COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO WASHBURN PLUS TWO FOR TRAVEL

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000942

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC OTRA BB XL
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO WASHBURN PLUS TWO FOR TRAVEL
TO BARBADOS

REF: 181721Z JUL 07


1. Embassy Bridgetown warmly welcomes and grants country clearance
to CAPT Terry Washburn, USN, Mr. John Samson, DAC and Mr. Lindsay
Johnson, DAC, for travel to Barbados August 06 - August 10, 2007.
The purpose of this visit is to conduct inspections and staff
assistance visits to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of
SAOS, IAW USSOUTHCOM regulations.


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 Major Rachelle Harris, Operations Officer,
(246) 227-4123 or cell (246) 230-2725.



3. Hotel reservations have been confirmed for travelers at the
Savannah Hotel, Hastings, Christ Church, tel. 1-246-435-9473; fax.
1-246-228-4385. The hotel rate is US$150.00 per night. Hotel
confirmation numbers are as follows Mr. Washburn, SV 047744; Mr.
Samson, SV 047745 and Mr. Johnson, SV 0447746.


4. Travelers are advised that CDR Aboagye and LCDR Cerda will meet
at the airport to assist with transportation to hotel. Travelers
will have daily pickup to and from hotel to Embassy for the duration
of the inspection. The exchange rate in Barbados is a constant $2.00
Barbados Dollars (BDS) to $1.00 U.S. Dollar. U.S. currency,
travelers' checks, and credit cards are routinely and widely
accepted here.


5. Entry requirements: A valid U.S. passport is required to enter
Barbados. 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.


6. 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.


7. Departure tax for Barbados is BDS$60 or USD$30.


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
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