Izmir AS

As a geographically separated unit of the 39th ABW at Incirlik, Turkey, the 425th Air Base Squadron (ABS) supports the NATO Land Command Headquarters here in Izmir and GSU at Istanbul. The NATO  Land Command Headquarters is led by an American U.S. Army Lieutenant General and consists of military members and civilians from the U.S. and 16 of the 19 NATO countries. The 425 ABS does everything normally accomplished by a wing with the exception of operations. Additionally, the 425 ABS maintains the U.S. facilities on Cigli (pronounced Chili) Air Base, a nearby Turkish Air Force installation. The 425 ABS primary customer is NATO's Component Command Land Headquarters-Izmir. Land component is responsible for the full range of NATO air operations throughout the AOR stretching from the Azores and Canary Islands to eastern Turkey.

Documents to Travel With or Apply for in Advance of Arriving

• NATO orders must be stamped with blue ink and with signature in blue ink Turkey customs stamp RED for entry, BLUE for exit. Ensure that the correct number of months is on the NATO Orders beginning date and end date for assignment.
• CAC (military ID)
• U.S. orders with amendments
• Government Travel Card Activated
• Information Assurance certificate, Hard/soft copy (this is needed to get your mil email account and network access)
• Driver’s License (highly recommended to have a current valid driver’s license that is not expired and will not expire during the entire tour)
• Medical & Dental records (hand carried for Active Duty)
• Hayat Eve Sığar (HES code)
• Foreign Identification Number 
• Out-processing package from previous assignment

All military members performing official duties in Turkey must enter and exit the country using official NATO travel orders (AF Form 1631) in lieu of a passport. Travelers must still carry their PCS or TDY orders when traveling to Turkey. NATO orders are only valid when accompanied by PCS/TDY orders. It is highly encouraged to bring your valid Tourist Passport, if you don't have one it's highly encouraged to get one prior to coming on your assignment. You will need this in order to and pay Turkish taxes on your Foreign cell phone (which needs to be unlocked prior to arriving in Turkey and the Turkish Government requires a one-time Tax payment of 1900 TL). Also you will need it to purchase a Turkish SIM Card. If you decide to purchase a Turkish Cell phone/SIM Card you will not be required to pay the 1900 TL Turkish Government taxes.  If you decide not to do any of the above options; while in the states you can purchase a Google phone which doesn't require a SIM card and you can use anywhere internationally or a Google SIM Card to insert in your current U.S. Cell phone but you must do this prior to coming to Turkey.

All US military personnel assigned to 425 Air Base Squadron and to NATO are required to wear ABUs at work. You must bring a full set of uniforms (ABUs and blues and Service Dress) to Izmir. All US military personnel should not wear uniforms on the streets of Izmir and/or while traveling.

Defense Service Network (DSN) Dialing Instructions

The DSN is the provider of long-distance communications service for the Department of Defense (DoD). Every installation has a special DSN number and the numbers vary by world-wide location. In order to place a call using DSN, the caller must be using a military phone on an installation. If dialing from your cell phone to a Izmir DSN you must dial: +90-232-455-xxxx. When dialing a DSN number from a United States installation to another United States installation, it is unnecessary to dial the DSN 312 area code. When dialing a DSN number to/from overseas locations, the DSN area code 314 must be included.