Kid’s Documentation (Pre-Basic Training) 105 Days until Basic

I have been divorced now for a few years. I will not go into detail, but let’s just say I was blindsided and now my kids don’t live with me. I found I had to get original birth certificates and social security cards for each of my kids. During the move my ex-wife had lost or misplaced both. She had nothing for me. The recruiters said no problem, I could go to the local health department since they were all born in this state and I could order new ones. The recruiters then said I could go to the social security office and order new cards for them. Actually they said I don’t actually even need the cards, I only need a verification form from the social security office for each of the kids.

Sounded like a piece of cake…..

I ordered the birth certificates, which like the recruiter said was very easy. Just provide the required information and pay the fee. I have three kids (13, 11, & 9) and had to pay $20 each. A couple of days later and $60 poorer, I was ready to head off to the social security office. I arrived at the social security office with my ID and birth certificates in hand. I was met by an armed guard and was asked to sign in and get a number. An armed guard?? hmmmm I wondered why there was really a need for this. So after waiting patiently for about 10 minutes my number was called. I explained my situation and was told they could not give me replacement cards or even the verification paper that I needed. After a bit of arguing I was told that I needed picture ID of my kids, a doctor’s note showing their names and birthdays, or their official school records with signature. This really put a damper on my day. My ex-wife lives two hours away and I couldn’t count on her to get any of this done. I didn’t know how I was going to get any of the information I needed for this.

After a few days of stressing, I remembered that the kids all had passports from a trip to Mexico that their grandparents had taken them on. The next time I picked up the kids I got their passports as well. I headed to the Social Security office once again. This time with birth certificates, my ID, and my kid's passports in hand, I was able to order their social security cards and get the verification sheets for each of them that I needed.  It only took a couple of weeks, but now at least my kids will have social security cards and birth certificates.