Just in time for the holidays, the Pentagon is warning that tens of thousands of Navy and Marine Corps members could see their military ID card suddenly stop working Nov. 23, despite what the card’s printed expiration date says. That could imperil their ability to log onto work computers or even get on base.
The Common Access Card, or CAC, issue traces back to about three years ago, when the Defense Department could not issue IDs that had three-year security certificates because of technical difficulties surrounding equipment, software and testing, officials said this week.
Servicemembers are generally issued CACs that are good for three years.
As a result of the technical difficulties, nearly 171,000 people across the department were issued CACs with security certificates of less than three years. DOD components were first notified of the issue in 2019, according to Navy Cmdr. Jessica McNult, a DOD spokeswoman.
