Hi all. West Point mom here. I asked this question on the parent service academy page and heard back from a Naval Academy parent and got a link about policy from Capt MJ but did not hear from any USAFA parents so I'll ask here if you don't mind. Curious what guidance USAFA is giving their students regarding OCONUS travel over the winter break. Specifically, since upon entering a service academy, one loses SOFA eligibility under parents and currently, places like Germany are only allowing those with SOFA status to legally enter due to COVID, what are your kids being advised to do to gain entry to spend the holidays with family? TIA
OCONUS travel
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superbison007
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We were told that all travel outside the US must be approved by the Chain of Command (not sure how far up). Also only visits to family outside the country will be given any consideration and there is no guarantee of approval.
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I am so sorry this is impacting you in this way and that you haven’t gotten the specifics you are looking for.
I am not sure what you are asking - is there a way for a midshipman or cadet to have a workaround on the SOFA status or somehow be exempt?
The midshipman or cadet, as an active duty military member, will have to be guided by whatever Service travel policy pertains, as well as the destination’s entrance or travel policy. Former status as a dependent will likely not enter into the equation. Have you consulted the base JAG on your end of things? I would think that JAG would be more up on availability of any exceptions, SOFA as it pertains to AD service member inbound leave travel, etc. If other AD service members aren’t being allowed in to visit family in Germany, then I would doubt there are exceptions for midshipmen and cadets.
It’s one of those situations where utilitarianism underlies the policy; the good of the many outweighs the good of the few.
superbison007
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W
Us cadets weren’t given any guidance about SOFA, sounds like a special circumstance. Have your cadet go to the officer in charge of his/her company, that’s the best place to start IMO.
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Do you have an international parents club available to you? USNA does. The international chapter was actually formally established this year. And we had a Parents Club Officers Conference last week, and this was brought up. Club leadership will be passing along information from USNA leadership soon.
Official state parents clubs can also be a source of official information, or a place to ask questions.
I've done all you suggested to include talking to JAG, as well as passport office etc. And yes, I'm asking the question because I understand that former status as a dependent doesn't factor in. I suspect many parents don't even realize that their kids have lost SOFA status and parents should have had orders changed (deleting their SA kid) within 30 days of admittance. I am assuming all the service academies have explained this to their students. Maybe not. We are getting guidance at USMA to contact the embassy that your family is living in. So, I guess I am ultimately asking, have they made clear to their cadets/mids that they cannot legally travel on old SOFA passports and have they explained that they legally cannot be on their parents orders anymore and finally, because of the these tow things have they given guidance on how they, the service academy, would suggest they move forward in making travel possible? Contact embassy, ask for orders, get an exception policy etc.....
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Very helpful to understand more context.
Just checked. We don't have one. My DS just received an email confirming that since Cadets are no longer dependents, this means that the use of their parent's 1610 (their parents orders to be overseas) is not permitted. Really hoping someone finds a solution for our DS's and DD's. I am sure they all need some downtime at home after a very unusual first semester.
Of course. This is an ongoing conversation between their leadership and the cadets in this situation. I think the solution is well above my DS's pay grade, so If you have any other suggestions for him or any of the other cadets in this situation to pursue I'd appreciate it. This is why I am on here asking if any other SA has given different guidance than USMA or found a solution to this problem. If another SA has, I'd love for them to share it.