Fort Belvoir, Va. (May 8, 2014) - Passports for Department of Defense personnel and their Family members traveling overseas on official travel orders will now only be available from one location on Fort Belvoir.
Effective May 2, the Department of Defense Passport and Visa Office, 9301 Chapek Road, Bldg. 1458F, is the only location on post where active-duty servicemembers, their Families and DoD personnel can get a passport.
"What happened is the State Department determines which facilities are allowed to accept passports," said Mike Reheuser, U.S. Army Headquarters Services, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, executive director. "There were 11 at Belvoir and the State Department wants just one on every major installation. They deactivated the other 10, which was effective May 2."
One function of the Army Headquarters Service Office is to act as the Department of Defense executive agent for passports and visas.
The focus on the mission will not change, according to Dr. Toye Latimore, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, director.
"The main Passport Acceptance Assistance Facility is committed to serving our service members, civilians and family members," said Latimore. "We look forward to processing their applications and providing them with outstanding customer service. Our goal is to ensure that everyone within DoD arrives at their destination within the prescribed time frame or sooner. It will be our pleasure to make sure this happens. Soldiers first."
Hours of operation for Fort Belvoir's customer service office are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and assistance at the counter is from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Customers will not see a drop in service, according to Reheuser.
"The (Fort Belvoir) office has been handling walk-in traffic for over a year," said Reheuser. "So, it won't be an issue for those who come in and need assistance."
The locations that closed include the 1st Information Operations Command, 249th Engineer Battalion, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Logistics Agency-Energy, Operational Support Airlift Agency-Davison Army Airfield, Program Manager-Saudi Arabian National Guard-Fort Belvoir, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command-Fort Belvoir, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir-Passport Office, U.S. Army Petroleum Center and the Washington Field Office-Belvoir, U.S. Army Security Assistance Command-U.S. Army Security Assistance.
The State Department makes its determinations based on the amount of traffic handled by a particular office, according to Reheuser. However, he wants the installation to know even though there is only one location, now they don't have to make drastic changes in getting their passports.
"Any customer who was serviced by those offices will now be serviced at the DoD Passport and Visa Office," said Reheuser.
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