What Do Travel Restrictions Mean for Military Families?

A: Travel restrictions are in place for all official travel for all DOD service members and their family members – such as Permanent Change of Station or Temporary Duty – through 30 June, 2020. This is an amendment and extension of existing restrictions put in place in March 2020.

Below, find answers to the most frequently asked questions about travel. However, because the understanding of COVID-19 is rapidly changing, continue to check our Coronavirus Information for Our Military Community page for updates.

A: The restrictions apply to all DOD service members and their family members.

A: Government-funded travel is any travel that the government pays for. It includes PCS and TDY travel.

A: The services will continue to recruit and assess new members and are putting procedures in place to safely continue recruiting and training. Each service branch is making decisions about basic training and officer training school. Your recruit should call or email their recruiter for updates.

A: Service members may take only local leave. This is being done to limit the spread of and potential exposure to COVID-19. Exceptions may be given for compelling cases where the travel is necessary for humanitarian reasons or due to extreme hardship.

A: Your service member should contact their supervisor to get instructions specific to their circumstances.

A: Your service member should contact their supervisor for instructions on how to proceed.

A: Leave restrictions apply only to service members. However, we encourage you to follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when deciding whether to travel.

A: The Pentagon has restricted access for anyone who have been overseas. Overseas travelers must self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to the Pentagon. The Pentagon has also restricted international visitors.

A: Your service member should check with his or her supervisor before traveling. Currently, travel is allowed for:

• New: All Global Force Management scheduled deployments and redeployments.
• Expanded: Authorized travelers who departed their Permanent Duty Station and are “awaiting transportation” and have already initiated travel (including intermediate stops).
• Expanded: Travel by patients and medical providers for the purposes of medical treatment for DOD personnel and their families.
• Authorized travelers whose TDY ends while this directive is in effect.
• Individuals pending retirement or separation.
• The services will continue to recruit and assess new members of our military. The services are putting procedures in place to safely continue recruiting and training.

A: Individuals who separate or retire are exempt from the travel restrictions.

A: Exceptions must go through the chain of command and may be granted on a case-by-case basis for travel that is:

• Essential to the mission
• Necessary for humanitarian reasons
• Warranted due to extreme hardship

A: Your service member should contact their chain of command.

A: Your service member should contact their chain of command.

A: Reservists who complete their overseas orders during the stop movement order will be permitted to return home, unless extended to meet mission requirements.

A: That depends on their particular situation. The Department of Defense has newly authorized Hardship Duty Pay-Restriction of Movement in response to the COVID-19 emergency. If your service member is ordered to self-monitor somewhere other than your home and is not on official travel orders, they could be eligible for this pay. Your service member should contact his or her chain of command to find out if he or she qualifies.

If your service member is eligible for this pay, he or she can receive up to $100 per day and $1,500 a month to compensate him or her for the hardship of having to pay out of pocket for lodging while in isolation. Your service member must be paying to stay somewhere other than your own residence, a government lodging facility or a hotel that is paid for by the government. This pay is intended to defray the hardship incurred when service members have to pay out of their own pocket, without reimbursement, for lodging due to orders from their command to self-isolate.

See the Department of Defense fact sheet COVID-19 Military Personnel, Pay, and Benefits Policy to learn about circumstances in which allowances are authorized.

A: Each situation is different. You will need to contact your shipping office to determine if your household goods are still in the local area and whether or not you may have access to them. If your household goods are in transit to the new location, you should contact your servicing personnel office to verify if your orders still authorize continuing on the previous move or if they need to be amended.

A: If you are unsure if the stop movement order applies to you, contact your chain of command. If the stop movement order does not apply to your PCS—or your chain of command has approved an exception to the order—proceed to the VPC as planned.

A: If you’re interested in retrieving your vehicle, contact the VPC immediately. VPCs are postured to assist you with changing appointments, vehicle retrieval and answering any other POV-related questions you have.

A: If the travel restrictions are affecting you and your family, you or your service member (as appropriate) may do the following:

• Contact your personnel or housing office and the gaining command to see if there are any options for temporary lodging
• Check with your housing provider to see if your lease or purchase agreement can be delayed
• Check to see if you may be exempt from the travel restrictions or if you could receive a hardship exception to proceed with the PCS
• Ask your legal office if you have options under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the rental/purchase contract’s military clause, which may permit you to cancel the contract

Have your service member contact his or her chain of command to learn what assistance is available to your family. The Department of Defense will use all means available to help you. The services also have relief societies that may be able to provide some emergency support.

You may also keep up with ongoing changes to travel and housing policy due to COVID-19 at the Defense Travel and Housing Policy website.

A: DOD will use all means available to assist you if you were impacted by COVID-19. Approved reimbursable travel expenses are authorized to be placed on the government travel card. Please contact your chain of command for assistance.

A: Service members: Travel restrictions may impact your PCS and your eligibility for BAH in one of the following ways:

• If you’ve moved, but your dependents had to stay behind, you may be eligible for BAH with-dependents at the old location and Family Separation Housing allowance at the new location
• If your dependents have moved but you had to stay behind, you are entitled to BAH at the old or new duty station, whichever is more equitable, but not both
• If you have not yet started your PCS, you will only be eligible for BAH at the old location

If the travel restrictions are affecting you and your family in one of the ways listed above, you may do the following:

• Contact your personnel or housing office and the gaining command to see if there are any options for temporary lodging
• Check with your housing provider to see if your lease or purchase agreement can be delayed
• Check to see if you may be exempt from the travel restrictions or if you could receive a hardship exception to proceed with the PCS
• Ask your legal office if you have options under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the rental/purchase contract’s military clause, which may permit you to cancel the contract

If you are ordered to temporarily return to the old PDS or to an alternate location, then you could be issued TDY orders and may be authorized standard travel and transportation allowances in accordance with Joint Travel Regulation, Chapter 2. If you are ordered to remain in place or to an alternate location to await transportation, then per diem may be authorized in accordance with JTR Chapter 5, Part A. If lodging in kind or meals in kind are provided, then per diem is not payable.

A: Dependents: If you remain in place while you wait for transportation, then per diem may be authorized in accordance with JTR Chapter 5, Part A. If you do not remain in place awaiting transportation, then per diem is not authorized. If you are authorized to temporarily return to the old PDS or to an alternate location to await transportation, then you may be authorized standard PCS allowances from the location where notified of the delay to the location named in the amended PCS order, in accordance with JTR, Chapter 5, Part A. If you receive lodging in kind or meals in kind, then per diem is not payable.

Service members and family members, you can keep up with ongoing changes to travel and housing policy due to COVID-19 at the Defense Travel and Housing Policy website.