News

Defense Travel System in play for McChord Reservists

  • Published
  • By Sandra Pishner
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --  On Nov. 21, Reservists at McChord Field gained a new avenue for filing travel vouchers and new responsibility for ensuring a voucher is properly completed. The Defense Travel System will be used here for any eligible orders created on or after Nov. 21.

The Defense Travel System is a travel management system enabling Defense Department travelers to make travel reservations and create travel vouchers to generate payment of authorized charges to their government travel cards and per diem entitlement to their bank accounts.

All members of the wing must register in DTS. Air reserve technicians must register twice; once as a Reservists and once as a civilian. This is also applicable to traditional Reservists who hold a separate DOD civilian position.

Reservist must include an "R" at the end of their social security number when self register in DTS. For example: 123456789R.

"We are receiving a number of folks who are self registering without the "R" and all we can do is delete the user, and inform them of the need to re-register," said David Faires, 446th Airlift Wing Financial Management.

Reservists can access DTS via a single Web portal available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is recommended that you have a common access card reader for your personal computer if you intend to access DTS from a personal computer.

Although DTS also allows for the creation of orders, Reservists will not have that authority. Orders, or authorizations as their known in DTS, will continue to be created in AROWS-R.

To make use of DTS for voucher completion, the orders must be for less than 30 days, the Reservist must be in a one status the length of the orders, the order cannot be mileage only, and there must be only one line of accounting. Orders will be created in AROWS-R as before, and if eligible for DTS, will be automatically imported to DTS.

"We use a partner system (in the Air Force Reserve Command) that has import and export functionality," said Dale Mock, AFRC Financial Management specialist. "Because our budget controls are maintained in AROWS-R and not DTS, we must still create our orders in AROWS-R."

Mock and his team have been at McChord Field for the past four weeks conducting training for orders clerks and approving officials, as well as users.

"It's important for a Reservist to actually read his or her orders," said Mock. "The orders will tell you if you need to file your voucher in DTS or through e-finance."

Benefits of using DTS, according to Mock, include the reduction in costs to the Air Force, and a faster pay out of a settlement for travelers.

But with great benefit comes great responsibility.

"Reservists will be responsible for ensuring they get paid," said Mock. "We're giving them some control over their voucher. They'll be able to see exactly how much they'll be getting paid. DTS calculates everything right there for you to see."

Of course, accurate calculations are dependent on accurate data input.

"As soon as that authorization is in DTS, you can start inputting anticipated expenses before you even depart," said Mock. "For instance, you can put in how many miles you'll travel from your home to the airport. You can put in estimated taxi costs, your airline cost, pretty much anything you can reasonably anticipate."

Speaking of airline costs; Reservists on orders imported to DTS will be required to make their travel arrangements through DTS.

"We're giving the Reservists all the tools they need to ensure they get paid. They can file their voucher, and track its progress at every step of the way," said Mock.

With a CAC reader, Reservists can access their voucher while on the road, updating expenses and adding expenses as the TDY goes on. When they return, they'll simply need to review their voucher, update costs if needed, and then sign electronically.

Reservists who would like to learn more about DTS can access the training on the DTS Web site.

"They can also get help from their orders clerk, but don't rely on the orders clerk to hold your hand through the process," said Mock. "They'll have enough on their plates and there are plenty of resources available for Reservists to learn to use DTS."

DTS training courses, information on DTS support and additional resources are available on Travel Explorer (TraX), accessed by registering through DTMO's Web portal, at www.defensetravel.dod.mil/passport