Visitors can continue to use their Washington state driver’s licenses to access Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and other naval bases in the Pacific Northwest — for now.
Base officials sent out a release in order to correct what they described as misconceptions created by a Seattle television news report.
“Currently, nothing has changed regarding access to Navy installations in the Pacific Northwest. Recent news reports suggest that Navy bases will not allow access to people from states that are not in compliance with the Real ID Act,” according to the release.
In addition to Washington, those states and territories include Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico and American Samoa.
Once the Navy receives more guidance on changes, the public will be informed, said NAS Whidbey spokesman Mike Welding.
The confusion may have occurred because of a statement released by the Department of Defense last week. That statement said that Defense Department installations will no longer accept driver’s licenses from states not in compliance, including Washington, as proof of identity.
Apparently, that policy doesn’t apply to Pacific Northwest Navy bases.
“There’s been a lot of churn about base access, but nothing has changed for us yet,” said Navy Region Northwest spokeswoman Sheila Murray.
The policy also allows base commanders to waive these control requirements for “special situations, circumstances or emergencies.”
What happens if someone wants to visit a military base outside the Pacific Northwest isn’t clear.
“More than likely you will be required to use a passport or another form of ID that meets the Real ID requirement,” said Maj. Ben Sakrisson, a Department of Defense spokesman at the Pentagon.
The best way to be certain, is to contact the installation in advance and ask about local policies, he said.
Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 based on recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, which called for the government to set standards for state-issued driver’s licenses.
Most of the terrorists involved in 9/11 had driver’s licenses from Florida and Virginia.
The Act established security standards for licenses. For instance, applicants must provide their Social Security number and immigration status and the licenses must contain a chip that can be read by a computer.
The Act also prohibits federal agencies from accepting state-issued licenses that don’t meet the standards.
State lawmakers might be making more progress on adopting the Real ID requirements.
Senate Bill 6028 would adopt the requirements. The legislation was introduced for the coming session in Olympia.
