IRs are entitled to per diem when on Annual Tour or Active Duty Tour orders (MPA or RPA) and when their legal residence is outside of the established commuting area of the duty location.

NOTE: IMAs on AT when both government meals and quarters are available, no per diem is payable except for travel days. Contact the base to which you are traveling to check on available government lodging and meals. Per Diem and travel allowances are only payable for the days specified in blocks 13 & 14 of the order. Any request for pay for duty performed outside those specific dates, other than allowable travel time, will be denied.

Exception: A member performing IDT before or after an AD tour may travel to the vicinity of the duty site any time after receipt of orders and may delay return home upon completion of the AD tour. PIRRs: Lodging is reimbursable if outside commuting area by filing an Optional Form 1164 and submitting the IR Travel Office with a certified AF Form 40A that authorizes lodging and a copy of the lodging receipt. If the member’s Home of Residence (HOR) is more than 150 miles from the place of duty, the member may qualify for travel reimbursement (up to $500) in specific AFSCs only. Current reimbursement policy is updated annually, please verify and review the IDT Travel Reimbursement Guide or contact your assigned detachment for specific AFSCs and policy guidance.

Government quarters include on-base lodging and/or government-contracted quarters off base. IRs should confirm with the base lodging office to determine if lodging will be on or off base. To locate a base lodging office, visit DoD Lodging.

If the installation is part of the DoD Integrated Lodging Program, lodging can be booked through DTS or through the DoD Lodging website. If on-base lodging isn’t available, DTS will locate off-base lodging with contracted facilities and a non-availability number will be automatically generated in the system. Installations that are currently included in the Integrated Lodging Program can be found HERE. If not part of the program or if on IDTs or orders requiring RTS (myPers) for the travel voucher, IRs must obtain a non-availability certificate from base lodging to file with a travel voucher.

If no on-base lodging is available consider the following while planning the tour:
- Does the base provide a shuttle service?
- Can the base LRS provide a government vehicle?
- Is mass transit available from off-base to the office?
- How would I get from the office to the dining facility each day - walk, base-shuttle or Privately Operated Vehicle (POV)?
- Is the dining facility available during the period of the tour?

Travel days are paid at 75% of the Meals & Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rate. For stationary days one of these meal statements will be on the order:

A. All government meals are available and directed.
B. Partial government meals are available and directed.
C. Government meals are not available or not directed.

If Option A, "all government meals are available and directed" is on the orders and the mission dictates differently, the following directions apply:

      - The order approving official can prescribe the proportional meal rate for any day a member, staying in on-base government quarters, has access to a government mess for at least one or two meals.
      - If you are lodged off base, attaching a copy of your contract quarters authorization or non-availability will allow you to receive the full meal locality rate and incidentals.
      - If some meals are missed due to mission requirements, an AF Form 2282 may be completed and signed by your commander. When all three meals are missed on any specific day as claimed on the AF Form 2282, the orders issuing/approving official must sign as a basis of full per diem. AF Form 2282 is not accepted for missed meals while on Annual Tour.
      - Per Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) Case No. 04042602 (2004), “the Comptroller General found that Congress did not intend Reservists on annual training to receive per diem when government lodging and mess are available.” See 48 Comp. Gen. 517, 521-522 (1969).
      - If a messing facility has been temporarily closed/shut down for a determined period and the base commander issues a letter of non-availability of meals, including the letter with your voucher will suffice to receive the per diem warranted.

Document Link

• AF Form 2282

Members are required to check government quarters availability when TDY (IDTs or orders) to a U.S. installation. The traveler is responsible for contacting the lodging office at the TDY location to make a reservation. A statement of non-availability or contract quarters is required to be reimbursed in full for off-base lodging.  If adequate government quarters are available and off-base lodging is used, reimbursement is limited to the on base rate.

NOTE: Under the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) Program, government quarters are not available. Official travelers no longer need a statement of non-availability for contract quarters for off-base lodging reimbursement.