Base guide

Camp Darby

5 min read

  • 8 sections
  • 10 sources
On this page
  1. Command sponsorship and the visa
  2. Housing
  3. Medical care: no clinic on post
  4. Schools: through 8th grade on post
  5. Driving
  6. Pets: register dogs with Tuscany
  7. Legal assistance
  8. If you have a teenager or a medical need

Camp Darby is the Darby Military Community of U.S. Army Garrison Italy, which MilitaryINSTALLATIONS lists as USAG Italy, Darby Military Community (DMC). According to the MilitaryINSTALLATIONS overview of the DMC, it is “a small, remote installation located in the Tuscan region of central Italy situated between the cities of Livorno and Pisa”, a 10-minute drive from Pisa and about 6 miles from Pisa International Airport. Its stated mission is to deliver base support for USAREUR-AF and SETAF-AF.

Command sponsorship and the visa

Family members can travel with you to Italy only if they are granted command sponsorship before you move, according to the Camp Darby check-in page. The request includes EFMP screening of your dependents through your current installation’s hospital or clinic. With command sponsorship, family members are authorized an official no-fee passport and an Italian visa before travel, and a Permesso di Soggiorno after arrival, all required to live in Italy.

The visa is the step not to miss. The Camp Darby MilitaryINSTALLATIONS page says failing to get one for each family member before leaving your current assignment “will subject your family to risk of deportation”, and the overview adds that the “Missione” visa is issued only by Italian consulates outside Italy. The garrison’s Caserma Ederle guide explains the 90-day limit that applies without it.

Hand carry passports with visa stamps, medical, dental and shot records, PCS orders and amendments, your finance folder, a valid state driver’s license for you and your spouse, and your household goods documents. Book temporary lodging at Casa Toscana as early as possible: +39-050-965-8950 or DSN 314-645-8950.

Housing

All military personnel must contact the housing office within two business days of arriving at Camp Darby, or Temporary Lodging Allowance cannot be paid, per the Camp Darby housing page. The office is on the second floor of Building 725, above the Community Bank, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a lunch break from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

  • Under Army in Europe Command Memo 2018-032, assignment is 100% mandatory when occupancy is below 95%: accompanied soldiers of all grades must take available government quarters for their rank and bedroom category.
  • You must have reported for duty, signed into your unit and be physically present to sign for quarters when they are offered.
  • Off-post homes range from one to four bedrooms, and availability can be short in some seasons. Some landlords do not allow pets, many rentals come furnished, and most homes have no closets.
  • A private realtor’s fee equals one month’s rent plus 22% VAT; it is reimbursable only if the housing office has no qualifying homes for your family.

Loaner furniture is available for 90 days while you wait for household goods, and the Housing Division provides major appliances for the tour, so do not ship American appliances; Italy uses 220-volt current. Weapons may not be shipped to Italy.

Medical care: no clinic on post

“There is no medical clinic at Camp Darby for soldiers or airmen”, the Camp Darby health care page says. Medical care is provided by the local Italian clinic, Casa di Cura San Rossore, or local hospitals, with patient liaisons to help translate. Active-duty Air Force members have access to two Air Force IDMTs for limited medical services during business hours (DSN 632-9811), and family members are not seen at Aviano or Vicenza except in particular circumstances such as the vaccination clinic.

  • On-post emergency: 911 from a DSN phone, which connects to the Military Police.
  • From a cell phone or off post: 112.
  • Military Police desk, 24/7: DSN 645-8202 or +39 050-965-8202.
  • On-call patient liaison: +39 335-832-6778.
  • Sexual assault response: the Air Force SAPR hotline, +39 0434-30-7277, or for soldiers the SHARP hotline in Vicenza, +39 0444 71 8540.

Schools: through 8th grade on post

Livorno Elementary/Middle School, the DoDEA school on Camp Darby, serves pre-K through 8th grade in small, multi-grade classrooms, according to the Camp Darby education page. It is categorized as Level 0 for support of students in the Exceptional Family Member Program. For grades 9 to 12, the Non-DoD Schools Program options listed are home schooling or virtual high school, the International School of Florence and the Canadian School of Florence.

The Child Development and School Age Center in Building 726 cares for children from 6 weeks through 5th grade, with full-day, part-day and hourly care, per the Camp Darby child care page.

Driving

Service members, dependents and DoD civilians need a SETAF license to drive a vehicle registered in the Armed Forces Italy system, per the Camp Darby motor vehicles page. Teenagers may not drive in Italy until 18. You may register three vehicles, all in the sponsor’s name; the primary vehicle is tax free with tax-free fuel of up to 400 liters a month based on engine size, while the second and third pay road tax. Carry at least six months of auto insurance, and have a mechanical and safety inspection within 15 days of first registration.

Pets: register dogs with Tuscany

Camp Darby has no veterinary services; choose a local veterinarian on arrival, per the Camp Darby pet shipping page. Tuscan law requires every dog staying in Tuscany longer than 90 days to be registered with the Tuscan Dog Registry at the local Pisa health department, and the page advises getting an EU pet passport as soon as you have an address. Pets must enter the EU through an approved airport; for Camp Darby the closest is Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about a three-hour drive. The EU microchip, rabies and health certificate rules for pets from the United States are in the Caserma Ederle guide.

The Office of the Command Judge Advocate at Camp Darby provides legal assistance, claims, notaries and powers of attorney, and estate planning, all by appointment: DSN 645-8751 or 050-965-8751, per the Camp Darby legal assistance page. File household goods loss or damage notices in DPS within 180 days of delivery.

If you have a teenager or a medical need

Settle high school before you accept the move: the school on post ends at 8th grade, and the options listed after that are home schooling or virtual high school, or an international school in Florence. Families with ongoing medical needs should plan for Italian providers, because Camp Darby has no clinic.

Sources

installations.militaryonesource.mil