COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO RICHTSMEIER FOR TRAVEL TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 001490 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC OTRA AC XL SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO RICHTSMEIER FOR TRAVEL TO ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REF: 191517Z NOV 07 ¶1. Embassy Bridgetown warmly welcomes and grants country clearance to Linda Richtsmeier, Quality Assurance Representative, DESC Americas, for travel to Antigua from December 09 - 10, 2007. The purpose of travel is to conduct an into-plane audit at the V C Bird International Airport fuel terminal. ¶2. Embassy point of contact is CDR P. Kofi Aboagye, Chief, Military Liaison Office, (246) 227-4339 or cell (246) 230-2705; point of contact at the Consular Agency, Antigua is Rebecca Simon, (268) 463-6531 or cell (268) 726-6531 or (268) 774-0441; point of contact at the Antigua Air Station is Major Justin Mulkey, Antigua Air Station Commander, (268) 462-3895 or cell (268) 464-6116; point of contact at V C Bird International Airport fuel terminal is Mr. Hubert Joseph, Texaco Superintendent, (268) 462-3135. ¶3. The United States Military Liaison Office (USMLO) is located at the United States Embassy Barbados, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, Saint Michael, Barbados. The Consular Agency is located at Suite 2, Jasmine Court, Friar Hill Road, Saint John's, Antigua. The Antigua Air Station is located at Coolidge Base, near the V C Bird International Airport, Antigua. ¶4. The exchange rate is approximately $2.70 xcd (Eastern Caribbean) dollars for $1.00 U.S. dollar. U.S. currency, traveler's checks, and credit cards are routinely and widely accepted here. ¶5. Entry requirements: A valid U.S passport is required to enter Antigua and Barbuda. No visa is required if your stay is under twenty-eight days, including those travelers arriving with diplomatic or official passports. ¶6. Departure tax for Antigua and Barbuda is $50.00 ECC (Eastern Caribbean Currency) or $19.00 USD. ¶7. 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. ¶8. 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." ¶9. 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 BRIDGETOWN 00001490 002 OF 002 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. HOWARD