Army Directive 2006-01

Army Directive 2007-0125 January 20072. OCONUS Travela. Overseas Travel. Special emphasis must be given to controlling and monitoringoverseas travel (to include overseas travel by students of service schools), reducing thenumber of personnel traveling to the same site, and reducing the number of days oftravel per trip.(1) OCONUS to CONUS should be undertaken only when the need is absolutelyclear and then only by the smallest group possible consistent with missionrequirements. Back-to-back trips by different officials to the same location(s) arestrongly discouraged. Trips should be actively coordinated to prevent this situation.The routine method of travel from CONUS to OCONUS locations will be by commercialair for all travelers not in a “required use” status. In-theater MILAIR may be authorizedwhen in accordance with operational support airlift procedures.(2) U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) or AMC-contracted airlift mustbe used for overseas travel when it is available and meets the mission requirements forPermanent Change of Station (PCS) or Temporary Duty travel (TDY).b. Meetings with Foreign Dignitaries. All OCONUS travel by DA and CONUSbased personnel where the traveler will meet with officials of foreign governments mustbe coordinated with the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF)through the Office of the Secretary of the Army. Travel requests for Secretariat officialsmust be submitted through the AASA to the SA for review and initial approval prior tosubmission to the DEPSECDEF. The CSA is delegated authority for initial review andapproval of travel by Army Staff (ARSTAF), AC, ASCC and DRU officials and may redelegate this authority. Travel requests reviewed and given initial approval by the CSAor his designee must then be forwarded through the AASA to the SA prior to submissionto the DEPSECDEF. All requests for foreign travel should be submitted prior todiscussing travel plans with the foreign government concerned.c. Clearances. DA and CONUS-based personnel must follow the guidanceprovided in chapter eight and the country pages of the DOD Foreign Clearance Guide(DODD 4500.54-G) to obtain country clearance for all foreign travel. The lead-time forrequesting personnel clearances is approximately 35-45 days. Late submissions mustinclude a justification for tardiness.d. Official Foreign Travel. The Executive Secretary to the Secretary of Defenseacts as liaison between the Department and the Assistant to the President for NationalSecurity Affairs on all official foreign travel. Requests for official foreign travel proposalsfor officials at or above the rank of Assistant Secretary (or equivalent rank, to includethe Service Chiefs and Vice Chiefs) of executive departments and agencies are to besubmitted to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs through theExecutive Secretary. Such notifications are to be coordinated with the Under Secretaryof Defense for Policy. Requests should be forwarded to the Executive Secretary undercover of an ACTION MEMORANDUM requesting signature and forwarding to theNational Security Council. All requests should be forwarded to the Executive Secretary5

Army Directive 2007-0125 January 2007at least 10-days in advance of the intended travel. An example of a properly preparedrequest to be signed by the Executive Secretary is shown:MEMORANDUM FOR ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITYAFFAIRSSUBJECT: Request for Official Foreign Travel ApprovalSenior Official and Title:Purpose of Travel:Itinerary: Date/City/Country/Major Event/MeetingExecutive Secretary Signature BlockNSC Approvale. International Conferences. Any DA or CONUS-based official traveling to anOCONUS international conference (defined for this purpose as any meeting held underthe auspices of an international organization or foreign government, at whichrepresentatives of more than two foreign governments are expected to be inattendance, and to which U.S. Executive agencies will send a total of ten or morerepresentatives) must submit a preliminary report of travel through the AASA to the SAfor submission to the Department of State, Office of International Conferences, Bureauof International Organization Affairs (IO/OIC). Within 30-days after conclusion of travel,officials must submit final reports through the AASA to the SA for submission to theIO/OIC. (See samples at Enclosure 1). DA personnel need not report travelundertaken to carry out intelligence or intelligence-related activity, a protective function,or a sensitive diplomatic mission.(1) Preliminary and final reports for Secretariat officials must be submittedthrough the AASA to the SA for review and initial approval prior to submission to theIO/OIC.(2) The CSA has delegated authority to the Director of the Army Staff (DAS) forinitial review and approval of OCONUS international conference travel by ARSTAF andAC, ASCC AND DRU officials. Preliminary and final reports reviewed and given initialapproval by the DAS must then be forwarded through the AASA to the SA prior tosubmission to the IO/OIC.f. Force Protection. Force protection planning must be an integral part of travelplanning, particularly for OCONUS travel. The following guidelines must be followed forall senior leader MILAIR travel:(1) The senior U.S. Army General Officer (GO) or civilian equivalent onboard anaircraft is responsible for planning and approving all itineraries when travelingOCONUS.6

Army Directive 2007-0125 January 2007(2) All itineraries, to include en route refueling stops, must be reviewedpersonally by the senior individual.(3) Deliberate decisions must be made by the senior individual to ensureadequate security arrangements are in place at refueling locations or layovers prior toarrival.(4) A scheduled refueling stop at a civilian/non-U.S. military facility requires theapproval of the senior U.S. Army GO/civilian aboard the transport. No stops at civilianactivities where the Threat Condition exceeds ALPHA are permitted unless accepted bythe senior U.S. Army GO/civilian on board the flight.(5) The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) is available toassist in planning and coordinating travel security for all high risk personnel (HRP).Personal security vulnerability assessments (PSVA) conducted by CID can be avaluable tool in gauging the thoroughness of HRP travel security planning procedures.A limited scope PSVA focused on travel security planning can help identify weaknesses,recommend measures to correct noted weaknesses, assist in determining levels ofprotection appropriate to the threat, and facilitate coordination of security resourceswhile in a travel status.3. Commercial Air Travela. Contract Fares/Carriers. Commercial air travel must be conducted using contractfares via a contracted commercial travel office (CTO). “City-Pair” fares must be used atall times, unless specific criteria in JFTR/JTR, Appendix P can be met. “City-Pair” faresrepresent “best overall value”, not necessarily lowest fare; therefore considerationsbeyond solely the ticket cost to the government must be made prior to booking anytransportation with a non-contract carrier. Consideration should include total time oftravel, time in layovers, lost work time to the government including travel compensatorytime, and similar cost-increasing factors. Exceptions that would permit the use of a noncontract carrier must be clearly specified on the individual’s travel order/authorization.Instances where non-contract fares can be used are as follows:(1) Space on a scheduled contract flight is not available in time to accomplishthe purpose of travel, or use of contract service would require the traveler to incurunnecessary overnight lodging costs that would increase the total cost of the trip.(2) The contract carrier's flight schedule is inconsistent with explicit policies ofindividual federal departments and agencies to schedule travel during normal workinghours.(3) A non-contract (DOD approved) carrier offers a lower fare available to thegeneral public, the use of which results in a lower overall trip cost to the Government.Such evaluation of overall trip cost must include a consideration of the combined costsof transportation, lodging, meals, and related expenses. Note: This exception must notbe used if the contract carrier offers a comparable fare and has seats available at that7

Army Directive 2007-0125 January 2007fare, or if the lower fare offered by a non-contract carrier is limited to Government andmilitary travelers on official business and only may be purchased with a Governmentprocurement document (e.g., a GTR), contractor issued charge cards, or centrally billedaccount. These fares, referred to as “me-too” fares, shall not be used in lieu ofcontracted fares.(4) Rail service is available and that service is cost effective and consistent withmission requirements.b. Coach Class. The primary mode of transportation used for official travel by allArmy officials is commercial coach-class. In all cases, premium-class travel must betreated as an exception to policy and approved only by authorized officials as stated inc. below. Note: Any class of service, regardless of name (e.g. Economy Plus,Business, Executive-Class, Coach Plus, etc) that exceeds the cost and/or luxury level ofcoach-class accommodations must be treated as premium-class travel and must beapproved in accordance with the policies in paragraph c. below.c. Premium-Class (Less than First-Class). There is no longer any blanketauthorization to use premium-class (less than first-class) air travel for any travel for anyDOD officials, military or civilian. All official travelers, regardless of rank or grade, mustprovide a written justification for each request for the use of premium-class (less thanfirst-class) travel. In all cases, indivi

OCONUS Travel a. Overseas Travel. Special emphasis must be given to controlling and monitoring overseas travel (to include overseas travel by students of service schools), reducing the number of personnel traveling to the same site, and reducing the number of days of travel per trip.