DOVER AIR FORCE Base, Del. -- Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, the Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act allows Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and veterans with service-connected disabilities entry onto military installations to use the AAFES Exchange; commissary and Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities.
Pre-identified primary caregivers of veterans with service-connected disabilities, as documented by the Department of Veterans Affairs, will also be granted entry onto the installation and access to these facilities.
To access the base, these veterans will need to show a Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Health Information Card, or VHIC. Information on how to obtain this card is available on the VA’s Web site at: www.va.gov/health-care/get-health-id-card.
For their first visit to Dover Air Force Base, eligible veterans will need to go to the Visitors Center, located near the Main Gate entrance, with a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, passport or other accepted credential; undergo a background check; and register their VHIC into the system. Once their VHIC is registered into the system, veterans may 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. These letters are valid until the end of the calendar year and will be renewed by the VA prior to the end of the year. 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.
These veterans and caregivers will be allowed to bring up to five guests with them. All individuals granted access to the installation must undergo background checks and abide by all applicable rules and regulations regarding base driving privileges, to include the wearing of proper gear for motorcycle riders and the use of hands-free cell phones. All individuals entering the base are also subject to random vehicle inspections.
The VHIC or the caregiver letter will be used for access to the Exchange, commissary and MWR facilities.
Information about the Exchange’s in-store shopping privileges for veterans is available at the Exchange's Community Hub. Additionally, all honorably discharged veterans may shop online at the Exchange. Veterans can determine their eligibility to shop online at www.ShopMyExchange.com/vets. Eligible veterans may also use their VHIC to shop at the base commissary.
For information about base recreation facilities, to include regular and holiday hours, veterans may go to the 436th Force Support Squadron at www.doverafb436fss.com/. Information about the Exchange is available at www.shopmyexchange.com and the commissary at www.commissaries.com.
Medal of Honor recipients and veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability rating are already granted installation access and use of base facilities. There are no changes to the process for these veterans to obtain their ID cards.
The Visitors Center at 331 Main Gateway is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is closed on weekends and all federal holidays. Please contact the Visitors Center at 302-677-3102 prior to arrival.
Portions of this article were taken from https://www.scott.af.mil.
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