Entry guidelines for some have changed at Dover Air Force Base (DAFB).
As of yesterday - New Year’s Day - the Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act now allows Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and veterans with service-connected disabilities, entry onto military installations to use the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the commissary and Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities.
According to Senior Airman Christopher Quail, pre-identified primary caregivers of veterans with service-connected disabilities, will also be granted entry onto the installation and access to these facilities.
To access the base, veterans will need to show a Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Health Information Card (VHIC). Information on how to obtain the card is available here.
For their first visit to DAFB, eligible veterans will need to go to the Visitors Center with a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, passport or other accepted credential; they will undergo a background check and register their VHIC into the system. Once the card is registered, veterans can then go directly to the entry gate for subsequent visits to the Base.
Pre-identified primary caregivers of eligible veterans will be mailed a letter by the VA. On their first visit to the base, caregivers will also need to take their letters, along with REAL ID-compliant credentials to the Visitors Center, to undergo a background check and be registered into the system.
