In addition to the use of RFID technology to track wounded at a Navy hospital in Iraq, it is being used for a variety of other U.S. government needs related to national security.

The U.S. Department of Defense has, for the past 36 months, been issuing a mandatory ID card across all branches of the military. Called the Common Access Card (CAC), the card contains chip, magnetic stripe, and barcode technologies. Beginning later this year, the CAC will add contactless technology to the card to enable physical access to facilities via RFID. More than 1 million CACs already in use by military and related personnel.

On the tension-filled border between Palestine and Israel, contactless cards are being issued to Palestinians working Israeli territory. The card contains personal information, a digitized photo, as well as both a hand biometric template and a facial biometric template.

This multifaceted authentication system is expected to help expedite the passage of as many as 120,000 individuals per day when fully deployed.