No- Fee Passports

     So as I said there are many things we must do in order to go to Japan. Thing is they just drop it on you along with a plethora of booklets(often VERY outdated or vague) and assume you know the direction to go and the order or which to do things.Right. I have had a descent amount of help from a friend but just the same each base and port is different so I'd like to lay it out as clearly as possible to help anyone who may be going through an OCONUS move as well because the Navy is not going to give you a step by step as they should.
     In the olden days of hard work civilians hired form Uncle Sam provided much aide. All the forms, photos, etc we done at the office. A one stop shop if you will. Those days are dead. Now you and your ship need to have everything before hand otherwise they just don't have the time to bundle your stuff and put a stamp on it. So you need the following:

    
1) Orders: official paper, original from the ship
  

Yea, I know it looks like "Hipster Mugshots"

 2)Memorandum Endorsement for Dependents: Essentially this is saying" Why yes you do need one              of these" even though every spouse needs them just the same. This form can be found in potentially 2 places. We were told it can be found on your ship BUT it must be on official PSD command letterhead. Ours did not have that letterhead which brings me to option 2 which is the PSD office itself. Simply go in an explain. Ours was easy but I'd have the Page 2 ready just in case. A side note apparently not all sailors are required a No-Fee passport or sometimes their orders will not say so. If their orders do not say so the the sailor needs a Memorandum Endorsement as well. If the orders do say so be ready to point it out and show; maybe put a post-it tab next to it because they will want to be shown.

3)DD Form 1056: Must be typed and signed in BLUE ink. The admin or personnel office must sign within 30 days of submission of NAVPTO (where you get the No-Fee passports). Make sure all the info is correct.

4)Passport Application Form: You go to www.travel.state.gov . From here you can either complete the form online  and print it or print it and fill it in. You will claim to have never had a passport as civilian travel ones do not count. Don't worry about the fee that is says there will be because it's assuming you will pay this at an office but there is in reality no fee.

5) Photographs: As I said before they will not take your photo but CVS, Walgreens, Kinkos etc will. Make sure the sailor is not in khakis or any other type of uniform. Ladies your shoulders must be covered as well as everything from the neckline down. Dress must be "conservative". It must be taken within 6 months and cannot have been used for other passports.

6)Proof of citizenship & ID: Proof of citizenship can be an original birth certificate, original naturalization certificate or a US Passport. Remember though you will part with this item for 4-6 weeks so think about what else you need to do if you have the luxury of choosing your submission. ID can be a military ID, Drivers license or passport. This they just take a copy of.

     It was a long and tedious process as we are finding out that many of the aspects of this process are but its been completed so I must say hazah for that! They say it takes 4-6 weeks but we've heard of others getting their in 2 weeks. So much of it depends on how busy the season is and how well staffed they are. Hope this was of some help or at the very least dauntingly amusing.