{"id":22494,"date":"2017-10-19T13:27:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T13:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/19\/not-all-veterans-will-be-eligible-for-new-id-cards\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:16:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:16:56","slug":"not-all-veterans-will-be-eligible-for-new-id-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2017\/10\/19\/not-all-veterans-will-be-eligible-for-new-id-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Not all veterans will be eligible for new ID cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 When the Department of Veterans Affairs starts offering new ID cards next month, they won\u2019t be available to every veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because of a decision by VA officials to issue the new IDs only to individuals with honorable discharges, a move that goes against earlier department policies at increasing outreach to veterans with so-called \u201cbad paper\u201d discharges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision has upset advocates, who see it as an unnecessary restriction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really no reason to do that,\u201d said John Rowan, national president at Vietnam Veterans of America. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t serve veterans well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Department officials will start issuing the new veterans ID cards next month. The purpose is to give eligible veterans an easy way to prove their military service for a variety of non-government services, such as business discounts and other promotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislation authorizing the cards, sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., passed through Congress without objection in July 2015. Since then, VA leaders have spent time finalizing the rules and application process for the new IDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veterans who wish to receive one of the cards will have to apply through the VA website starting next month. Specifics on that process, including what the cards will look like and how long it will take for them to be mailed out to eligible recipients, have not yet been made public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But VA Press Secretary Curt Cashour confirmed this week that \u201conly those veterans with honorable service will be eligible for the ID card.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation as passed by Congress calls for VA officials to issue an ID to any veteran who requests one and \u201cpresents a copy of Department of Defense form DD-214 or other official document from the official military personnel file of the veteran that describes the service of the veteran.\u201d It does not specify excluding veterans with other-than-honorable dismissals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cashour declined to provide specifics on the reasoning behind VA\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n