1. (U) SUMMARY: Because some military members deployed to
the Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA),
Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, are redirected to jobs outside of
Djibouti in countries that require US passports for entry,
Post asks DOD to consider requiring all soldiers deploying
to the CJTF-HOA or JSOTF staff to have a tourist and/or
official passport before leaving the United States. END
SUMMARY



2. (U) Under the SOFA with Djibouti, only a military ID is
required for military air entry into the host nation;
however, Post's consular office processes six to twelve
passport applications each month, on average,
for soldiers at CJTF-HOA who have been temporarily
assigned to duty in other countries of the Area
of Responsibility (AOR). Yemen, Eritrea
and Ethiopia all require U.S. military members to
present passports for entry.



3. (U) Since September 11, passports cannot/cannot
be issued from Posts, save emergency one entry passports
back to the United States. Tourist passport applications
are sent to the National Passport Center in New Hampshire.
Official passport applications are sent to the Special
Issuance Agency in Washington, DC. Processing takes a
minimum of four weeks.



4. (U) Comment: It has been Post's experience that
the issuance delay negatively impacts CJTF-HOA's
mission, as slots are often left empty until a
passport can be issued. Post asks that DOD consider
requiring those who may be deployed
in AOR countries other than Djibouti to obtain a
passport before leaving the United States. It is Posts'
opinion that this would greatly aid CJTF-HOA's
responsiveness and flexibility.
RAGSDALE