KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Air Force Reserve’s 403rd Wing consists of approximately 1,500 Citizen Airmen who travel to Unit Training Assembly weekends from all over the southeast United States and even from as far west as California and Washington.
To assist with the expenses that come with traveling for UTA weekends once a month, all enlisted reservists at or below the rank of master sergeant, to include 403rd Development and Training Flight trainees, who live 150 or more miles from their duty station are eligible for Inactive Duty Tour travel reimbursement of up to $500, said Jenny Salter, travel analyst for the 403rd Wing Financial Management office. Officers and senior and chief master sergeants in critically manned duty Air Force Specialty Codes who meet the distance requirement are also eligible.
To receive travel reimbursement for IDT, members must create and submit a routine temporary duty travel authorization through the Defense Travel System.
“It’s important for members to complete these travel authorizations in advance rather than waiting until the UTA weekend,” said Salter. “Members can submit IDT travel authorizations as much as six months in advance, so if they know they’ll be at the next six or however many UTAs, they can put them all in at the same time. This is beneficial to us in FM because it goes ahead and obligates those funds and gives us a more accurate picture of the 403rd’s financial situation.”
The mode of travel to and from a UTA is up to the member’s discretion, and in addition to an airline ticket or rental car coverage, meals, airport parking garage fees, and taxis and tolls are reimbursable.
If traveling in a personally owned vehicle, members can expect to be reimbursed according to the current “Other” mileage rate from the Defense Travel Management Office website for mileage up to that $500. If a rental car is utilized, the traveler must upload a gas receipt.
One significant difference between submitting an IDT travel authorization and a normal travel authorization is that members must upload itemized receipts for any expenses they are claiming regardless of whether it is over or under $75 to be reimbursed.
Other factors Salter noted for consideration when submitting for IDT travel reimbursement include that members are not required to utilize CI Travel or any other government service to book flights, a Constructed Travel Worksheet is not required for those who drive over 250 miles, and members are only reimbursed for travel day expenses.
“IDT reimbursement is reimbursement for the travel days only,” she said. “So, a member would typically travel out here on a Friday and then back home on a Sunday. For that middle day of Saturday, no expenses are reimbursable. They cannot get reimbursed for meals on that day, or if they rent a car to travel to Keesler, they cannot be reimbursed for that day of the rental.”
In line with the once-a-month nature of UTA weekends, members are eligible for up to 12 reimbursed round trips per year.
Tech. Sgt. Shelton Sherrill, 403rd Wing public affairs craftsman, often rents a vehicle to make the commute to Keesler from his home in Atlanta and said having that commute covered is one less thing he has to worry about over the UTA.
“Anybody who is eligible should be reaching out to their supervisor, (Command Support Staff), FM or even a friend who already uses this benefit to make sure their travel is covered,” he said.
If members have further questions, each unit’s CSS has access to the IDT travel pay guide, which includes step-by-step instruction for DTS, and the critically manned AFSC list, or members can contact 403rd FM’s travel section at 228-377-8251, 228-377-5177, 228-377-3696 or by submitting an inquiry through the Comptroller Services Portal (Common Access Card required).