Ever wonder about the dedicated people behind the Defense Travel System (DTS), the fully integrated, electronic, end-to-end financial management system that transformed temporary duty travel for Defense Department personnel? To fully appreciate their efforts, you need to take a closer look at DTS and what it does for the DoD traveler.
DTS meets unique DoD mission, security and financial system requirements within the guidelines of federal and DoD travel policies and regulations. Before DTS, federal travelers went one place to get their travel orders, and to still another to make transportation, lodging and rental car arrangements.
After completing their travel, they filed a travel voucher through one of many travel systems in use throughout the DoD. Many submitted hardcopy forms they filled out manually along with their receipts to be processed — and then waited — sometimes not so patiently for reimbursement.
DTS, in contrast, enables travelers to complete all these transactions from the convenience of their desktop computers. According to the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), the organization that serves as the single focal point for commercial travel within DoD, DTS processed more than 3 million temporary duty travel vouchers with an average voucher payment time of 7.8 days during fiscal year 2008.
DTS enables better oversight of the multibillion-dollar DoD travel enterprise and ensures compliance with applicable federal and DoD travel policies and regulations, according to the DTMO.
About the Defense Travel System
The Defense Travel System (DTS) is a fully integrated, digitally secure, electronic system that automates temporary duty (TDY) travel authorizations, reservations, and voucher processing of DoD travel transactions. It is specifically tailored to meet unique DoD mission, security and financial system requirements while remaining within the guidelines of federal and DoD travel policies and regulations. For more information on DTS, please visit the Defense Travel Management Office Web site at www.defensetravel.dod.mil/.
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Enter the TAC
To expand assistance provided to DoD travelers, the DTMO established the Travel Assistance Center (TAC) to provide 24-hour assistance (including federal holidays) to DoD personnel before, during and after official travel. The staff can answer questions about travel-related topics including the DoD travel card, travel policy, commercial travel services and programs, as well as provide assistance with DTS to all defense travelers — both military and civilian — regardless of military service or defense agency.
The TAC complements the assistance provided by defense travel administrators (DTA), according to Jim Deming, the TAC program manager. DTAs are typically designated to assist personnel working in their activity.
"In the beginning, our customer base was mainly made up of defense travel administrators. This past summer we opened our services to all military service and defense agency travelers. This was a phased approach that began in October 2007. Today, we execute the call center function for DTMO for DTS assistance, and recently expanded our mission to answer all travel-related questions, including questions on the new DoD [Citi] travel card transition, commercial travel services and travel policy," Deming said.
The TAC also assists recruits traveling from their Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) to their first training base. From the time a recruit leaves a MEPS to the time that a camp or station accepts the trainee for an individual training assignment, the TAC makes sure each recruit gets from place to place.
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