US Africa Command Theater Clearance Coordination Center

Theater entry requirements are determined by the Combatant Commander (COCOM) and listed in the DoD Foreign Clearance Manual/Foreign Clearance Guide (FCG).


US Africa Command theater entry requirements pertain to all DoD military, civilian, and contractor personnel travelling in any capacity into and within the US Africa Command Area of Responsibility.

  • All DoD and DoD-sponsored travel in the U.S. Africa Command Area of Responsibility requires Theater Clearance approval from the Commander, U.S. Africa Command prior to travel. The security situation in Africa can be very fluid. Travelers must track current events and should not "fire and forget" after submitting APACS. If the situation deteriorates, clearance can be revoked.

  • Theater Clearance requests will be completed via the Aircraft and Personnel Automated Clearance System (APACS). APACS allows simultaneous processing of Country, Theater, and Special Area clearances.
    NIPR APACS is the default submission mode unless travel is classified or involves VIPs.

  • Unless traveling as part of a joint unit or under the Force Protection Responsibility of the Embassy, travelers normally fall under AFRICOM CDR FP responsibility exercised by the Service Component Command Africa to which they belong, i.e.,. USARAF, NAVAF, AFAF, MARFORAF, SOCAF, CJTF-HOA.

  • AFRICOM CDR requires Chain of Command review and approval of all DOD travel to the AFRICOM AOR, whether official or leave, and regardless of who holds FP Responsibility once in country.

  • The Review and Approval Statement from the SENDING unit�s Chain of Command affirms to the AFRICOM CDR that the traveler is prepared and briefed for medical, criminal, environmental and behavioral threats. CDR AFRICOM never sees the travelers or their preparations; he relies on the Chain of Command to conduct this review and grants approval partially on that basis.


    • NOTE: There are serious criminality and health risks for which travelers must prepare prior to travel and which are not reflected by the FPCON (terrorism) level.

 

 

Combatant Commander's Theater Entry Training/Requirements

APPLIES TO BOTH OFFICIAL TRAVEL AND LEAVE TRAVEL

  • Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) Level 1 training within one (1) year of travel. (Located on NIPR at: https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at)

  • Level A SERE training in support of the Code of Conduct (CoC" or Service Equivalent (initial or continuation training) within 36 months prior to entering the US Africa Command AOR.
    • SERE 100.1 computer-based training satisfies the level A requirement. (This training can be found on Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) page http://jko.jfcom.mil, course number "J3T A-US022".)

  • Electronic Digital Isolated Personnel Report (ISOPREP) submitted via the SIPR based Personnel Recovery Mission Software (PRMS) or Army Knowledge On-Line (AKO) "PRO-File" tool. Submitted or reviewed within one (1) year of travel to ensure currency of information and familiarity with content.

  • Written Force Protection Plan (see Formats below) for travelers under CDR AFRICOM and Service Component Africa Force Protection Responsibility (enter FP Plan date in APACS)

  • Personnel Recovery Plan (see Formats below) submitted to your Component Personnel Recovery Control Center.

    Purpose: Personnel Recovery preparation is required to prepare for a situation when a traveler needs to be located after they become isolated, whether through accident (e.g., vehicle breaks down en route to a location), political turmoil (e.g., riot) or criminal/terrorist action (e.g., kidnapping). Travelers should prepare for self sustainment for 96 hours in case of isolation. All DoD travelers need a communication capability to alert PR personnel to isolation, a procedural check-in plan and emergency supplies/first aid kit/survival gear.
  • Medical preparation for travel IAW travel checklist - current on vaccinations, malaria meds if required, personal medications and first aid kit on hand. Africa Command Manual (ACM) 4200.03 Force Health Protection Procedures for Deployment and Travel (See regulation with focus on the Appendix B Extract in References section below)

  • Become familiar with and follow the guidelines for preventing malaria.

  • Complete and submit an APACS (https://apacs.dtic.mil) request IAW Foreign Clearance Guide (FCG) (https://www.fcg.pentagon.mil)

    NOTE: Requirements for official and leave travel are essentially identical. The threats do not differentiate who is on which kind of travel either. MANDATORY STATEMENTS in the Theater Required Information box on the Itinerary Tab of APACS apply to both OFFICIAL and LEAVE travelers. ALL travelers should review FCG Section III.C. Content of Personnel Request for tab by tab instructions on AFRICOM required content.

 

Downloadable Guides


Personnel Clearance Forms and Formats

  • Traveler Health Preparation Checklist (Adobe PDF)

  • Personnel Recovery - Example PR Plan - Fillable Adobe PDF with 2d page example

  • Force Protection Plan Info (Adobe PDF - copy and paste into a document so you can edit with information)

    NOTE: Personnel under CDR AFRICOM FP Responsibility exercised by the Commander of one of the Component Commands of Africa Command should follow FP Plan instructions from the Component. This includes all active duty LEAVE travelers (see FCG @ Section III.A.5. for Africa Component Command instructions and contact information).

    Plans are not forwarded to AFRICOM or attached to the APACS, they are maintained at the unit or submitted to the Service Component Command for Africa. Your statements within the Theater Required Info box on the APACS itinerary tab are what Theater Clearance approvers review.

References

 

US AFRICOM Theater Clearance Contact Information

Phone: 

DSN: (314) 421-2866 / 9926 / 3789
COM from CONUS: 011-49-711- 729-2866 / 9926 / 3789

Email: ACTheaterClearance@usafricom.mil

Address:
HQ U.S. Africa Command
ATTN: J353 Special Programs Branch
Unit 29951
APO, AE 09751

 

 

Non-duty hours/weekend/holidays/emergency requests (NOT for routine inquiries):

US Africa Command JOC Operations Officer

Phone: 

DSN: 314-421-4051
COM: +49 711 729-4050/4051

NOTE FOR DOD CIVILIAN TRAVELERS: MEDICAL EVACUATION NOTE: Federal civilian employees (including retired military) on official travel within the US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) area of responsibility (AOR) are not systemically covered by any form of guaranteed medical evacuation plan in the event of a medical emergency. USAFRICOM is currently working with USTRANSCOM to establish systematic medical evacuation coverage for federal civilian employees, but until a standing AOR-wide contract is in place there are risks for civilian personnel traveling without personal medical evacuation coverage. Even in the event of an emergency, commercial medical evacuation providers may require a guarantee of payment up front before moving medical evacuation assets. Without medical evacuation coverage, employees could incur significant (potentially $80,000+) initial out of pocket expenses without a readily available mechanism for DoD to guarantee the expense.

 

(1) There is no formal USAFRICOM policy requiring federal civilian employees to obtain medical evacuation insurance coverage while traveling on official business within the AOR, and reimbursement is not an authorized expense should they purchase coverage on their own.

(2) If a DoD civilian employee does not have personal medical evacuation coverage for countries of their official travel, they should consider personally purchasing a temporary medical evacuation policy at their own expense. Current guidance from DFAS is that travel insurance expense is not reimbursable.

(3) Other federal government civilian employees and contractors should check with their respective agency/employer with regard to policies on medical evacuation coverage and reimbursement.

(4) Unless the underlying cause of the injury was due to willful misconduct, DoD civilian employees on official orders that incur an illness or injury requiring medical evacuation are entitled to DoD assistance for a medical evacuation, including reimbursement for out of pocket expenses in most cases (after the initial expense for the medical evacuation).

(5) This information will be updated as it becomes available

U.S. Department of Defense Special Report:\n\nU.S. Africa Command
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