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