Magazine

Defense Department Common Access Card, Defense Department

December 1, 2001

y September 2002, all active duty and reserve personnel- approximately 4.3 million people-will carry the new Defense Department Common Access Card. The "smart cards" are ushering in a new generation of personal identification and security for the armed forces. The Common Access Card holds 32 kilobytes of data, such as a public key used as an electronic signature, and costs about $8 each to produce. The cards last for three years.

The Common Access Card serves many functions. At its least technical, it serves as a personal photo ID card. But just having a card is not enough for building access. At some installations service members must punch in a personal identification number to get inside. Soon, service members will use the card to log on to their work computers and military networks. The Defense Department is buying computers with smart card readers. The basic configuration of the computers provided to the Navy under the Navy Marine Corps Intranet contract includes the readers. The cards can also hold digital certificates, which will enable Defense workers to digitally sign documents, transactions and purchase orders.

Getting the card is easy, and it takes just 15 minutes through the Defense Manpower Data Center's disbursal system.

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