Foreign travel

ab11

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Mar 17, 2015
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Are cadets allowed to travel outside of US on their school vacations?
I.e. can we take our son to Cancun during his spring break in 2016?
 
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If USAFA is like USCGA, there are things cadets have to do to travel outside of the country. First, we had to get it approved by the command. Next we had to complete "Anti-Terrorism Force Protection" (ATFP) training. Basically we learned about how to NOT be targets. Some of the information provided was about the country we were heading to. I'm not sure if these things still exist, but in short, yes they can travel aboard, just make sure it's a country that they can't visit and make sure they have the training and approval required.
 
YES!!!

A cadet with a credit card, cash, and a good backpack, with orders...is a "military hop" away from anywhere in the world!!!

It's FUN!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Traveling overseas is no problem. The question becomes..... WHERE. I don't know the YES and NO's currently, but when my son was at the academy, we went on a cruise in 2011 for Christmas. Found out that military members weren't allowed to go to Mexico. So we made sure our cruise was to "Eastern Caribbean". This way none of our Ports of Call landed in Mexico. But that was 4 years ago. I don't where they can and can't go currently. Need to check on that.
 
If your passport is close to expiring, this is a good time to renew it. If a travel abroad option opens while you are in the Academy, (for example, language immersion in sophomore year,) you will want to have an up-to-date passport in order to have all required paperwork ready to be submitted as early as possible. Just one thing done you don't have to worry about.
 
Permission from CoC is required. As others have stated there will be regions where travel is either not allowed or restricted in some way. I do know Mexico was off limits for a while but I also know DS went to Cozumel 2 summers ago. YMMV.
 
DFIP (the people in charge of all immersion type trips) which actually pay for your passport and do the whole application process with you if you don't have one and get selected for one of their trips. Some of the trips require a diplomatic maroon passport anyway, so your blue one wouldn't matter. It helps to have one, but is by no means required.
You can go to Mexico currently, it just requires approval from the first O-5 in your chain of command. There is a list maintained by OSI in coordination with the DoD and DoS on what countries you can and can't travel to.
 
It is my understanding that when applying for an immersion trip, all "blue" passports which were in effect prior to your 16th birthday had to be renewed. If so, this step could be avoided if your passport was renewed at age 16 y/o or alder. I agree that it is not a big deal, just might feel nice to be able to submit a complete application while others aren't able to. Please advise, thank you.
 
I wouldn't worry about your passport for immersion trips until you're actually accepted-having a passport isn't a requirement to apply/be selected, and the department here will walk you through the whole process if you need a new one.
 
DFIP (the people in charge of all immersion type trips) which actually pay for your passport and do the whole application process with you if you don't have one and get selected for one of their trips. Some of the trips require a diplomatic maroon passport anyway, so your blue one wouldn't matter. It helps to have one, but is by no means required.
You can go to Mexico currently, it just requires approval from the first O-5 in your chain of command. There is a list maintained by OSI in coordination with the DoD and DoS on what countries you can and can't travel to.

Diplomatic passports are black, Official passports are maroon (or brownish red). If you're traveling for the military, and it requires a passport, it's an "Official Passport" not diplomatic.
 
Diplomatic passports are black, Official passports are maroon (or brownish red). If you're traveling for the military, and it requires a passport, it's an "Official Passport" not diplomatic.
I stand corrected, didn't realize there was a difference between the two. But to the idea you need a blue tourist passport to make it easier for DFIP travel, you don't. All my friends and I had blue passports, and then when we got accepted for summer trips, we had to obtain official maroon passports.
 
^just a note though, not every trip does. Some of the trips just require blue passports.
 
Diplomatic passports are black, Official passports are maroon (or brownish red). If you're traveling for the military, and it requires a passport, it's an "Official Passport" not diplomatic.
When DH and I got stationed in Saudi Arabia, we had to get Diplomatic Passports. It certainly helped get us through customs with many few hassles and we had them as our "get out of jail" cards, in case we were ever pulled over by their police.
 
Haha, on the other side of that, those official or diplomatic passports also make you a target. There are also MANY restrictions on them, so no matter what you want to do, it's always good to have a blue tourist passport.

I recently got a new tourist passport and passport card. I think it took... a week or two from when I turned in my paper work to when I received my passport.
 
If I wanted to attend my cousins wedding over Plebe summer on August 8th what is the process I would have to go through? Do they let you go in civvies to airport?
 
If it helps it's about 4 days until Plebe parent weekend? I heard somewhere that if I ask early then they can run it through the leadership chain to see if i can get 1 day to go?
 
If I wanted to attend my cousins wedding over Plebe summer on August 8th what is the process I would have to go through? Do they let you go in civvies to airport?

Though we are apparently talking Navy in the Air Force forum, the answer is generally the same. When you raise your right hand on Induction Day on 1 July at USNA, your next leave period off the Yard when you can wear civvies is Thanksgiving. You will be in a duty status during Plebe Summer, which wraps up in August when the Brigade reforms, and you move into your academic year company area, and classes begin.

You will have town liberty (you will learn leave-liberty difference in good time) as a plebe on Saturdays to go out in town ... in uniform. You will have town liberty for some periods during Plebe Parents Weekend in August. I haven't looked up the date yet.

Are you joshing us or have you not looked too closely at the fact you won't have civilian clothes privileges for two years, unless you are on leave, and in some cases as a 3/C a weekend, away from the Yard? In all services, during training pipelines (USNA will be the first of many "duty under instruction" phases of your military life), leave is only granted during specific periods. Emergency leave for death or serious injury in the immediate family is an exception.

One of the facts of life is the "needs of the Navy" will trump your personal desire many times. On that Saturday morning, the Navy needs you to be sweating at PEP with your classmates and absorbing your role as a plebe who has entered into active duty.

This is not intended as a smack down, just a gentle introduction to the new reality awaiting you. Enjoy your time until you report.

You can always ask. I advise against it.
 
Yes, I wouldn't count on going. Short of a death of an immediate family member, there's not much that will get you out of there (including weddings... especially during that period).
 
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