ALCGPSC 110/23
SSIC 7000
SUBJ: E-GOV TRAVEL SYSTEM (ETS) UPDATED GUIDANCE
A. ALCGFINANCE 026/23, FY23 CLOSEOUT GUIDANCE
B. ALCGFINANCE 029/23, GUIDANCE FOR TEMPORARY DUTY TRAVEL
ORDERS CROSSING FISCAL YEARS
C. ALCGPSC 087/23, OPEN AUTHORIZATION GUIDANCE
1. This ALCGPSC provides guidance for ETS use in preparation for
FY24 and required actions for users and approvers.
2. Preparation for FY24:
a. To better support the traveler, CWT Sato Travel will turn off
the funds check function in ETS while funds are loaded into FSMS,
between 01 October and 14 October 2023. ETS bulletins will provide
updates on the funds check status. During this time travelers may still
enter authorizations/vouchers into ETS, but it will not transmit into FSMS
until FSMS functionality is fully restored. Travelers should obtain travel
approvals using the normal routing process to ensure reservations
are ticketed. Travel crossing into or originating in FY24 cannot be
vouchered until the Office of Resource Management (CG-83) applies
funds to the funding reference data (POET) as per ref (B).
b. Travel originating in FY24. Travel should not be obligated
until October 2023. When booking travel that crosses fiscal years,
airfare and rental cars fully reserved and paid to SATO: FY23 funds
may pay for the entire reservation, to include roundtrip flights, even
if the return flight or rental car return occurs in FY24. One-way fares are
charged to the fiscal year in which the travel occurs. Lodging must be set
to no reimbursement for the FY24 dates and later adjusted via an
amendment, to reflect expenses in the correct fiscal year. Ref (B)
discusses airfare procurement.
c. Open Authorizations (OA) from Direct Access: Members in
receipt of PCS, Separation, or Reserve orders must check ETS for an
OA to use for planning travel. Reserve members will see an OA for
Active Duty for Training - Annual Training (ADT-AT) periods,
however, contingency travel requires direct entry of a POET to
create authorizations. Ref (C) provides guidance on the transition
from OAs to direct entry of a POET for reimbursement to attend
C-schools (TDY).
3. Required actions for users:
a. Travelers must use ETS to book official travel. To minimize
travel costs and meet system goals for electronic booking, calls to
CWT Sato Travel should be limited to complex travel needs such as
international flights without contracted fares, urgent travel within
48 hours and booking the Alaska Marine Highway System. For
deferred travel or travel which starts in FY23, travelers should submit
a travel voucher for FY23 expenses incurred as soon as possible. The
deadline for entering travel authorizations/obligations in ETS is
26 SEP 23. Upward adjustment voucher payments submitted after the
cut-off date will not be paid out until 30 days after the financial system
is restored. No increases in FY23 authorizations/obligations can be
transmitted prior to 15 NOV 23. Vouchers that are more than the
authorization must be adjusted before 28 SEP 23 to ensure funds are
obligated and the voucher is paid while the system is online.
b. Cardholders are required to file a travel voucher within three (3)
days of travel completion and should use split disbursement to pay
the balance. Personnel with unreimbursed travel must notify AOs
to take corrective action.
c. Travelers should immediately notify the Funds Approver when
travel is cancelled so unit funds managers can de-obligate the
funds. Funds approvers or funds managers must manually de-obligate
unused travel obligations for trips cancelled after ticketing.
4. Required actions for approvers:
a. Approving Officials (AOs) and funds managers (FMs) are reminded
of their responsibilities as Treasury Funds Certifying Officials. Funds
approvers must ensure the POET is accurate and, where applicable,
ensure documentation supporting the use of a POET belonging to
another organization is uploaded. AOs should verify the form of
payment, to wit: Traveler, Travel Charge Card, or Agency Billed, is
properly selected and allowed by policy. Additionally, AOs should
scrutinize the class of airfare selected and, before vouchering,
account for any upward adjustment in costs to ensure the travel
remained within policy. AOs and FMs are reminded to review and
de-obligate all unnecessary travel documents.
b. AOs should question their members to identify authorizations or
vouchers that do not have final approval or are no longer needed and
delete unnecessary claims. Command Travel Managers should use
available GTCC balance reports to encourage reconciliation before
the end of the FY.
5. PCS travel claim guidance: Military personnel must submit PCS
travel claims to their AO for completion using mLINQS. Once the AO
has approved the mLINQS portion the member will enter into ETS.
The Pay and Personnel Center (PPC) website provides user guides on the
PCS travel claim process.
6. Travel assistance is available through the online help tool in
ETS, guidance on the PPC website, and from the AO supporting the
unit. The ETS website remains the best resource for ETS-related
news, training, and tips for processing travel. Users can access
the website at: (Copy and Paste the URL Below into Browser)
https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/ppc/Travel/ETS/Guides/
7. For other related questions, please contact Mr. Michael A.
Duchossois, (PSC-BOPS-r) at (703) 254-7175 or
Michael.A.Duchossois@uscg.mil or Mr. Matthew A Falor, PSC-
BOPS-r) at (703) 258-5996 or Matthew.A.Falor2@uscg.mil.
8. RDML R. E. Dash, Commander, Personnel Service Center, sends.
9. Internet release is authorized