Action Line #91106 -- Uniform Disposal

  • Published
  • By 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Complaint:

Sir, Is there any guidance in place that references the proper disposal of uniform items for members stationed in Turkey? I ask this because I caught a gardener with an ABU blouse that still had rank, USAF tag and "specialty" badge. I am concerned that this was our "new" uniform compared to the BDU that's being phased out. Either way, it's a current uniform. I confiscated the item and warned the gardener that I would report him. He then tried to justify his actions by explaining that all the NMG go through our trash to salvage "good" items.

This drives me to my next concern; are there any rules in place that prevents or controls NMG from scavenging through our trash? Are they even allowed to do that? Because according to the gardener I encountered, this was common practice among all the NMG on base.

Thank you for your time & attention with these concerns.

Response:

Thank you for raising two very important force protection issues that need to be addressed here at Incirlik. First, uniforms should not be disposed of intact in the trash. If uniforms become unserviceable, you may either: remove the rank and insignia, cut them into small, unusable sections, and dispose of those in the trash; or take the uniforms with you when you PCS for disposal at your new location. Allowing any unauthorized individual to obtain a serviceable uniform poses a direct threat to the security of the base and for that reason, uniforms must be disposed of properly.

Secondly, maids, nannies, and gardeners should not be going through trash bins. We recently had our local business liaison contact each company and tell them to brief their employees not to go through trash on base, so if you see anyone doing that, please call the Law Enforcement Desk. Be sure to get a description of the individual in case he or she departs the area prior to the arrival of Security Forces personnel.