COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO SMITH PLUS

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 001326

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC OTRA AC XL
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO SMITH PLUS
THREE FOR TRAVEL TO ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

REF: 021810Z OCT 07


1. Embassy Bridgetown warmly welcomes and grants
country clearance to CDR Roger A. Smith, USCG, Mr.
Thomas White, USCG, Mr. Tivo Romero, USCG and LCDR
Felton Gilmore, USCG, for travel to Antigua and
Barbuda from October 22 to 09, 2007. The purpose of
mission is in direct support of U.S. Homeland
Security?s International Port Security Program.


2. Embassy points of contact are CDR P. Kofi
Aboagye, Chief, Military Liaison Office, (246) 227-
4339 or cell (246) 230-2705; LCDR Rene Cerda, Deputy
Chief, Military Liaison Office, (246) 227-4166 or
cell (246) 230-2712; and Mr. Anthony Eterno,
Economics Officer, (246) 227-4273 or cell (246) 823-

3104.


3. The exchange rate for Antigua and Barbuda is
approximately $2.70 xcd (Eastern Caribbean) dollars
for $1.00 U.S. dollar. U.S. currency, traveler?s
checks, and credit cards are also routinely and
widely accepted here.



4. Entry requirements: A valid U.S. passport is
required to enter Antigua and Barbuda. No visa is
required if your stay is under six months, including
those travelers arriving with diplomatic or official
passports. For further information, travelers may
contact the Embassy of Barbados, 2144 Wyoming Avenue
N.W., Washington D.C. 20008, tel. 1-202-939-9200.


5. Restrictions: The laws of Barbados, Antigua and
Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and Saint
Kitts and Nevis prohibit non-military personnel from
wearing any articles of camouflage clothing.
Immigration officers in these countries randomly
check visitor?s baggage on arrival at the airport;
if items of restriction are found, you will be asked
to surrender them to the officers.


6. Departure tax for Antigua and Barbuda is $50.00
ECC (Eastern Caribbean Currency) or $19.00 USD.


7. ICASS TDY Policy: Each visitor, regardless of
length of stay, must bring/forward fiscal data to
pay for direct costs of the visit. Each agency,
organization or visiting delegation will be charged
for the actual costs attributed to its visit.
Direct charge costs include, but are not limited to:
airport transportation and expediting; driving
services; American and LES overtime (for such
services as airport expediting, cashier
accommodation exchange, control room staffing,
representational event support); travel and per diem
costs incurred by post personnel in support of
visitor?s field travel; rental of vehicles and other
equipment; long distance telephone calls; office
supplies, procurement/small purchasing; departure
tax and other airport fees. Post will not provide
service if fiscal data is not provided for the
direct charges.

For TDYers remaining at post over 30 days, there is
a charge for ICASS support services. This charge is
for the following ICASS services: Basic Package,
CLO and Health Services. Agencies will not be
billed until the accumulated invoice cost for TDY
support exceeds $2,500 for the fiscal year. If your
sponsoring agency is not signed up for ICASS
services at post, please be prepared to sign a
Memorandum of Understanding for ICASS support
services upon arrival. The agency should provide
post with a written communication, generated by the
traveler?s headquarters, that confirms the agency
will pay ICASS charges for the TDYer, provides the
agency ICASS billing code to which the TDY support
charges should be applied, and authorizes the
traveler to sign the ICASS invoice generated by the
TDY module. Where travel is urgent, the TDYer
should bring this documentation with him/her to
ensure there are no interruptions in the provision
of service. Post will not provide any service to a
TDYer staying in excess of thirty days without

provision of this documentation before day 31 of the
TDY.?


8. The following is general information pertaining
to security and health considerations throughout the
Eastern Caribbean:

Security
--------------
In the Eastern Caribbean, foot travel outside of
well-established tourist areas is not generally
recommended, especially at night. Be vigilant when
using public telephones or ATM machines near
roadsides or quiet areas. As in many U.S.
metropolitan areas, wearing expensive jewelry,
carrying expensive objects, or carrying large
amounts of cash should be avoided. Visitors should
also safeguard valuables while at the beach. While
hotels are generally safe, many visitors have
experienced loss of unattended items. Hotel
burglaries are not uncommon and all valuables should
be locked in room safes if possible.

Health Information
--------------
Throughout the Eastern Caribbean, the most likely
threat to a visitor?s health is sunburn. It takes
several weeks to become accustomed to the heat and
humidity. Prolonged exposure to the sun, without
protection, causes sunburn and may ultimately result
in sun-damaged skin or even skin cancer. Sunscreens
should be used for protection. In Barbados, St.
Lucia, and St. Vincent the major health threat is
dengue fever, transmitted by mosquito. Dengue cases
are most often seen in the summer months. Persons
should therefore protect themselves with insect
repellant. There is also a growing number of
HIV/AIDS cases reported. The Eastern Caribbean
enjoys clean and safe drinking water. Only routine
boosters for immunizations (i.e. tetanus,
diphtheria, and oral polio vaccine) are required
when traveling to this region. Barbados has the
best medical facilities of all the islands in the
region and most of the medical specialties have
practitioners here.

OURISMAN