The Air Force’s dog tags are now the same as the Army, with the name, DOD ID number, blood type, and religious preference, respectively.

This removed the “AF ” next to the DOD ID number. Air Force changed its uniform regulations by matching the Army’s OCP uniform adoption. Information that is required to be on the dog tag is the wearer’s name, jacket number or service number, and on the same line his/her blood type, and then lastly, their religion. In times of capture or death, one remains on the wearer and the other is sent to the Bureau. In accordance with Navy regulations, there are two dog tags for all naval personnel to wear mandatorily. On the 4th, is USMC then their gas mask size, in this case, it’s small. On the 1st line is the last name, and the 2nd is the first name and M.I., along with the blood type. Like every dog tag’s purpose, they secure the proper burial of their fallen wearer and get rid of potential doubt in their identity. The Marine Corps dog tags have been used since 1916. This dog tag contains the wearer’s name, DOD ID number, expanded medical information like allergies, medical conditions, and information on their prescribed medicine. Soldiers wearing dog tags like these have been diagnosed with medical issues that might affect them during their time in the service. These red-colored dog tags are called Emergency Medical dog tags. In 2015, the DOD identification number was instead used rather than the Social Security number like the one from the Vietnam era in the previous section above. When you search for a dog tag on the internet, the Army is typically used as a dog tag example.Īn Army’s military dog tags say their name, Department of Defense ID number, blood type, and lastly their religion if any. The material for the dog tag is usually the same, which is stainless steel. The information generally stays the same except for a few additions. The military dog tag format varies from branch to branch. However, information on military dog tags will have some minor or major variations depending on the military branch. Generally, the format is this: the soldier’s name, their social security number, their inoculation, and their religion. Compared to today, the military dog tag format stayed rather the same.

In the picture is an Army Vietnam-era dog tag.

Dog tags military information