Ramstein travels at a good clip

Story and photo by Airman 1st Class Savannah L. Waters
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Senior Airman David Silverest, 86th Logistics Readiness Group Travel Management office passenger travel specialist, assists Minnesota Air National Guard Capt. Rollie Flint, 179th Fighter Squadron pilot, Aug. 16 on Ramstein. Airmen from the 86th LRS Travel Management office passenger travel section and the Scheduled Airline Ticket office arrange all official travel and provide reservations and ticketing for all service members.

The time has come. Whether someone is ready for the next adventure or trying their best to find the good in goodbye, a permanent change of duty station might be in the near future.

Moving house and home, with or without a family, has a reputation for being stressful or more trouble than it seems worth. Members stationed overseas can’t just fly commercially everywhere, so where to start?

Airmen of the 86th Logistic Readiness Squadron Travel Management office passenger travel section and the Scheduled Airline Ticket office arrange all official travel and provide reservations and ticketing for all service members.

To start the process of receiving tickets for a PCS, the member must receive a port call request form, or the member’s basic information, from outbound assignments because travel plans the TMO Passenger Travel office arrange are based on the member’s completed port call request form.

“The 86th LRS Passenger Travel office books all temporary duty assignments, emergency leave, student travel, renewal agreement travel, deployment and redeployment, commissioned officer training and PCS travel,” said Sabine Fehrentz, 86th LRS lead transportation assistant. “Not just for Ramstein personnel, but for all geographically separated units belonging to Ramstein.”

No matter the situation, the 86th LRS TMO Passenger Travel office ensures safe and efficient travel for military members and their families.

As of June 1, it is mandatory to use the government travel card for all Air Mobility Command flights leaving Ramstein, Baltimore, McGuire and Norfolk. Government travel cards must have enough credit limit to cover travel expenses.

“Official government travel is defined as travel under official orders to meet mission requirements,” said Master Sgt. Danayal Boyce Gilliam, 86th LRS passenger travel and personal property section chief. “Headquarters Air Mobility Command has mandated that you pay upfront billing for your travel, and a lot of people get to the terminal and are met with confusion because they didn’t know they needed their cards.”

Service members can reference both the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998, Public Law 105-264 and Department of Defense Instruction 5154.31 for further guidance regarding GTC use for all authorized expenses relating to official government travel.

“Since it is mandatory to use for all official travel, the member should always keep an eye on the expiration date and limit,” Gilliam said. “Members should contact their squadron agency program coordinator for questions regarding their GTC.”

Every day, Airmen are using the 86th LRS’s resources to make their official travel experience run more smoothly.

“As of today, we have issued 3,991 AMC tickets with a value of $4,109,044 and 7,000 commercial tickets with a value of $12,467,758,” Gilliam said.

Emergency leave is chargeable leave granted to service members for personal or family emergencies involving immediate family or that of a spouse. The 86th LRS issued more than 322 emergency leave tickets in 2017, and a standby person is available 24/7 to book emergency leave if needed.

Those truly impacted by the 86th LRS is immeasurable, and they strive to ensure interactions with customers are informative and helpful for each unique situation.

For any questions regarding official travel, contact the TMO Passenger Travel office at 480-5373, 480-5374, or 435LRS.LGRTP@US.AF.MIL. The TMO Passenger Travel office is located on Ramstein, Bldg. 2108.