Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The Department of Defense lifted the voluntary departure order from Japan for all eligible family members of service men, issued after the March 11 9.0 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami damaged several nuclear reactors.

More than 7,800 family members stationed at U.S. military bases throughout Japan were flown to various U.S. locations.

Earlier the State Department determined that the situation in Japan no longer posed a significant risk to U.S. citizens.

“The Defense Department concurs with the State Department’s determination,” a Pentagon spokeswoman said. “We will continue to ensure the safety of our families is at the forefront of every decision we make.”

Family members who left Japan under the voluntary authorized departures or who were prevented from returning during the crisis may now return. The exception are those whose military sponsor will have a permanent-change-of-station, moving out of Japan within 60 days, unless they have service secretary approval. Included are family members of civilian employees who are within 30 days of reassignment.

Service members whose families departed Japan under the authorization are allowed return transportation at government expense and quarantine of two household pets to the evacuated duty station in Japan. Civilian employee dependents must return pets at their own expense, Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde said. There are many other conditions Hull-Ryde explained, depending on the family member’s status or those of civilian employees.

The U.S. military responded to the disaster with about 20,000 troops, 140 aircraft and at least 20 ships in support of Operation Tomodachi. While no ships are directly supporting the operation today, U.S. forces remain ready to help, Pentagon officials have said. Several ships are forward deployed to Japan as part of regular operations, and some 50,000 U.S. troops are based there.

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