Embassy visits Balad, helps Airmen, Soldiers get passports

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Travis Edwards
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq --  Members of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq came here Nov. 7-11, to help Airmen and Soldiers obtain passports.

Senior Master Sgt. Veronica Martin, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing law office superintendent, deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, helped the team process the applications.

"I heard about it when I was visiting the Army's judge advocate office and asked for more information so I could get word out to our Airmen," said Sergeant Martin, who spent hours each day supporting the embassy.

"To speed along the process, I helped manage the paperwork and make sure everyone coming for a passport had their documents in order," she said.

Sergeant Martin said getting a passport is relatively easy.

"As a first-time applicant, all you need is a DS Form 11 (U.S. passport application); a certified copy or original birth certificate or a naturalization certificate will work as your proof of citizenship; a copy of a valid identification card; $97 cash and two 2-by-2 inch photos in civilian clothing," she said. "If all that is in order, you will receive your passport in no time."

"This is something I've been meaning to do for a while," said Airman 1st Class Richard Jones, a 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter. "It was very simple; it's great that I can travel outside of Aviano [Air Base] when I return from my deployment."

Approximately 200 applications passed through the hands of Abdullah Al-Gharabeh and Lee Calkins, U.S. Department of State foreign service officers, from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

"I'm [in Iraq] on a one year tour," said Mr. Calkins. "I came here to support the [Citizenship and Immigration Services], by helping newly-naturalized American citizens and other military personnel get a passport."

To start the process for getting a passport visit, www.travel.state.gov, or the U.S. Embassy in Iraq Web site, http://iraq.usembassy.gov. Those with questions can contact the embassy at usconsulbaghdad@state.gov.