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- Ft. Bragg, NC
Fort Bragg visitors from some states will no longer be allowed to use only their driver's license to enter the post.Officials have said the nation's largest military installation has begun enforcement of the REAL ID Act, a 10-year-old law meant to help lawmakers detect fake identification following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Fewer than half of all states currently comply with the law, but most others, including North Carolina and Virginia, have received an extension to comply by Oct. 10.
Residents of states without an extension - including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico and Washington - will no longer be able to use their state-issued identification "effective immediately," said Fort Bragg spokeswoman Christina Douglas.
Those visitors will need to use some other form of identification, such as a U.S. passport, or be escorted at all times on the installation.
Fort Bragg officials said the process for gaining access to post is unchanged for the vast majority of visitors.
"If you have a DOD-issued ID card, you can use it at the gates as you always have," said spokesman Tom McCollum.
The REAL ID Act was born out of recommendations from the 9/11 Commission report in 2004.
That report noted that preventing terrorists from obtaining state-issued identification documents was critical to national security.
The law does not create a national identification card or database of driver's license information, but instead sets national standards for states to use to help prevent the use of fake IDs, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The law serves as a mandate on federal agencies, and participation by states is voluntary, although federal agencies are prohibited from accepting identification from noncompliant states for many official purposes.
Each state continues to issue its unique license, maintain its records, and control who gets access to those records and under what circumstances, officials said.
It does not, however, affect other uses of identification, such as voting, registering to vote or applying for or receiving federal benefits.
Enforcement of the law began in 2013 and enforcement at Fort Bragg comes days after other military posts, including Fort Drum in New York, began enforcement of the law.
New York, like North Carolina, currently has an extension to keep them compliant with the law.
Officials in North Carolina were not immediately available to discuss what steps the state still must make to meet the REAL ID requirements.
As of Wednesday morning, Douglas said, only one person attempting to get a visitor's pass had been turned away.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the law restricts access to federal property, nuclear power plants and commercial air travel.
Earlier this week, officials from the Department of Homeland Security announced that enforcement for commercial air travel would not begin until 2018.
Until then, the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, will continue to accept state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards from all states.
http://www.fayobserver.com/military...cle_fcea80a9-3cec-5e92-980b-35735d055d4d.html
Fewer than half of all states currently comply with the law, but most others, including North Carolina and Virginia, have received an extension to comply by Oct. 10.
Residents of states without an extension - including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico and Washington - will no longer be able to use their state-issued identification "effective immediately," said Fort Bragg spokeswoman Christina Douglas.
Those visitors will need to use some other form of identification, such as a U.S. passport, or be escorted at all times on the installation.
Fort Bragg officials said the process for gaining access to post is unchanged for the vast majority of visitors.
"If you have a DOD-issued ID card, you can use it at the gates as you always have," said spokesman Tom McCollum.
The REAL ID Act was born out of recommendations from the 9/11 Commission report in 2004.
That report noted that preventing terrorists from obtaining state-issued identification documents was critical to national security.
The law does not create a national identification card or database of driver's license information, but instead sets national standards for states to use to help prevent the use of fake IDs, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The law serves as a mandate on federal agencies, and participation by states is voluntary, although federal agencies are prohibited from accepting identification from noncompliant states for many official purposes.
Each state continues to issue its unique license, maintain its records, and control who gets access to those records and under what circumstances, officials said.
It does not, however, affect other uses of identification, such as voting, registering to vote or applying for or receiving federal benefits.
Enforcement of the law began in 2013 and enforcement at Fort Bragg comes days after other military posts, including Fort Drum in New York, began enforcement of the law.
New York, like North Carolina, currently has an extension to keep them compliant with the law.
Officials in North Carolina were not immediately available to discuss what steps the state still must make to meet the REAL ID requirements.
As of Wednesday morning, Douglas said, only one person attempting to get a visitor's pass had been turned away.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the law restricts access to federal property, nuclear power plants and commercial air travel.
Earlier this week, officials from the Department of Homeland Security announced that enforcement for commercial air travel would not begin until 2018.
Until then, the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, will continue to accept state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards from all states.
http://www.fayobserver.com/military...cle_fcea80a9-3cec-5e92-980b-35735d055d4d.html
