The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) was a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four specified periods of armed conflict or national emergency from June 27, 1950 through December 31, 2022. Combat or "in theater" service is not a requirement for the award.
The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is a category of the Ready Reserve of the Reserve Component of the Armed Forces of the United States composed of former active duty or reserve military personnel. Its governing statute is codified at 10 U.S.C. § 10144. For soldiers in the National Guard of the United States, its counterpart is the Inactive National Guard (ING). As of 22 June 2004, the IRR had approximately 112,000 members composed of enlisted personnel and officers, with more than 200 Military Occupational Specialties are represented, including combat arms, combat support, and combat service support.
The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia, is an agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that operates nearly 240 commissaries worldwide. American military commissaries sell groceries and household goods to active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and retired members of all eight uniformed services of the United States and eligible members of their families at cost plus surcharge, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars compared to civilian supermarkets.
The oath of enlistment is a military oath made by members of the United States Armed Forces who enlist.
In the United States Armed Forces, separation means that a person is leaving active duty but not necessarily the service entirely. Separation typically occurs when someone reaches the date of their Expiration of Term of Service and are released from active duty, but still must complete their military reserve obligations. Upon separation, they receive Department of Defense Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, which verifies their military service.
An exchange is a type of retail store found on United States military installations worldwide. Once similar to trading posts, today they resemble modern department stores or strip malls. The terminology varies by armed service; some examples include base exchange (BX), and post exchange (PX), and there are more specific terms for subtypes of exchange.
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Selected Reserve (SELRES), the Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR), the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), or the Retired Reserve.
In the United States, identity documents are typically the regional state-issued driver's license or identity card, while also the Social Security card and the United States passport card may serve as national identification. The United States passport itself also may serve as identification. There is, however, no official "national identity card" in the United States, in the sense that there is no federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction that directly issues an identity document to all US citizens for mandatory regular use.
The common access card, also commonly referred to as the CAC, is the standard identification for active duty United States defense personnel. The card itself is a smart card about the size of a credit card. Defense personnel that use the CAC include the Selected Reserve and National Guard, United States Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees, United States Coast Guard (USCG) civilian employees and eligible DoD and USCG contractor personnel. It is also the principal card used to enable physical access to buildings and controlled spaces, and it provides access to defense computer networks and systems. It also serves as an identification card under the Geneva Conventions. In combination with a personal identification number, a CAC satisfies the requirement for two-factor authentication: something the user knows combined with something the user has. The CAC also satisfies the requirements for digital signature and data encryption technologies: authentication, integrity and non-repudiation.
Tricare is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. Tricare provides civilian health benefits for U.S Armed Forces military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents, including some members of the Reserve Component. Tricare is the civilian care component of the Military Health System, although historically it also included health care delivered in military medical treatment facilities.
The Hale Koa Hotel, which means House of the Warrior in Hawaiian, is an Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) resort hotel located on Waikiki Beach and owned by the United States Department of Defense. It sits on the southeast corner of Fort DeRussy on the western end of Waikiki in Honolulu. The hotel has more than one million guests every year, all of whom require the United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card to lodge at the hotel. Though owned by the DoD, the hotel is entirely self-sustaining, and does not receive any government funding.
Space-available travel, also known as Space-A travel, is a means by which members of United States Uniformed Services, and these groups' family members, are permitted to travel on aircraft of the Air Mobility Command under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense when excess capability allows.
The Extended Care Health Option or ECHO is a supplemental coverage program offered by TRICARE to dependents of members of the uniformed services of the United States with a qualifying disability.
The Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System (RAPIDS) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) system used to issue the definitive credential within DoD. RAPIDS uses information stored in the DoD Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) when providing these credentials. Used together, these two systems are commonly referred to as a DEERS/RAPIDS system or DEERS/RAPIDS infrastructure.
The Military Health System (MHS) is the internal health care system operated within the United States Department of Defense that provides health care to active duty, Reserve component and retired U.S. Military personnel and their dependents.
The Uniformed Services Benefit Association (USBA) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, providing affordable group life insurance plans and other financial services specifically designed for active duty and retired military members and their families, as well as honorably discharged veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and federal civilian employees.
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) is a computerized database for United States Service members, military retirees, 100% VA Disabled Veterans, dependents, DoD active Contractors, and others worldwide who are entitled to Public Key Infrastructure and TRICARE eligibility.
The US Family Health Plan (USFHP) is a U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored healthcare plan that serves military family members exclusively. US Family Health Plan operates in six regions, sixteen states, including the District of Columbia.
A military identity card is an identity document issued to soldiers of the armed forces of various countries.
A campus credential, more commonly known as a campus card or a campus ID card is an identification document certifying the status of students, faculty, staff or other constituents as members of the institutional community and eligible for access to services and resources. Campus credentials are typically valid for the duration of a student's enrollment or an employee's service.
