New system to make travel arrangements easier

Published July 10, 2012
By Senior Airman Andrew McLaughlin
434th ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- Grissom Airmen will soon be able to make their own travel arrangements online and file vouchers electronically through a new automated travel system.

The Defense Travel System will allow travel reservations to get approved faster and more efficiently, said Martin Foye, 434th Air Refueling Wing financial services officer.

Once the system is in place, orders created in Air Force Reserve Order Writing System will flow into DTS where the member can make their own travel reservations for airline tickets and rental cars. The request will then be sent to the member's supervisor for approval.

Foye said that utilizing DTS will benefit the 434th ARW as well as save the Air Force money.

"It allows units to better manage their funds and allows supervisors better oversight of travel arrangements and (temporary duty assignments)," he said.

DTS provides a fully-integrated, automated and end-to-end travel management system that enables Department of Defense travelers to create authorizations, make reservations, receive approvals, generate travel vouchers and receive a split disbursement between their bank account and the government travel charge card, explained Foye.

However, DTS will not apply to everyone going on orders, said Foye. The member must have a government travel card and the orders must be less than 30 days and not in conjunction with other orders. The current system will still be used for those who cannot use DTS.

Under the current system, some supervisors have limited involvement in the travel arrangement process, which is handled through coordination between the unit, the traffic management office and SATO.

More information will be forthcoming, and the Air Force Reserve Command will send a team to Grissom in late July to conduct training and prepare the wing for implementation, said Foye. The Grissom financial management office will partner with the AFRC team in training the units. DTS has already been implemented through most of the AFRC with great success, he added.

"We know that any transition is difficult, but we believe the benefits of DTS far outweigh the upfront training and changes involved to bring it on-line," said Foye.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the AFRC. Airmen and aircraft from the 434th ARW routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission and U.S. strategic objectives.

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New system to make travel arrangements easier

Public Affairs Staff