The Real ID Act gets real at Fort Knox: Deadline extended, choices given

By G. ANTHONIE RIISDecember 6, 2019

The REAL ID Act get real at Fort Knox: Deadline extended, choices given
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet unveiled proposed designs for the 2019 driver's licenses and Voluntary Travel ID. His is a Standard Driver's License and will not allow him entrance to restricted federal facilities or boarding on commercial aircra... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
The REAL ID Act gets real at Fort Knox: Deadline extended, choices given
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet unveiled proposed designs for the 2019 driver's licenses and Voluntary Travel ID. His is a Standard Driver's License and will not allow him entrance to restricted federal facilities or boarding on commercial aircra... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT KNOX, Kentucky -- Last month, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet introduced 'Confident Kentucky,' the state's new issuance system, and revealed the updated new design of the REAL ID Act-compliant identification cards that will go into full effect nationwide beginning Oct. 1, 2020.

After 9/11, the federal government began to look at ways to increase security surrounding state-issued ID cards in an attempt to prevent terrorism on U.S. soil and unlawful entry into and out of the nation, according to Chief Physical Security Officer, Jamie Desrochers with Fort Knox Directorate of Emergency Services.

"[The REAL ID Act] enacted the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the federal government set certain federal standards for the issuance of sources of identification -- such as drivers' licenses," Desrochers said.

In a recent press release, Kentucky Department of Vehicle Registration Commissioner Matt Henderson said the new federal measures are designed to deter terrorism and other criminal activity by centralizing and securing where cards are manufactured.

"By moving production to a secure facility, improving the identity verification process and upgrading card features, our entire system is more secure against fraudulent use and reproduction of credentials," Henderson said. "[This] initiative is all about enhancing security and offering Kentuckians choices so they can choose the credential that works best for them."

Either the new standard driver's license or the new Voluntary Travel ID cards will be issued on renewal of an expired driver's license, say state officials, depending upon which one an individual wants. The cards may be purchased for either a four or eight-year period. The standard driver's license will be $43 and the travel ID license will be $48 for an eight-year period. Four-year licenses are half the cost respectively.

The new standard driver's license will have the same security improvements that make the cards harder to counterfeit, but Naitore Djigbenou, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet director of the Office of Public Affairs said that only one -- the Voluntary Travel ID -- will allow entrance to restricted federal installations or commercial flights.

"On October 1, 2020, Kentucky's current standard licenses will no longer be accepted to board U.S. flights or to enter military bases," Djigbenou said. "In order to maintain travel and access benefits for Kentucky residents once REAL ID enforcement begins … the new Voluntary Travel ID [will be] accepted to access restricted federal facilities and to board domestic flights. … The Act does not require individuals to present [the REAL ID Act-compatible] ID where it is not currently required to access federal facilities like public areas of the Smithsonian."

Djigbenou said that Kentucky was recently granted a one-year extension till Aug. 1, 2019, and that the state plans to file for another postponement that will go till the 2020 deadline.

If the state is not granted the delay, Desrochers said Kentuckians who have not obtained a Voluntary Travel ID by the August deadline won't be denied access to Fort Knox, but they will be delayed.

"Visitors will get a pass for access to the installation," Desrochers said. "After having [passed a background check], and having their identity vetted and proven, [they] will be issued a pass. They [will] have to provide [either] one or two [of the prescribed] forms of identification, dependent on whether they have a REAL ID compliant [Voluntary Travel ID] card."

Persons without some form of military ID will be required to present a Voluntary Travel ID card to gain access to military installations or commercial aircraft, said Djigbenou, adding, "As long as Kentucky maintains extensions from the [Department of Homeland Security] until [the Oct. 1, 2020 deadline], current licenses are accepted for air travel and military base entry."

There are more than 20 accepted forms of ID the installation commander has deemed acceptable as a supplement to a driver's license for access onto Fort Knox. Some of those include U.S. passports, U.S. passport cards, U.S. Personnel Identification Verification -- Interoperable cards (PIV-I), U.S. military retiree and dependent ID cards, birth certificates, Veterans Administration cards, and tribal cards.

For a full list of identification documents accepted for admittance to Fort Knox, go to www.knox.army.mil/garrison /des/psd/realid.aspx.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet unveiled proposed designs for the 2019 driver's licenses and Voluntary Travel ID. His is a Standard Driver's License and will not allow him entrance to restricted federal facilities or boarding on commercial aircraft. Hers is a Voluntary Travel ID and will serve as a driver's license and grant her access to federal installations and commercial flights.