ID card demand hasn’t slowed

  • Published
  • By Darrius Parker
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Throughout this pandemic, the 88th Force Support Squadron and Military Personnel Flight’s ID Card Office has seen no decline in operations. In fact, their operations have escalated.

 “We typically service 650 to 850 ID cards during a five-day week,” said Capt. Katherine Yatko, Military Personnel Flight commander. “On a yearly basis, we create approximately 31,000 ID cards.”

The office services all military branches, to include Department of Defense civilians and contractors, military and DOD civilian retirees, their family members and foreign affiliates.

It serves about 90,000 members within a six-state radius, which includes Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Since COVID-19 restrictions have caused an influx of ID cardholders to set appointments, DOD has granted extensions for expiring family member or retiree ID cards due to ongoing mitigation efforts.

Yatko said about 1.1 million cards have expired throughout DOD, and Ohio alone has about 6,000. 

For family members of active duty, Reserve and National Guard personnel, the extension remains until Oct. 31. For retirees and their dependents, the extension goes to Jan. 31.

Personnel can call the ID Office’s customer service line at 937-522-3664 or send an email to wpidcards@us.af.mil for questions and document changes. Although not the first option, appointments can be made by phone but not via email. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Appointments should be made through RAPIDS ID Card Office Online at https://idco.dmdc.osd.mil/idco or www.wrightpatt.com/military-personnel. Select your ID card selection type, then follow the instructions.

The RAPIDS scheduler displays available appointments after 4 p.m. the first Friday of each month, but the window is for the following month. Customers can use the selection arrows to choose the next month to schedule an appointment. If the first Friday falls on a holiday, then appointments will be available the first business day prior.

Mondays and Tuesdays, members will be serviced for walk-ins on a first-come, first-serve basis until they reach the daily customer capacity of 120 to 150, which is all dependent upon manning and machine availability. Military Personnel Flight officials say this is done in an effort to mitigate wait times at the facility and adhere to COVID-19 personnel capacity.

“We encourage members to verify the most recent guidance on our website, be mindful of any updates or policy changes, and reach out to our customer support team if they have any questions,” Yatko said. “If the phone goes to voicemail during customer hours, that means the front desk is either on the other line or helping a customer.

“If you are initially unsuccessful, please call back later or feel free to visit the ID Card Office for assistance.”