Will I be able to visit in the future?

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future_navy

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I have an appointment to the Naval Academy and will graduate usna class of 2019. My family is all Iranian and I heard somewhere that they don't let U.S. military members visit? Since I would technically be in the navy though not active for 4 years will I never be able to visit Iran again, does anyone have any prior knowledge? I couldn't find anything online.
 
When you get to USNA and even in the fleet any foreign travel is reported to your S-2 or security guys and they will tell you of any security concerns or if the country is banned for US personnel. Your company officer can help you with this. The state department website has some pretty alarming warnings listed on there. If they identify you as a US service member I wouldn't be surprised if your exit became complicated or your visit more eventful than normal. Regardless if Midshipment or graduate, it's the same rules for travel and to many countries they don't know the difference between Mid or officer. They just see active duty CAC. I am not an official source by any means, but my guess is you won't be going there anytime while on active duty, but I could be wrong.
 
Future_Navy,

If you end up visiting Iran, make sure everything is done by the book and you keep a good record, as a very good chance your visit will be discussed during your security clearance investigation.

Visiting Iran alone shouldn't prevent you from getting your security clearance, but it could delay it especailly if you end up needing a Top Secret clerance.

Iran is no USA

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/09/13/former-marine-held-in-iran-writes-letter-to-kerry.html

"Hekmati has been detained in Iran on what the U.S. says are false espionage charges since his 2011 arrest. Hekmati's family says he traveled to Iran to visit his grandmothers." Don't know what Mr. Hekmati did, but a good chance that fact he was a former Marine might factored into him being targeted.
 
future_navy said:
Since I would technically be in the navy though not active for 4 years will I never be able to visit Iran again, does anyone have any prior knowledge? I couldn't find anything online.
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You are considered to be on Active Duty in a midshipman pay and duty status while at USNA.

The odds of Iran granting you a travel visa are slim, the odds of the Navy allowing you to go are VERY slim (you should expect to meet some Admirals when you turn in a leave form with Iran as the destination), and the odds of Iran treating you as an espionage agent are very high.
 
So my parents both have their american citizenship and I have visited Iran twice before ( I am 17). Since it is about 3 months until I day I was thinking I would have one last chance to visit Iran in my lifetime. Would it be dangerous to visit now I don't know their process for checking visitors since they seem to know if an individual is prior military or not. Should I contact USNA about visiting in june or would it not be an issue?
 
future_navy said:
So my parents both have their american citizenship and I have visited Iran twice before ( I am 17). Since it is about 3 months until I day I was thinking I would have one last chance to visit Iran in my lifetime. Would it be dangerous to visit now I don't know their process for checking visitors since they seem to know if an individual is prior military or not. Should I contact USNA about visiting in june or would it not be an issue?
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What is visiting Iran worth to you? When you take a risk, the reward should be proportional. Low risk, low reward. High risk, high reward.

You can't live a risk free life, but shouldn't take unnessary risks. Think of it as a different way looking at things. Right now as a teenager and civilian, you might think if not illegal why not. Perphaps, now you should think about what's the smart/practical thing to do.

For example, you have the right to argue with a Police officer, that doesn't mean you should argue with a police officer.
 
Right now my reasoning is if possible to go before july 1st, it will be literally the last chance I ever get to visit Iran unless some sort of diplomacy is reached. I have family there but I understand that if the risk is high, then it is best to not go. Is it an issue before I even enter I just want to be able to find a compromise before its too late
 
You might be able to go, but you also might find yourself being detained and not making it to I-day. Something to consider.
 
I'm wondering what you suddenly think you're missing. You've visited twice since you've been alive. Are they not able to visit you?

It's good you're thinking about it now, but you'll have to decide how absolutely important it is to you (and I'm not going to judge where you come out on that... your future's important, but so is family).
 
future_navy said:
Right now my reasoning is if possible to go before july 1st, it will be literally the last chance I ever get to visit Iran unless some sort of diplomacy is reached. I have family there but I understand that if the risk is high, then it is best to not go. Is it an issue before I even enter I just want to be able to find a compromise before its too late
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"Last chance I ever get to visit Iran" is not good a reason because you still did not explain why you need to visit Iran. Having "family there" doesn't mean you have to visit. Say you were rasied by your grandmother and she moved back to Iran and you wanted to see her before she die, it makes sense. But just to visit a family, not sure if that is a good reason.

I don't care if you visit Iran or not, but you asked for opinions.
 
Agree its great you are thinking about how this can impact things. As mentioned, what happens if you are detained and you miss I-Day? Guess what, no I-Day, no Naval Academy. Is that risk worth it for you? Only you are able to answer that question. What about meeting your family in a more friendly place like Bahrain, UAE, etc? This is all about risk and what you are willing to put on the line. It is not your last chance either. At some point you will leave the military, we all do. Some earlier than others.
 
Any American citizens who visit countries of
State Sponsors of Terrorism http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm
Country Designation Date
Cuba March 1, 1982
Iran January 19, 1984
Sudan August 12, 1993
Syria December 29, 1979

will have a visit from the FBI, especially for Iran and Syria. Cuba will restore diplomatic relations and Sudan is a mess.
My advice is don't visit Iran. If you go there with a crew cut, then you will either be detained or Iran will blackmail/extort your families there. There is stilla missing retired FBI agent there.
 
Yea so I guess I wont be visiting you guys are right. But just to answer some of the questions I wanted to visit because for a lack of better words, iranian culture is really important around family and I miss a lot of my relatives who I had great times with. Thanks for everyone's opinions it really did help, I guess I can still always root for the Iranian soccer team (and US!!!!) haha
 
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