(Note: This post has nothing to do with actual dogs.)

I was issued a set of US military dog tags when I went into the reserves near 20 years ago, and have kept them around my neck even though I got out in 1999. Why? Because - let's be honest here - I'm cheap; and free is cheaper than 20 bucks for some medical alert tag that says pretty much the same things. And even with all of the named things in my wallet, and my nifty smart phone and all that, having something as simple as a dog tag to ID me in case I can't, is comforting.

But after two decades the medical tag is no longer red, and the other things round my neck, such as the whistle and P-38 can opener, have worn down the letters on the tags. Not unreadable mind you, but they are starting to wear.

So I am looking to replace them with new dog tags. Which got me online and... got me to thinking: The information on the current tags is what the military needs. Is it what I need if, say, I was mugged and left unconscious on a city street? Injured on a car wreck and unable to communicate? Or, worse...

No, it isn't. So after some "what if" thinking, here is what I came up with:

Line 1: Last name

No brainer here.

Line 2: First name, middle initial

Again, no brainer. (But for a southerner like me, it's first initial, middle name).

Line 3: USA and zip code

If I am outside of the country (which I am occasionally), someone will know which consul to contact in an emergency, and the zip code can tell someone inside the country where I'm from, too.

Line 4: Date of birth (000000) and blood type

Seems to be SOP background information. I know my blood type from my military file and tags.

Line 5: Emergency contact number (000.000.0000)

Someone needs to know what happened to me.

Note some things I didn't include. The SSN serial number is gone - I've always been a bit uneasy with that, anyway. For space reasons I didn't include religious affiliation - though I think some kind of abbreviation could be added. Maybe drop the USA and add it there?

On the medical tag I will be replacing the SSN serial number with my blood type and date of birth. Maybe religious affiliation, too. Just in case.

Other than that, I wanted to put all this to the ETS community for y'all's comments, insights, thoughts, feedback, criticisms, complaints, accolades, praise, etc., etc.

Thanks.

.....CLIFF
(like, who else?)