Static display aircraft and equipment will be on hand for the 2025 Joint Base Lewis-McChord Armed Forces Day will be on McChord Field’s Heritage Hill May 17. New this year, due to the Real ID Act, an enhanced Washington State driver’s license, or other approved identification, will be required to access the Armed Forces Day event.


U.S. Army Photo

More than 8,000 people attended Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Armed Forces Day last year. New this year, due to the Real ID Act, an enhanced Washington State driver’s license, or other approved identification, will be required to access the Armed Forces Day event.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – The 2025 Joint Base Lewis-McChord Armed Forces Day will be on McChord Field’s Heritage Hill May 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Come out and enjoy activities for all ages. Explore static military airplanes and helicopters, vehicle displays including infantry, artillery and engineer vehicles and weapons displays. See living history encampments representing military life in the past and ask questions to learn more about bygone eras of military field life.

Look for stage entertainment, roving entertainers, military dog demonstrations, games, food and craft vendors and more.

Preregistration Required for Non-DOD attendees

New this year, due to the Real ID Act, an enhanced Washington State driver’s license, or other approved identification, will be required to access the Armed Forces Day event. A list of accepted identification is found at the main Armed Forces Day website below. All attendees ages 18 and older must present a REAL ID when entering the gates. Attendees ages 16 and 17 may present a school ID with a photo as their accepted ID.

All non-Department of Defense ID cardholders, ages 18 and older, who attend the event without a DOD ID cardholder sponsor in the same vehicle, must preregister online to be vetted prior to attending the event. The information requested in the online registration is the same information people provide when requesting a visitor pass at our visitor centers.

After submitting the online registration form, a text message confirming or denying access to the event will be sent soon after submission. Each person’s driver’s license used during submission becomes the attendee’s Armed Forces Day event pass, valid for the event only.

Preregistration will help speed up the process to welcome our non-DOD guests to JBLM will apply for other future public events such as Freedom Fest.

For more information on this year’s JBLM Armed Forces Day and the registration process, visit https://jblm.armymwr.com/afd.