With the hiring of four additional part-time employees, the Military Personnel Flight has added walk-in service for Common Access Card renewals.
The MPF now has five CAC renewal stations, three dedicated for walk ins and two for appointments. They have also added an expediter at the counter to check documentation, answer questions, assist customer check in, reset PINs and answer phones. New hours are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“We are trying to help the customers as best we can, based on the amount of time we have and the amount of control we have,” said Capt. Jacob Pfannenstiel, MPF commander. “We are being proactive in trying to find ways to fix issues, and we ask customers to please be patient with us.”
The walk in service is primarily for military and civilian employees, and is on a space available basis. Dependents and retirees should continue to make appointments through the RAPIDS Appointment Scheduler.
In addition to the four new employees, the MPF has also purchased a self-service kiosk that will allow dependents and retirees to renew ID cards without assistance from staff. The captain hopes it is operational sometime in February.
The MPF services about 1,750 customers for ID cards each month, a major workload for the size of the flight. The captain said they have looked at “best practices” from other bases, and will continue to make improvements to Hill’s processes.
Pfannenstiel said individuals should not rely solely on the new walk in service, but should be proactive and plan for renewal several months in advance of their CAC expiration date.
Each CAC is programmed to provide automated reminders upon network log-in. Reminders pop-up at the 90, 60, and 30 day marks and every day within 30 days of expiration, and include a link to the DEERS scheduling website. Appointments can be made up to 90 days in advance.
Individuals can make an appointment up to 90 days in advance by visiting https://rapids-appointments.dmdc.osd.mil/appointment/default.aspx. Before traveling to the MPF, those with appointments should check system availability by calling the DEERS hotline at 801-777-4000 or check the DMDC Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/go2dmdc/. For customer service, call 801-777-1396.
