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Show 23 HiSStop; March 11, 1999 ive. by Staff Sgt. Amy Hickey January 1995, they were rarely enforced, ticketing. Though the DOD policy change said Master Sgt. Milton Lawrence, chief has been in effect for nearly a year, Lawrence of customer service for the finance office . said still haven't caught on. many people here. "I have five requests for reimbursements That changed in April 1998, when the sitting on my desk right now, and all five Defense Department amended the policy will most likely be denied because the indito stipulate that travelers who arranged viduals didn't go through a government-approvetransportation through a ticketing agency," he said. ticketing agency were not authorized reimWhy did the Defense Department sudbursement, he said. denly decide to get tough? "The only exception is if unusual cir"It's simply a matter of economics," said cumstances exist, such as the Lawrence. "The government has contracts of a government-approveticketing with several airlines to provide reduced agency," said Lawrence. rates for official travel, and it pays for these doesn't mean the base travel office is closed special rates." for the day. It means that there isn't a governLawrence said he believes many people ment-approved travel office located in are trying to save the government money the general area." when they book their own flights (advanced The chances of there not being an approved super-save- r fares can often be lower than agency to assist a member are slim to none, the government rates), but they are in said Brown, because most contracted travel effect a breach of contract. creating e offices have numbers people can "I recently received a request for reimcall any time of day to purchase tickets. bursement from a captain whose father is They can even request to pick up their tick- a pilot for Northwest Airlines," he said. ets at the airport if they're not near the tick- "He decided to purchase his tickets for an eting office. upcoming TDY (temporary duty) directly And if the office doesn't have a from the airline so he could take advane number, Brown said people can tage of his family member's discount simply contact their installation's and save the Air Force some money. Even traffic management representative via the "saved" the Air Force though the base dispatcher and he or she can arrange almost $200,captain he still will most likely not be Air Mobility Command News Service SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, 111. (AFPN) Since the Defense Department amended its policy on official travel nearly a year ago, its Office of Hearing and Appeals has received and denied hundreds of appeals Irom federal employees who inappropriately purchased tickets for official travel. ott r Force Basealone .more than 20 military and civil service employees have had to cough up nearly $4,000 because they failed to coordinate their d non-authoriz- - non-availabili- ty "Non-availabili- ty . travel office a violation of DOD policy. "They've really tightened the screws to ensure people follow the rules," said Chief Master Sgt. Phillip Brown, chief of Air Mobility Command's traffic management branch. The "rules," which are actually Defense Department directives, specify that when arranging travel, all government employees military or civilian must use a commercial ticket office contracted by the government; an travel office such as a base traffic management office; or a General Services Administration travel management center. Though the rules have been in place since toll-fre- in-hou- se 24-hou- on-ca- ll mn row imfm 2443 Kiesel Ave.. Oqden 625-0233 03 South State, 531-886- SLC 3 State Health Department Approved. Oldest Established Tattoo Company in SLC. HIGH ENERGY WORK THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. Sterile Methods Brilliant Colors Privacy Cover-up- s Cosmetics Body Piercing FULL r, toll-fre- So Do TATTOOS 1 ed d travelplansthroughagovernment-approve-d 1 CUSTOM WORK AVAILABLE ' reimbursed the $80 he spent on the tickets because he did not purchase the tickets through any approved agency. "Boy was he surprised when he learned that," Lawrence said. "He really thought he was doing the Air Force a favor." Lawrence said many people have had a hard time adjusting to the policy because in theirwords,"itjustisn't common sense;" but they should keep in mind that contracted fares offer them protection. For instance, if travelers need to change their tickets, there are no fees involved and they are protected from any processing fee. "I've seen many employees who purchased their tickets in advance at a dis- count rate, only to have their trip canceled," he said. "And guess what? They can't return their tickets or get their money back because they didn't buy the tickets from ment-approved a govern- agency." To make sure people don't wind up paying the transportation costs for official travel, Lawrence said they should always contact their local traffic management office or commercial ticket office before purchasing airline tickets. "That's the only foolproof way to ensure your money doesn't become the government's." 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