United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card
identity document issued by the United States Department of Defense

A United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card (also known as U.S. military ID, Geneva Conventions Identification Card, or less commonly abbreviated USPIC) is an identity document issued by the United States Department of Defense to identify a person as a member of the Armed Forces or a member's dependent, such as a child or spouse.
The card is used to control access to US military installations, base exchange (such as AAFES, Navy Exchange, Marine Corps Exchange, Coast Guard Exchange), commissaries, and Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities. It also serves as proof of eligibility for medical care delivered either directly within the military health system or non-military providers via the TRICARE medical system.
The modern military identification card is a smart card commonly known as a Common Access Card (CAC) used by servicemembers and DoD civilians. It works with specialized card readers for use with automatic building access control systems, communications encryption, and computer access.
Types
U.S. military ID cards being issued today are the CAC, for active duty, reserve members, National Guard members, and DoD & Coast Guard contractors and civilians. Dependents, retirees, and privileged veterans, are issued and use the new Next Generation USID card. Though being phased out legacy ID cards are still accepted through their expiration date.
Servicemember ID Cards
The Common Access Card, also commonly referred to as the CAC, is the standard identification for Active Duty United States Defense personnel. The card itself is a smart card about the size of a credit card.
“United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card” enters the record as identity document issued by the United States Department of Defense. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what United, States and Uniformed can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, United, States and Uniformed provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7892257. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card primary sources, United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card archive and United research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.