheduler, employees or external customers can visit the CAC/ID Appointment website. For questions or more information, contact the HQC Pass and ID Card Office at 571-767-4036.
For questions or more information about building access, contact the HQC Visitor Access Office at HQVisitorAccess.HQDLA@dla.mil or 571-767-8222.