Travel Time for Air Force Reservists

A review of pay and allowances of Air Force Reserve officers on extended active duty revealed problems in computing travel time and dates of duty. Executive Orders covering travel time from a reservist's home to his first duty station state that the effective date of pay is the date required to begin travel in order to arrive at the required date.

Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) orders allowing the day of arrival, within a broad timeframe, to be considered a day of duty, allowed reservists an extra day of pay for travel. From a sampling of 90 orders, it was estimated that an excess of between $4,700 and $7,700 was paid to reservists during a 4-month period. About 32 percent of sampled special orders instructed reservists to report to duty not later than a certain date rather than on a specific date with consequent administrative difficulty in determining entitlement to start of pay. On August 17, 1976, ARPC orders were changed directing the day of reporting to the first duty station to be counted as a day of travel unless reporting time is not later than 1200. On the same day, instructions were changed to specify an exact date for reporting to duty.