Identification Discs
Identification Discs (also known as ID Discs or colloquially as "dog tags") are an item of identification issued to all serving soldiers of the Canadian Forces, Regular or Reserve.
Description
The ID Disc (a misnomer, since it is rectangular, see below) is a metal tag roughly an inch square which contains the soldier's Service Number, Name, Initials, Blood Type, and Religion. The tag is also stamped with the soldier's nationality (CDN).
Purpose
The ID Disc is used to identify soldiers in the event they become a casualty. Blood transfusions of the correct type can be made quickly by referencing the disc in the event the soldier is incapacitated. In the event of fatal casualties, the disc can be separated into halves, with one half kept with the remains should there be a need for a temporary burial or in cases in which the remains cannot be evacuated immediately. The other half of the disc can be used for casualty reporting. Should a field burial be necessary, the proper religious customs can be identified from the information on the disc.
Procedure for Obtaining ID Discs
Procedure for Replacing Lost ID Discs
Wearing the Discs
CFAO 26-4 : IDENTITY DISCS - WEARING.
Identity discs shall be retained by members at all times and worn around the neck and next to the skin:
- a. by members serving on active duty, at sea, or beyond the North American continent, or engaged in flying duties, or on a military exercise involving travel by Service aircraft; and
- b. by other members when directed by the commander of a command.
History
The first identification tags had been issued in Britain from 1907 and in the German Army beginning in the 1800s. Canadian soldiers began receiving them in the First World War. The first tags issued to Canadians were single aluminum discs bearing vital information. Over the course of the war, fibre discs replaced the aluminum ones, and began to be issued in pairs, a round red disc and a green octagonal disc. The discs were issued again in the Second World War, with a third disc being issued to identify the soldier's respirator.
The current style of metal disc was introduced just in time for the Korean War, along with the use of metal beaded chains. In the 1990s, the softer metal was replaced with hard aluminum.
