Personnel urged to take steps
before traveling abroad

by Tina Ray
Paraglide

All Soldiers and civilians who are planning foreign travel must meet with their unit’s security manager or anti-terrorism officer, said Kellie Neuschwanger, information security officer at the Fort Bragg Directorate of Emergency Services.

The security manager or anti-terrorism officer will be able to provide information about specific countries, including where embassies are located, what to do if a passport is lost and how to handle criminal threats.

Soldiers and civilians are encouraged to visit the U.S. Department of State Web site at http://travel.state.gov to research particular countries, Neuschwanger wrote by e-mail.
The U.S. Department of State maintains travel alerts for specific regions.

According to its Web site, alerts are issued to disseminate information about short-term conditions that pose risks to the security of U.S. citizens.

Conditions that may generate a travel alert include natural disasters, election-related demonstrations and coups.

In recent months, travel alerts have been issued for such locations as China, Gabon and Mexico.
According to the Web site, travel warnings are issued when conditions make a country dangerous or unstable. They are also issued when the U.S. government’s ability to help American citizens is
constrained. Travel warnings have been issued for Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Kenya, Iran and Columbia, among other destinations.

Neuschwanger said it is important for Soldiers and civilians to remember that cruises count as foreign travel.

“When travelers disembark in several of the islands, they tend to forget,” Neuschwanger said.
Other useful Web sites to visit include www.fcg.pentagon.mil or www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html.