DMV Works for Veterans!

As part of Governor McDonnell's efforts to make Virginia the "most veteran friendly state" in the country, the Department of Motor Vehicles is initiating a whole new series of measures for veterans.

According to the U.S. Census, 13.1% of the 44th District's residents are veterans.  Also, the 44th District now includes a large part of Fort Belvoir which is part of these efforts.  Hopefully these measures will help make state government more responsive to residents of Mt. Vernon and Lee.

Here is what's in the works.

• Troops to Trucks
• Veteran's ID
• DMV Mobile Visits
• Military Base Partnerships
• Homeless Veterans Initiatives

You can read more below the fold.
Troops to Trucks
This program is designed to make it easier for military personnel to obtain a Virginia commercial driver's license (CDL) to ease the transition into civilian employment by doing the following:

• Waive CDL skills testing for service men and women with appropriate experience operating large vehicles as a part of their duties
• Provide for on-base commercial motor vehicle training for those without this experience
• Provide on-base opportunities for completing the written and skills test portions of the CDL application process
• Provide on-base processing and issuance of the CDL through DMV’s mobile customer service centers
• Assist in the completion of required medical certification
• Work with wounded service men and women to allow those with missing or impaired limbs to obtain a CDL
• Allow employers within the transportation industry to match up with prospective employees completing the Troops to Trucks program, potentially reducing the time between discharge and employment.

You can read more about this on the DMV website at: www.dmvnow.com/TroopstoTrucks.

Veteran’s ID

DMV will begin producing a Virginia Veteran’s ID at the end of May in conjunction with the Department of Veteran’s Services.  The ID will be available to all Veterans with an honorable discharge status so they can more more conveniently access the wide range of discounts and services available to them. It will cost $10 ID, be sold at all DMV Customer Service Centers, and will not carry an expiration date.
Click on this sentence for more information.

Mobile Visits
The DMV now has five used vehicles and transformed them into Customer Service Centers on Wheels to provide service to rural and underserved populations.  They have visited all military facilities willing to host them including:

Defense Supply Center
Fort Lee Military Base
Langley Air Force Base
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) installation, Albemarle County
Norfolk Naval Base

Fort Belvoir Military Base

Military Base Partnerships
DMV is also working on a more permanent presence on base including a new office on Fort Belvoir and Fort Lee. 

Homeless Veterans
The Virginia DMV is also in the final stages of finalizing an official ID card for homeless veterans that will allow homeless veterans to use the address of one of Virginia's three Veteran's Hospitals as the address for residence verification purposes.  This will help these individuals process various transactions that many of us take for granted.