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| military of the united states | |
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Space-A Travel or '''Department of Defense Military Space-Available Travel ''' is a means by which uniformed members of United States services, Reservist s and retirees, United States Department Of Defense civilian personnel (under certain circumstances), and each of these groups' dependents are permitted to travel on aircraft under the jurisdiction of the United States Department Of Defense when excess capability allows for it. BACKGROUND Space available travel is an administrative privilege that derives, in part, from United States Code, title 10, section 4744, which states, "officers and members of the Military Departments, and their families, when space is available, may be transported on vessels operated by any military transport agency of the Department of Defense". Space available travel is defined as "travel aboard DoD owned or controlled aircraft and occurs when aircraft are not fully booked with passengers traveling under orders". It is a privilege offered to United States Uniformed Services members as an avenue of respite from the rigors of Uniformed Services duty. Retired members are given the privilege in recognition of a career of such rigorous duty and because they are eligible for recall to active duty. The underlying criteria for extending the privilege to other categories of passengers is their support to the mission being performed by Uniformed Services members and to the enhancement of active duty Service members' quality of life. APPLICATION The branches of service who receive this are:
GUIDELINES There are a myriad of rules and guidelines which apply to such travel. While authorizations and procedures have evolved over time, some underlying rules form the basis for this privilege. Uniformed personnel may only travel Space-A while on Leave or Pass for the full duration of their Space A trip, and Space-A travel can not be used in conjunction with travel required by the service. Space A travel may not be used for personal financial gain or in connection with business enterprises or employment. Other nations' laws and policies, as well as U.S. foreign policy, may limit the ability to travel using Space-A. Aside from members of the United States Marine Corps , travelers do not have to be in uniform for their flights, and are instead permitted to wear approved civilian attire. BASIC PROCESS Passengers wanting to travel using DoD military space available travel are required to sign up with a military installation and are then placed on a locally-managed Space A register. The registration process varies depending on the installation, but most installations allow signups via electronic mail, fax, or postal mail. Some installations have created their own web-based sign-up forms. There is also a private (at time of writing: free) website which enables signing up at multiple installations. Each installation's passenger service center maintains the Space-A register. Each person signing up is placed on this register using two factors: category of travel, and signup date. Based on status (active duty military, retired military, emergency traveler, etc.), Space-A Travel applicants are assigned a category of travel from 1 to 6, which categorizes their priority of movement, 1 being the highest priority. Thus, an applicant with priority 1 will gain a place on an available aircraft over an applicant with priority 4, for example. Just prior to time-of-flight, the numbers of available seats is determined. After sorting the signup register by priority of travel and signup date, the passenger terminal personnel follow a selection procedure. If there is sufficient seating for everyone desiring a seat, then everyone boards; otherwise, a cutoff point is determined. AIRCRAFT GENERALLY ALLOWING FOR DOD SPACE-A TRAVEL SPACE-REQUIRED VS. SPACE-AVAILABLE: SPACE-REQUIRED WINS Space A travel is not without its pitfalls. Unlike traditional commercial air traffic, military flights are not always assigned predictable or firm takeoff times. Many factors go into planning a military flight, with space-required cargo and passengers forming the basis of planning. There is no consideration given to potential Space-A travelers during the planning process. A COTTAGE INDUSTRY SUPPORTING SPACE-A The Space A traveler is well-advised to prepare as best as possible for unusual, abrupt, sometimes even in-flight changes in travel. This need for pre-planning has given rise to a cottage industry surrounding Space available travel. A number of non-governmental enterprises (for the most part, publishers) produce various products, primarily books and maps, which serve to provide potential travelers information relation to their Space A benefit. There are also Internet forums where users exchange Space-A travel tips. One forum's members, few of whom have met each other, even go so far as to wear a common bandana on their luggage while Space-Aing, in order to identify each other easily. SOURCES
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