FORT CARSON, Colo. — As restrictions and safety measures have decreased considerably since the height of the pandemic last year, the process for obtaining ID cards on post has returned to a semblance of normalcy.
Fort Carson leaders are encouraging uniformed personnel to visit their brigade human resource (S1) staff to renew and update their ID cards, as opposed to using the on-post Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) office.
“The ID card policy for uniformed personnel has actually been in effect since 2000,” said Michael Pierson, chief ID/DEERS at Fort Carson. “Brigade S1s each have a deployable DEERS station. That’s what (the DEERS stations) are there for, so the Army brigades can take care of brigade Soldiers.”
The intent behind encouraging Soldiers to visit their S-1 is to alleviate a potential backlog for Family members, veterans and other beneficiaries at the on-post DEERS ID office.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered many offices and services on post and off, Army leaders decided to extend expiration dates on Family members’ ID cards, first from February 2020 to September 2020. Another extension was later added, which brought expiration dates to June 30. Then a third extension lengthened expiration dates to Aug. 30, 2021.
“Family members or veterans, for example, who hold an expired ID card should know that their entitlements are still in place,” Pierson said.
Family members shouldn’t wait for an extension to lapse. The idea behind the extensions was to allow civilians time to make appointments as DEERS offices operated on a limited staff basis.
After operating with limited seating during the first few months of the pandemic, however, the Fort Carson DEERS ID office expanded seating in its waiting room on a few occasions and is now fully staffed and up to normal operating levels.
“Really (the Fort Carson DEERS office) is back to business as usual,” Pierson said. “We do have thousands of civilian employees and contractors on post who we must take care of, however, as well as dependents.”
Soldiers and civilians are encouraged not to wait until their ID card has expired to begin the renewal process. Pierson said Soldiers can update their ID cards within 30 days of expiration, while Family members can renew their ID cards up to 90 days in advance.
“We set those goals typically to manage the customer flow at DEERS offices,” Pierson said. “We don’t worry about the extensions on the dependents’ cards. If anyone’s card is expired, they can come in and we are going to renew it.”
Those who need to update ID cards can walk into the Fort Carson DEERS office in building 1039 near the intersection of Wallace Street and O’Connell Boulevard or make an appointment online at https://idco.dmdc.osd.mil/idco/.
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