Veterans To Be 'Formally Recognised With Official ID Cards'
 

From Forces TV website:

Britain's 2.5 million veterans are to be formally recognised with their own IDs to show they served in the armed forces.
Ex-military personnel will be issued with a new type of driving licence stamped with 'V'.
A separate card will be handed to those who do not drive, with the IDs expected to be rolled out from next year.
Speaking of Britain's former Royal Navy, Army and RAF servicemen and women, Prime Minister Theresa May said:The plans were first mentioned by Tobias Ellwood, the minister responsible for defence personnel and veterans, in the Commons in October.
He said the ID option was part of Government plans to improve the information it keeps about ex-military personnel.
Mr Ellwood, who was in the Royal Green Jackets for five years, serving in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Germany, told The Sun newspaper he was "delighted" about the introduction of the initiative.
He said: "As a former soldier, I am aware of the personal attachment with the service ID.
"Carried at all times, it becomes symbolic of the responsibility and there is a strange sense of loss when upon departing the Armed Forces, it is taken from you.
"I'm delighted this initiative, which sits in the Armed Forces Covenant, will help us all better recognise our veterans and their service to our country."
It is being reported that the cards will give veterans better access to specialist services such as priority healthcare, housing and retail discounts as well as giving a sense of pride for having served their country.


Apols if this has already been listed.

How apt, if your car carries a V registration mark, it indicates it has been written off in its past life :E


Nice to see though.

And yet, They "save money" by not awarding the LSGC to Officers who qualify but, whose service ceased before 2014.
I call on Prime Minister Theresa May to tell us why they recognise past Service with this move but not with the LSGC?
Quote Theresa May:
"Those who have served deserve recognition for their sacrifice throughout their lives and we will continue to make sure that they get it." :yuk:

OAP

Whilst a much appreciated and welcome and overdue gesture, why can this not be implemented before:

Source: Armed forces veterans to get ID to recognise 'sacrifice' - BBC News

Will we get a free lanyard to wear it round our necks.

I'm reminded of this classic little ditty from Curb Your Enthusiasm

Why was asked, I think says it all, the rest is just a neat way to wrap it all up.

What's the cost/benefit to the ex-serviceman? ('man' as in mankind ;))

Goody-goody (I've already got my Veteran's Badge - holds my Remembrance Poppy on a treat) Better and better !
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Counts me out, then (in all probability). Good idea while it lasted !

Danny.

Already covered by the Defence Discount Service card.

Hope it is better information than Forces TV programming. What rubbish they put out, IMHO of course

Try using the DDS card in Costa. It's apparently up to the individual manager, and I've not met one yet who will accept it. I suspect this will be the same.

I do hope you will be here well into your Century Danny, after all you need to get your birthday card from Betty still, your posts are one of the pleasures of coming on here and it is an honour to read them.



..

And because its a driving license we'll have to pay for the privilege :-(

Just been sent the 'V' link to Theresa May's page, along with an unanswered question on the nationality of the troops shown:

https://www.facebook.com/TheresaMayOfficial/

Apparently she sees the Armed Forces first-hand but actual recognition is a lot more challenging.

What happens if you are an ex-pat and have swapped a UK license for a foreign one?

I'll bet ex-pats haven't even been thought of.

I'm not out yet, so my mileage might vary, but I can't see any conceivable reason I'd want this.

I have no intention of trading in my pristine green paper licence unless I get caught for some transgression - it confounded the hell out of the Americans during a recent trip when I needed to hire a car :}

Will it get me into my old Mess bar at Marham where I was a Wg Cdr - thought not.

Political platitudes.

Try The Bell!

Oh, its gone.:{

Mind you it really was a grotty pub.

Best in the local area though!

Will TA count - I could have two :}

I'm not entirely sure how a 'V' device on a driving licence counts as a veterans ID card. Seems to be asking people to stretch their imaginations somewhat.

Which way round will the V be?

Crikey, you ungrateful bunch. You don’t have to have one; it isn’t compulsory!

Personally, if it affords me some form of recognition that I have served the country and that it might give me “a leg up” for extra help in the future when I need it, then I am most grateful. As it might bring me some other benefits and costs nothing when I have to change my photo licence every 10 years anyway, then I, for one, will most likely decide to have it.

Thank you

Well, you can, but it's not on the DDS list of participating companies, so that's probably why

As enticing as a watermark on my driving licence in 2020 might be. Is there any chance they could work with Carillion Amey on fixing the heating in my quarter that hasn't worked for the last 4 weeks?

... thought not.

Right, I'm going out on a limb here. I'm expecting to get flamed, and I've got my tin hat ready.

If I am honest, I don't see the fact that I have served in HM Forces, in itself entitles me to special treatment, any more than if I had been a policeman, a fireman, a nurse or even a street sweeper if it comes to that. I'm not talking about men and women who have suffered as a result of their service, either physically or mentally, it is entirely right that they should be looked after well. What I'm talking about is the vast majority of us, including I suspect a lot of us on here, who spent a number of years of their life doing interesting and varied work, probably travelling a fair bit, and getting adequately, if not over-generously paid for it. Also for anybody of my age or younger we all volunteered, nobody made us join up.

I'm proud of my service but I don't want any special treatment for it. I haven't applied for a Defence Discount Card, which I understand is pretty useless in any case, and I wont be bothering to claim this new thing (or get a V on my driving licence), should I live that long.

Right, I'm off down to the shelter now ;)

TTN,
Don’t fret. As already pointed out, it’s not compulsory to have one.

Not sure I’d bother, either. I served for almost twenty years, but I’ve since worked as a civilian for longer.

I also will not bother with the driving licence, unless they automatically do it when I (if I) renew it at 70. As for the discount card most of the offers are on line ones for gift cards, but on the high street there are enough to get 10% off, especially if you are into outdoor pursuits.

I usually try two methods of getting discounts, one is the DDC and the other is the pensioner ploy, so far it has worked in ones that are not part of the DDC side but still gave me a good discount, one said because I asked both those were a double strike and he would add to the cost as a surcharge, he was only joking, wife gets a bit embarrassed when I ask, but likes the discounts when I get them.

I get better discounts with my NUS card.......

The Veterans badge, and probably DDC will work in the US.

We use the DDC in our local factory shop. Dishwashers tablets and washing powder etc are inexpensive there but another £2 off is always welcome. They are quite happy to extend the discount to my MiL when she shops with us.

As for a big V on your driving licence, that could work a treat when hiring a car in some countries or parts of UK.

With the possibility of a Corbinista revolution around the corner I suggest that anybody wishing to self identify as a "Veteran" will be inviting a visit from the "reconstruction" cadre. (May happen anyway..)

Imagegear

Personally I don't in public or social occasions advertise WIWI. . .

I recall once at a campsite in France Mrs PN asked our neighbour how her husband got his gammy leg. "Oh it was ze war you know, bomb bomb bomb, and what does your husband do?" "Oh. Just a civil servant"

Might there not be a security issue with being so readily identified as former UK forces through your driving licence?

In the early 2000s during a visit to Ireland I realised with some consternation that my driving licence noted my birthplace as "British Forces Cyprus". I flagged this to the DVLA on my return, and they sent me a new one (for free) just marked Cyprus.

Well, I just attempted to register with the DDS card. At the outset, they say they will need your service number, in order to confirm you are eligible. Having provided this, they come up with another requirement; provide your service ID card or go to an MoD web site to pay for your service records, in order to confirm you are eligible. And I thought I had done the confirming bit with the service number. I shall give it some thought before proceeding any further.

Landing out on a gliding cross-country with an RAFG GSA K8 from Gütersloh in the late 70's, I got the attention of a middle-aged couple picnicking, who strolled over to the glider -resplendent in RAF roundels .
I was invited to join them whilst waiting for recovery.
The gentleman remarked, after confirming that I was in the RAF , that he was in the German Navy during the Second Great Misunderstanding. It transpired the he was a survivor of the Tirpitz.

" An hour and a half in the bloody water without a life raft . Oh yes , I remember the RAF."
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"More cake, young man ?"

I recall that, back in the 1980's, when the RAF had a morale and retention problem, they appointed the splendid Air Commodore Bobby Robson to review the problem and report. He bounded into the Officers's Mess Ante Room with a number of cracking wheezes. One of these was a form of ID Card for veterans.

Nothing wrong with that for, back in those days, it was a sentimental gesture and more a way of keeping the affiliation going.

I wouldn't trust the present civil service with an ID Card. They will put some kind of chip in it and use it for information gathering so they can keep tabs on ex serviceman.

Virtually (pun intended) everything that Whitehall touches these days involves gathering personal data.

So, I wouldn't touch an veteran's ID Card with the long end of a selfie stick.

I just obtained my service records and it didn't cost a penny. I just filled in a MOD Form 1694 (Apr 15 version) that is available publicly on the web, sent it off, and had my service records within 2 weeks. I had noted that if you go via the mod.gov.uk website there is a charge attached for exactly the same service.