Military and civilian personnel stationed with family members in Adana, Turkey, have until Oct. 1 to decide whether to voluntarily send their dependents home, the Air Force said Monday.

The authorized voluntary departure program was approved by Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Sept. 2, to try to safeguard the family members of service members. It came after Turkey authorized U.S. combat aircraft to fly missions against the Islamic State terrorist group over Iraq and Syria from Incirlik Air Base, which is in Adana. The voluntary departure could affect about 900 people.

In a Q&A posted online, the Air Force said that the authorized voluntary departure program has a 30-day window for volunteering to leave, unless the program is extended.

Under this program, the military will cover the cost of moving dependents out of Turkey, as well as pay to bring them back after the security situation improves, if they want to return. Household goods such as furniture and cars will stay with the service member, the Air Force said.

The Air Force said that military and civilian aircraft could be used to move dependents back to a temporary location in the continental U.S. The military services will work with families to figure out which would be the best location for them to return to. This could be their home of record, or the location where the service member expects to move after his Turkey assignment ends.

Dependents already had the option of leaving under an early return of dependents, or ERD, move, which includes moving their household goods. But in most cases, the Air Force said, this departure option is a one-way ticket and the government would not pay to return those dependents to Turkey.

Anyone who has already chosen to have their dependents leave Turkey under an ERD move — but who has not yet started the move — would be able to switch to the authorized voluntary departure program so their dependents could get a return trip, the Air Force said. But if the ERD move has already completed, the Air Force said it's probably too late to change to the other program.

The Air Force said there are about 287 pets with dependents at Incirlik, and families will be given what is needed to return with those pets.

Dependents will be allowed to ship some personal items as unaccompanied baggage, as well as bring the standard amount of luggage on their flights.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

Share:
In Other News
Load More