ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —
The Department of the Air Force has established documentation necessities for Airmen and Guardians planning to request reimbursement pet journey bills attributable to everlasting change of station strikes.
The Defense Travel Management Office announced a brand new coverage to cowl pet journey bills, together with pet transportation and quarantine charges, in June 2023.
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, service members might be reimbursed as much as $550 within the continental U.S. for one family pet, both cat or canine, and as much as $2,000 for strikes to or from a location exterior the continental U.S. to cowl prices associated to the transportation of a pet which is outlined by the Joint Travel Regulations as a cat or canine.
Members can request reimbursement together with their PCS journey voucher, however they need to meet eligibility necessities and embody all required documentation. Documentation necessities embody:
• Service members have to be on PCS orders, and all journey and bills should take place on or after Jan. 1, 2024.
• Members should present receipts for all prices.
• Receipts have to be itemized, point out they’re for one pet and embody the identify of the pet if attainable (particularly for specialised care the pet receives, corresponding to vaccinations).
• If the pet is flying cargo as a result of it exceeds the burden restrict to journey by way of authorities or government-procured transportation, the receipt should embody the burden of the pet.
• If a member self-procures a ticket at a location serviced by the Patriot Express, they will need to have a non-availability letter and acceptable remarks on their orders. Otherwise, the transportation portion of the reimbursement might be restricted to the cost of delivery the pet by way of the Patriot Express. All documentation used to acquire a non-availability letter have to be included when the member recordsdata their PCS journey voucher.
Costs eligible for reimbursement embody obligatory microchipping, boarding charges, resort service expenses, licensing charges on the new major obligation station (PDS), and pet delivery charges if the member flies fairly than drives or if the pet is shipped individually from the member.
For PCS to or between OCONUS strikes, extra prices eligible for reimbursement embody quarantine charges and testing titer stage (antibodies) for entry.
For extra data, go to the DTMO FAQs webpage. In addition, please contact your native finance workplace when you want help with requesting reimbursement.