Being an active duty service member requires additional levels of scrutiny when traveling. Whether it is receiving country specific briefings or completing an Aircraft and Personnel Automated Clearance System (APACS) request, these items are required to travel outside of the continental United States. I am now planning my first trip to Asia since 2017. Travel into/within Pacific Command (PACOM) has an additional military requirement, an Individual Antiterrorism Plan (IATP).
While an APACS request is still needed, a signed IATP is required prior to travel. The system took some getting used to, but I was able to submit the request in 20 minutes. I will provide some info about what it takes to get the IATP submitted and approved in a timely fashion:
1. Members need to log into the IATP site with their Common Access Card after acknowledging the Department of Defense notice.
2. Once logged in, select Pre-Travel Instructions from the menu on the top right of the screen. Four topics covered in this section are Area of Responsibility Specific Brief, Pre-Travel Briefing, Submitting the IATP, and the previously mentioned APACS.
3. After completing the Pre-Travel Instructions, click Submit Travel. This is where personal and travel information are input. If you are like me and not assigned to PACOM, you will need to select U.S. Air Force Guest Account. If you belong to another service, the instructions for your branch are listed to the right of the Unit/Organization dropdown menu.
4. Complete the request and submit.
The IATP is actually much simpler than APACS, in my opinion. APACS has quirks that are unknown to users who are not in the system frequently. Those quirks can cause a delay in processing the APACS request, thus putting the entire trip in jeopardy.
I hope this brief post about IATP helps. Safe travels.
