SIP Passports: DOD civilians, their eligible family members and eligible military family members on official travel must have either a Special Issuance Passport (SIP) or, as a temporary measure, a memorandum from a DOD passport agent stating the SIP application was submitted prior to departure from the point of origin. For a limited time, boarding a flight while on official travel status with a regular (blue tourist) passport is permissible only with such a memo, which is to be presented to boarding officials, upon request.
Note: This temporary exception, i.e., allowing official travel on a regular passport with memorandum (in lieu of a SIP), will expire on 30 September 2021. Effective 01 October 2021, ALL official travel must be conducted with a SIP.