Navy Families Evacuated From Bahrain Face a Nov. 30 Cutoff

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. On Jan. 27, Naval Support Activity Bahrain ran a drill called Vigilant Resolve. According to the Navy’s own photo record of the day, the scenario included a shelter-in-place order, a mass casualty event and a noncombatant evacuation of the base. Five weeks later, the war with Iran started on Feb. 28, and the drill turned real.

Now the money that has kept the Navy families evacuated from Bahrain afloat is about to stop. Safe haven support lapses Nov. 30 unless each family gets an individual extension approved by Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, according to town hall audio first reported by MS Now and detailed by Military.com. We lined up the dates from a Pentagon memo, that town hall and a new congressional letter so families can see exactly where the clock stands.

How many families are still waiting

The count depends on who is counting. Military.com reports that about 1,300 Navy families and civilian dependents were evacuated after drone strikes damaged buildings on the base. The lawmakers’ letter puts the total at about 8,300 personnel, Defense Department civilians and family members, and Stars and Stripes reports about 8,300 people lived at the base. The two figures cover different groups, and the Pentagon has not published a single count of its own.

A Pentagon official told Military.com the department paid about $10 million in tax-exempt safe haven allowances from February to October. As of Oct. 22, 153 of 160 Navy service members in that update had filed paperwork to move their families to a designated place, and 146 had pack-out dates. Teams were finishing 14 to 20 pack-outs a day. Many families are still in hotels or short-term rentals, and Navy leaders told them going back to the base is too dangerous.

The Bahrain evacuation, date by date

• Jan. 27: NSA Bahrain rehearses a noncombatant evacuation in its Vigilant Resolve exercise.
• Feb. 28: The U.S. war with Iran begins. Families get alerts to leave about an hour after explosions are reported in Tehran, Stars and Stripes reported. Evacuation notices run through March, and many families leave without their belongings.
• Aug. 27: Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata and his deputy, Sean O’Keefe, sign a memo ending the ordered departure. It gives families until Nov. 30 to move off safe haven pay and into a permanent move or a long-term separated housing allowance, DefenseScoop reported.
• Oct. 30: Thirty House and Senate Democrats write Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking why the Navy’s request for a blanket extension was denied.
• Nov. 13: The lawmakers’ deadline for answers.
• Nov. 30: Safe haven support ends unless a family’s individual extension is approved.

What the letter asks Hegseth

The Oct. 30 letter was led by Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Rep. Pat Ryan of New York and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Its sharpest complaint is about leases. The letter says “the signing of a lease is being used as a triggering event” to end the entitlement, even when a family is still waiting on household goods shipped from overseas.

It asks who denied the Navy’s extension request, why payments end before belongings arrive, how many reimbursement cases are pending, and whether the Pentagon plans to rebuild the base. The letter notes that Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, said in August the Navy would not use NSA Bahrain for the foreseeable future. The base has been home to Naval Forces Central Command and the Fifth Fleet since 1995.

All 30 signers are Democrats. A Defense Department official declined to comment to Stars and Stripes and said the Pentagon would answer the lawmakers directly. A Pentagon official told Military.com the department remains committed to the well-being of its people.

What Bahrain evacuee families can do before Nov. 30

• Ask about the individual extension now. Capt. Matthew Smidt, chief of staff for Naval Forces Central Command, told families at the town hall that extensions will be handled “on an individual basis.” Every request goes up to the acting Navy secretary, so don’t wait for the last week.
• Check before you sign a lease. Lawmakers say a signed lease is being treated as the end of the entitlement. Ask your command’s personnel office how a lease date affects your payments before you sign.
• Keep every receipt. Hotel bills, rental cars and other costs tied to the evacuation are what any reimbursement claim will rest on.
• Use the Fleet and Family Support Center. Navy installations have one, and it offers relocation and financial counseling while the paperwork moves.

The Iran war has been reaching military and diplomatic families for months, from the order pulling diplomats’ families out of Saudi Arabia to the B-1 bombers leaving RAF Fairford over drone threats. Back home, military shoppers are still waiting on answers in the commissary freezer probe. More of our coverage of the force is on our Military page.

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Rocci J. Stucci is the founder and CEO of Stucci Media and host of The Rocci Stucci Show.