Can contracted cadet have military dependent ID & Reserve (cadet) ID?

jss123

10-Year Member
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Dec 26, 2011
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Hi. Happy Holidays everyone. My 18-year-old DS is a freshman on a 4-yr AROTC scholarship. I am retired military and he is my dependent and enrolled in DEERS for Tricare Prime insurance.

I am trying to get clarification if he were to get a Reserve, cadet ID card (which I know as a contracted cadet he is eligible for), would that bump him out of the DEERS system? I.e., once the 2nd, Reserve ID is activated, would the 'system' render his dependent ID void?

Obviously, I do not want to have him drop out of DEERS/Tricare, nor do I want the hassle of trying to retroactively reinstate him because the system isn't set up for him to have the 2 cards at the same time.

Seems to me I read somewhere that cadets who are dependents should NOT go and get a Reserve ID.

Any info would be appreciated as he is itching to get his own military ID. I know there must be scores of posters on this forum who also have children in this double category.

Thank you.
 
Yes, your son can have both his dependent I.D. card and the reserve I.D. card. My DS carried both I.D. cards throughout his entire 4 years of ROTC and didn't surrender his dependent I.D. until the day he received his active duty I.D. card. He never had any issues carrying both cards. I also have a DD at Kings Point who carries both I.D. cards. Today she used her reserve I.D. to get through the security checkpoint at the airport.

Both kids have used Tricare for their medical care throughout their college years.
 
He should be able to carry both, as Navy1981 said, but if you're still unsure, just don't get the reserve ID. There really is no great need for one til come around LDAC time.
 
He should be able to carry both, as Navy1981 said, but if you're still unsure, just don't get the reserve ID. There really is no great need for one til come around LDAC time.

Yes, Bull, I was/am a tad unsure---it's just I'm dealing with a teenager who really wants/thinks he needs the card. I'm glad he's proud of it, but I sure as heck do not want any Tricare mess-ups. It's just too hard to have a dependent "drop" out of the system and go back and fix it--especially after medical care was needed.

Thanks, too, to Navy1981. I just hope there isn't something that Tricare/DEERS has up their sleeve if/when my DS gets a Reserve ID.
 
Interesting how different branches operate. Our AFROTC DS is a dependent of an AF retiree and he was told do not take the cadet ID card because he would be dis-enrolled from Tri-Care. He and 1 other C400 are the only ones with dependent IDs., because the rest are non-military cadets which would not interfere with Tri-Care insurance.

That being stated it maybe for even contracted AFROTC cadets they do not get issued the CAC until they are a POC aka C300. C100 and 200 contracted AFROTC cadets are truly not contracted until they complete SFT.

As other's have stated there really isn't a reason to have both because the dep. card will get him on any military installation and accepted by docs for medical coverage.

OBTW, the other factor may be although Bullet is a retired AF officer he is employed by AF as a GS, so we may be caught in loop hole for AF GS.
 
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Interesting how different branches operate. Our AFROTC DS is a dependent of an AF retiree and he was told do not take the cadet ID card because he would be dis-enrolled from Tri-Care. He and 1 other C400 are the only ones with dependent IDs., because the rest are non-military cadets which would not interfere with Tri-Care insurance.

That being stated it maybe for even contracted AFROTC cadets they do not get issued the CAC until they are a POC aka C300. C100 and 200 contracted AFROTC cadets are truly not contracted until they complete SFT.

As other's have stated there really isn't a reason to have both because the dep. card will get him on any military installation and accepted by docs for medical coverage.

OBTW, the other factor may be although Bullet is a retired AF officer he is employed by AF as a GS, so we may be caught in loop hole for AF GS.

But the Dependent ID won't get you eligibility for Space A travel while the Reserve ID will (though I have never seen a Cadet try and squeeze onto a space A on his own as they are about as low a priority as there is) .

Having a Reserve ID card as a Cadet will not affect his dependent eligibility for Tricare ( which is not a service issue - DEERS is DEERS). My wife was a drilling reservist and also my Dependent while I was AD (and after I retired). Her DEERS status only changed when she was mobilized at which point I was then issued a Dependent ID card along with my Retiree ID Card and my kids were issued new Dependent ID cards listing her as the AD sponsor. Once she came back off AD- those cards were returned and their Dependent status reverted to listing me as the sponsor. So if they issue him an ID card as a Cadet (which I don't think is automatic even if contracted)- it won't affect his DEERS eligibility.
 
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I agree getting Space A as a cadet is very difficult, unless you are traveling to places that most people have no desire to go to in the 1st place or going when nobody is traveling. Even dependents that attend college stateside, but folks living outside CONUS take priority right after AD members on orders, than it is dep. retirees, and finally reservists. 20 yrs in the AF and we never took Space A. It wasn't getting there that made us not use this option, it was not being able to get home that stopped us. We had a friend that went to Ramstein from Mildenhall for a 4 day weekend. Kuwait got invaded and the cost to return was 4X more because they were stuck there and had to pay out the nose for 2 1 way tickets purchased for a return in 24 hrs. :eek: We learned right than at that time unless you can wait it out for the next flight, or are willing to pay for a 1 way, it is cheaper to not use Space A as an AD member.

Regarding your wife and the dependent, I may have read it incorrectly, but your wife was AD as a reservist, thus that is why you would get issued a dep. card. When she went back to reservist, they revoked the AD card. However, AFROTC cadets are not AD, so in that scenario as a married ROTC cadet the spouse would never be issued a dep. card in the 1st place.

Of course you as a retiree would always still have your blue ID card. Your children as dep. would still have the brown id and their bennies wouldn't change either way.

This goes back to the point we were told, because he was Tri-Care dependent, he was informed that it messed with how they would view him as a dependent. I am not going to lie, it made my cranium spin, because the way my logic went by issuing him the card he should be covered with Tri-Care, but they had said because he was not AD he would only be covered when on orders and for him to get he would have had to hand in his dep. ID card, which would leave him with no insurance.

It was so confusing to me, I turned and said, WHATEVER, it doesn't matter whether your card is tan or white does it?

Off topic, but since we are on the topic, and I have just thought about it, which means I have yet to ask DS. How long after graduation and commissioning can they remain on your Tri-Care?

DS has his RNLTD already, must leave within 24 hrs of commissioning for TX from MD. While traveling x-country will he still be on our Tri-Care or will they send him to get an AD card prior to commissioning so he will be on AD roles while he PCS's?

I am going to assume that it will be prior because he would also have to contact TMO for his household goods. However, we know what assume means. Flipside, he would be on orders that the det would give him, and to schedule TMO it is not your ID card, but orders you need to produce to schedule the move.
 
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Interesting how different branches operate. Our AFROTC DS is a dependent of an AF retiree and he was told do not take the cadet ID card because he would be dis-enrolled from Tri-Care. He and 1 other C400 are the only ones with dependent IDs., because the rest are non-military cadets which would not interfere with Tri-Care insurance.

That being stated it maybe for even contracted AFROTC cadets they do not get issued the CAC until they are a POC aka C300. C100 and 200 contracted AFROTC cadets are truly not contracted until they complete SFT.

As other's have stated there really isn't a reason to have both because the dep. card will get him on any military installation and accepted by docs for medical coverage.

OBTW, the other factor may be although Bullet is a retired AF officer he is employed by AF as a GS, so we may be caught in loop hole for AF GS.

Are DOD civilians eligible for Tricare? Most civil service employees (i.e. General Schedule) are not.
 
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Pima;224835 I am going to assume that it will be prior because he would also have to contact TMO for his household goods. However said:
From what I recall, having orders to AD is all that is necessary to set up the household goods move. I didn't get the Green ID until I reported in at Vandy, and I surrendered the Pink ROTC ID at that time. I know it's not green/pink now, but the idea is the same. I bet you could do the same with the dependent ID. They explain what happens if you get hurt enroute to your first base in your orders, I think (although won't swear to it). The people at the ROTC unit are the best to ask about the particulars, although I remember it being a bit of the blind leading the blind.

It sucks he doesn't have any time off after commissioning. I had a month or so.
 
Bullet is employed by the AF as a GS, so he is allowed Tri-Care as a health care provider. When he was a Contractor in the same job, he was not allowed to use Tri-Care unless he opted that route as a retiree...something I loved about that job was we had Aetna, and it was so much cheaper than any option we were offered now after they converted to AF.

As far as the ID card issue for DS that is what I thought too. He will still have his tan i.d. card so he will have no problem getting on base, and since he is going to Laughlin, I am sure they are accustomed to newly minted 2nd Lts. showing up on base with no i.d. cards and just orders. It was just a curiosity question from a logistics standpoint because he will have to find time to go to the nearest AFB to get it done, and than that could conflict with his finals.

Yes, we were shocked when he told us his RNLTD, actually we know it will move back because believe it or not they have him reporting on the day he is scheduled to graduate/commission. They have told him they will move it back, but not to expect weeks, just days.

It reminds me of the adage I always say: People plan God laughs.

Our youngest will graduate HS ty too. I had planned out this big joint party for the two of them so family and friends would only have to travel once. We live @ 30 miles out of DC and near Manassas for Civil war buffs, which meant everyone wanted to come for it. He called a few weeks ago and told us the date, leaving me after I pretended to be happy for him on the phone, thinking now how am I going to do this?

Answer: I am not!
 
Bullet is employed by the AF as a GS, so he is allowed Tri-Care as a health care provider. When he was a Contractor in the same job, he was not allowed to use Tri-Care unless he opted that route as a retiree...something I loved about that job was we had Aetna, and it was so much cheaper than any option we were offered now after they converted to AF.

Not that I'm in the habit of correcting Pima (Heaven knows my life is sooooo much easier if I don't :biggrin: ), but she HAS made a boo-boo here that needs to corrected.

ALL Retirees are eligible for either Tri-Care Prime or Standard. It's a right you earned through your service (a right that may eventually be taken away, as retiree health care costs are sky-rocketing, but that is for a different thread). But while I was employed as a Contractor, my company had a FANTASTIC family health care plan for me as one of my perks, so that plan was my Primary insurance, with Tri-Care as my secondary.

As Sprog pointed out, Federal Employees are NOT entitled to Tri-Care coverage, and instead can choose to participate in the Federal Employee health care system. However in MY case, when I switched to AF civilian employee I became eligible for the Gov't plan, but as a retiree I remained eligible for Tri-Care, and now we use it as my family's primary provider.

Simple correction, posted for clarity's sake. :thumb:
 
The OP was asking if his son gets a Reserve ID card as a contracted ROTC cadet will that affect his status in DEERS and eligibility to TRICARE Coverage. Without repeating my original post- NO it will not. Having a reserve ID card will not change his eligibility as a Dependent.
 
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