Leadership at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, tour housing designated for accompanied dependents, March 18, 2025. The Defense Department has approved updates to overseas tour lengths for military and civilian personnel assigned to permanent duty locations in Turkey. Under the revised policy, accompanied dependents to Incirlik must be 18 years of age or older. (Haiden Morris/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. military personnel now have the option of requesting two-year accompanied tours at Incirlik Air Base and other duty stations in Turkey, with the reversal of a ban in place for nearly a decade.
The change applies to both military and civilian personnel. They can select either a 24-month accompanied tour or a 12-month unaccompanied tour, according to a 39th Air Base Wing statement Monday.
For those headed to Incirlik, the Air Force’s main hub in Turkey, dependents must be at least 18, the statement said. There are no dependent age restrictions for tours to other locations in Turkey, such as Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, which is home to a NATO command headquarters.
Col. Brandon McBrayer, leader of the 39th Air Base Wing, said he anticipates accepting command sponsorship requests by this summer. The command is identifying suitable housing and enhancing support facilities, McBrayer added.
Eligibility for accompanied tours depends on the availability of facilities and services at each location, the wing said. Those who request an accompanied tour but are deemed ineligible will be assigned a dependent-restricted tour.
The Air Force didn’t say how many accompanied tour slots were expected to open up.
Eagle Housing at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, seen at its opening in 2010, might soon be buzzing with activity again, as the Defense Department will begin allowing accompanied tours again at the base. (Alexander Montes/U.S. Air Force)
Incirlik is the primary military site used by U.S. forces in Turkey, and for years accompanied tours were commonplace at the strategic base, near the southern Turkish city of Adana. But the practice ended in 2016 because of security threats in the country.
The Pentagon ordered more than 600 military and civilian dependents to leave Incirlik. At the time, the base, just 200 miles from Turkey’s border with Syria, was part of the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. fighters routinely launched strike missions from Incirlik, and at the time, there was a broader concern about safety for military families in Turkey.
Military officials have said the security situation has improved, due in part to years of work with regional police and Turkish military officials.
Monday’s announcement culminates a push that had been building steam at Incirlik during the past two years.
In July 2023, officials from Department of Defense Education Activity Europe visited the base to tour schools and assess needs.
That was followed by a U.S. Air Forces Europe-Africa task force that included housing, security and education representatives, who gathered information for a feasibility assessment of bringing back accompanied tours.
