WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Beginning September 15, 2016, Whiteman Air Force Base no longer accepts the following state-issued driver licenses (DL) or state issued IDs that do not meet the Real ID Act standards for unescorted access purposes: Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, and American Samoa.
This new change aligns the Air Force’s installation access policy with requirements of the Real ID Act, which focuses on improving the reliability of state-issued identification documents and helps prevent a person’s ability to evade detection by using a fraudulent form of ID.
This may affect how visitors are brought onto the installation. For example, if you are a military ID card holder and you want to bring someone on the installation who only has an ID from Missouri, Minnesota, Washington or American Samoa, your guest will only be issued an escorted entry pass – meaning he or she must be escorted at all times while on the base.
“The primary impact to members of the 442nd Fighter Wing will be when we bring guests onto the base during UTA weekend,” said Col. David Kurle, 442nd Mission Support Group commander. “We will have to allow extra time for planning events, such as, retirements, promotions and changes of command.”
If your guest has REAL ID Act compliant credentials, he or she may be issued an unescorted pass and will be allowed to enter and move around the base without an escort. As always, all personnel visiting Whiteman AFB will receive a background check. In order to be issued a pass or given unescorted access to Whiteman AFB, the guest must present one of the following documents with their ID:
• U.S. Passport / U.S Passport Card
• Foreign passport / Permanent Resident Card / Alien Registration Receipt Card / Certificate of Naturalization / Certificate of Citizenship / Border Crossing Card
• Identification card issued by Federal, State, or local government agencies, provided it contains a photograph and biographic information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address, and complies with the REAL ID Act
• U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Cards/Credentials
• PIV or Federally-Issued PIV-1 Cards (Personal Identification Verification) issued by the Federal Government or Non-Federal Government entities
• DHS “Trusted Traveler Cards” (Global entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
“The best solution for all of our citizen Airmen is to keep family members’ ID cards current or encourage our guests to get a passport ID card from the State Department,” Kurle said.
If you have any questions, please speak with your supervisor or call the base Visitors Center at 660-687-6164/7959 or visit Whiteman AFB Base Entry page and the Department of Homeland Security’s website.
(Information from the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs and 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs was used in this article)