? Regarding cadet travel paid by CGA

[Jeeplady777]

I recall reading that there is an option of having the CGA pay for cadets to fly for R day and you just have to go through a certain travel agency. Does anyone have experience with doing that? If so, how early can they typically arrive before R day? We’re flying in on the Friday before and hoping he can travel then as well but wanted to find out what other people’s experience was so we know what to expect. Any input you can provide on the process would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Haveaniceday]

Cadets use SATO / E2 to travel. They will call a supplied phone number and give there travel order numbers to book the flight. The information and authorizations will be written out in their military orders to report to the Academy they receive in the appointment package or shortly later.

This could have changed, but in the past, they could travel no earlier than 5 days before and no later than the day before R-day (so they are not late for R-day). They had to fly into TF green airport in Providence or Bradley Airport in Hartford. They could only fly into Boston or JFK if financially advantageous to the GOV which means the same or cheaper than Providence or Hartford.

Again, this might of changed, but that is the basic set up.

 

[Northwoods]

Cadets use SATO / E2 to travel. They will call a supplied phone number and give there travel order numbers to book the flight. The information and authorizations will be written out in their military orders to report to the Academy they receive in the appointment package or shortly later.

This could have changed, but in the past, they could travel no earlier than 5 days before and no later than the day before R-day (so they are not late for R-day). They had to fly into TF green airport in Providence or Bradley Airport in Hartford. They could only fly into Boston or JFK if financially advantageous to the GOV which means the same or cheaper than Providence or Hartford.

Again, this might of changed, but that is the basic set up.

Not that I need the info this year (fingers crossed for next year) but can they book a parent's ticket at the same time if that ticket is paid for separately? For someone like me, coming from the west coast, it would be advantageous to fly with my kid so neither of us have wait around for the other.

 

[Haveaniceday]

Not that I need the info this year (fingers crossed for next year) but can they book a parent's ticket at the same time if that ticket is paid for separately? For someone like me, coming from the west coast, it would be advantageous to fly with my kid so neither of us have wait around for the other.

They might be able to at regular rates, not GOV rates and on your own personal credit card. You could also just put SATO on speakerphone and as they book the kids, go on the internet and book yourself on the same flight directly. Easy.

 

[Sierra]

If you pay your own way you will get up to the constructed cost of travel for only your ticket or your miles. You can go here to find that value: https://www.gsa.gov/plan-book/transportation-airfare-pov-etc/airfare-rates-city-pair-program

It’s confusing and I’m not sure how much money you get, I’ve dealt with it before and consider any money a windfall, but it should at least cover your plane ticket regardless of when you fly in as long as you don’t pay an absurd price.

 

[Northwoods]

Is there any travel home (eg when dorms are closed, like winter/Christmas break) paid for by the academy? The cadet stipend would certainly be enough to pay for that, but I'm curious.

 

[ProudMom7]

Is there any travel home (eg when dorms are closed, like winter/Christmas break) paid for by the academy? The cadet stipend would certainly be enough to pay for that, but I'm curious.

No. CGA will obviously pay for the cadets to get to and from their summer assignments, but they do not cover trips home. And, annoyingly, even if the trip home from a summer assignment is cheaper and quicker than a trip back to CGA, they will only cover the trip to CGA. If you want to fly your cadet home directly from a summer assignment location, then you (or your cadet) have to cover that cost. Depending on location and the time difference, many parents will choose that option since they would have to pay to get them home from CGA anyway.

 

[Sierra]

No. CGA will obviously pay for the cadets to get to and from their summer assignments, but they do not cover trips home. And, annoyingly, even if the trip home from a summer assignment is cheaper and quicker than a trip back to CGA, they will only cover the trip to CGA. If you want to fly your cadet home directly from a summer assignment location, then you (or your cadet) have to cover that cost. Depending on location and the time difference, many parents will choose that option since they would have to pay to get them home from CGA anyway.

Again, CG will pay the constructed cost from assignment to academy up to the cost of your plane ticket. Obviously money goes straight to the cadet, and requires them to actually complete their travel claim which takes like 10 minutes.

 

[27BearDad]

Is there any travel home (eg when dorms are closed, like winter/Christmas break) paid for by the academy? The cadet stipend would certainly be enough to pay for that, but I'm curious.

Not necessarily travel, but related to breaks such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cadets do get a per diem for food. Not certain the exact amount, but my cadet got an extra $350ish in her check for Christmas break. What a deal for her! LOL

Beware, the cadet stipend (while an amazing benefit) can erode quickly - especially if you're not using any sort of scholarship or other funds to offset the ICA loan. I'm sure it gets better as years go on and they have firstie friends with cars, but on weekends, everything they do is uber, uber, uber. Target runs, an occasional meal off base (unless they walk to New London). Granted they are good about sharing uber expense, but it really adds up.

 

[Sierra]

Not necessarily travel, but related to breaks such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cadets do get a per diem for food. Not certain the exact amount, but my cadet got an extra $350ish in her check for Christmas break. What a deal for her! LOL

The exact amount is the same as BAS. Copied from DCMS:
2023 Cadet COMRATS. The subsistence allowance is applicable when in a leave or temporary duty status and is equal to the daily rate for an enlisted member receiving Basic Allowance for Subsistence (ENL-BAS). Daily Rate $15.085
Current Enlisted Rate $456.56/30=$15.085.

Of note this is different from per diem, which can be upwards of 150 a day for food and is often paid during TDY time when no food service is available. Used to be COMRATS was easier for the YNs to do so for summer assignments sometimes they would do that instead of per diem even when cadets were entitled to per diem if cadet wasn’t paying attention. lol.

From here: https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/1...y Meal Rates.pdf?ver=ROcI-gOPe6_BGUXtKMf4Xw==

 

[Haveaniceday]

Here is the deal on travel pay: It's complicated.

Cadets get Comrats automatically without submitting paperwork for school leave periods, ie: Christmas and Thanksgiving like @Sierra describes.

For summer duty travel, Cadets do an E2 online trip authorization form before they go requesting funds. USCGA pays travel from Academy to duty station and back to Academy. However, you can take leave in route to visit home, etc. You have to do a constructed cost request before travel to do this. What it basically means is the USCGA will pay up to the cost of what they would pay to get you back from your assignment and not more, they call that "most advantageous to the government." If you want to do anything beyond basics on your E2 request you have to get with a company chief or YN before you go and ask them to help you make the proper requests and calculations. It is complicated especially for kids who are new to GOV travel.

Bottom line: There are lots of options to do travel, but you must get expert help before you begin. The situation is, at USCGA orders always run late as there are like 3 YN for 1100 cadets who need orders, and E2 is always a rush job to get tickets etc. Often, E2 must be done within hours of getting orders and this rushing causes both errors and cadets not requesting all they are due. They give you an hour or two class on E2 and travel vouchers, but it is way more complicated than that. Over time you will figure it out as you travel more in the USCG. Find a Chief or YN that is good at travel and try to learn this early as you will then make sure you are getting reimbursed for everything you should be. For example, often cadets enter hotel and leave out hotel tax on their E2 request which can add up to a lot of money they should have been reimbursed for on a trip.

Finally, don't try to game the travel process or E2, or for that matter your PCS move to your first assignment. Put in everything you are due, but don't lie and make stuff up. Keep all receipts and turn them in even if not required for a small expense. E2 travel voucher submissions are signed under penalty of perjury and there are big penalties for cheating. Best to treat travel like taxes to the IRS, be accurate, claim all you can, but do not cheat. To many members get in trouble for falsifying vouchers.

 

[StPaulDad]

Also, these systems are far from bullet-proof. We drove out for I Day (as it was called back in Oldene Timese) and I don't believe we ever got the gas money that was offered. DD is a master of working within the byzantine systems described above, and yet when I asked about it a year ago she didn't know of anyone who ever got money for anything that didn't go through the travel office. So check your pay stubs and fight for what's yours, but know that missteps with pay are part of the deal.

One more also: CGA travel can be an adventure, and the deal with the last minute order changes is very real. Back before DD's 3C summer they were re-cutting orders for many students within the last week before summer, and not just a couple unlucky names but a lot of people. So stay flexible when talking travel, Semper Gumby, have your cadet book things in their name when possible so they get all the military grace that airlines offer. In the future they may want to do two one ways, or she may fly home via a buddy's home to stay a couple days with them, or have one of their friends stay with you. (So far we're two for two on having a week with a guest over the summer.) We've also just cancelled the tickets and driven back to campus from MN when the weather makes airline travel complete chaos. TLDR: military travel is not for the faint of heart, so be ready to roll with whatever happens.

 

[ProudMom7]

Here is the deal on travel pay: It's complicated.

Cadets get Comrats automatically without submitting paperwork for school leave periods, ie: Christmas and Thanksgiving like @Sierra describes.

For summer duty travel, Cadets do an E2 online trip authorization form before they go requesting funds. USCGA pays travel from Academy to duty station and back to Academy. However, you can take leave in route to visit home, etc. You have to do a constructed cost request before travel to do this. What it basically means is the USCGA will pay up to the cost of what they would pay to get you back from your assignment and not more, they call that "most advantageous to the government." If you want to do anything beyond basics on your E2 request you have to get with a company chief or YN before you go and ask them to help you make the proper requests and calculations. It is complicated especially for kids who are new to GOV travel.

There has only been one summer (2023) when my daughter tried to get approval to fly home from her summer assignment instead of back to the Academy. And my cadet DID ask ahead of time and was told no. The return flight literally had a layover at our home airport and was cheaper, but CGA would not approve it. They said if she booked back to any location other than Providence or Hartford that she would not be reimbursed. The YN told her that he wouldn't know if she just got off the plane at the layover point, but he would not approve her to fly there instead of back to CGA. She had checked bags so unfortunately she couldn't just get off the plane. And she even asked on check-in if she could only check her bags through to the layover point. She was told no, not without canceling the second half of the flight.

I know there were multiple other cadets in the same situation last summer. They all tried to get approval to fly home instead of back to CGA (all for a cheaper cost), and none of them were approved to do that. It never made sense to me.

If your cadet was able to get approval ahead of time, they must have been lucky enough to talk with a different person.

 

[Haveaniceday]

@ProudMom2027 - I am sorry you are so upset about your daughters travel.

Unfortunately, travel is complex. I have done GOV travel for 33+ years in the beginning with SATO and lately with E2 and I still get confused at times.

I think the purpose of these forums is to help others and maybe point them in the right direction to get their questions officially answered. In that vein, here goes:

In your DD example, I might of had her request in E2 to travel on her own funds from her TDY location to your residence, take leave in route there, then had then done a cost comparison with GSA city-pairs from your residence to the academy and if it was cheaper than the cost from her original TDY location direct to the Academy, it would likely have been approved. I understand she would have to use her own funds to get to your residence, but from there I think if the numbers worked out she would have got a reimbursed flight to the academy. This I believe would have been cheaper than you flying her home and back (roundtrip) to the academy for leave. This is just one possible option to consider for the future. The Federal Travel Regulations are vast and ever changing.

Nevertheless, the forums are best used for general information not info specific to your unique situation.

Travel is like solving a Rubik's Cube at times, but if you stick with it and ask questions, you will learn the ins and outs over time.

Again, sorry you are so upset.

PS: I will offer a travel tip for you in an effort that may make you feel better. When your daughter PCSs to her first duty station to maximize reimbursement she should request a HHG (Households Goods Move) from both the academy and your residence and a PPM (Personally Procured Move) from your residence to her duty station. This way the moving van will pick up her academy stuff (HHG) and pick up her furniture etc. from your residence (HHG) and if she drives to her first duty station as most do, she can weigh her POV before she moves, pack it with stuff, uniforms etc. and weigh it again and get reimbursed for moving some stuff herself (PPM). Many cadets just get a HHG and lose out on getting paid to move all the stuff they cram in their POVs that they will need right away at when they report and while waiting for the HHG moving van to come a few weeks later.

Good luck!

 

[ProudMom7]

PS: I will offer a travel tip for you in an effort that may make you feel better. When your daughter PCSs to her first duty station to maximize reimbursement she should request a HHG (Households Goods Move) from both the academy and your residence and a PPM (Personally Procured Move) from your residence to her duty station. This way the moving van will pick up her academy stuff (HHG) and pick up her furniture etc. from your residence (HHG) and if she drives to her first duty station as most do, she can weigh her POV before she moves, pack it with stuff, uniforms etc. and weigh it again and get reimbursed for moving some stuff herself (PPM). Many cadets just get a HHG and lose out on getting paid to move all the stuff they cram in their POVs that they will need right away at when they report and while waiting for the HHG moving van to come a few weeks later.

I'm not upset now. Over and done with. But it was very frustrating, especially since I KNEW that there should be a way to do it. We are a military/government family. My husband and I have both had many TDYs and a few PCS moves as well. We have always been able to first find out the cost of the approved city pair and then adjust the flight if there was a cheaper option that worked better for us. Our daughter asked about it several times and eventually just gave up.

Thank you for the tips for her PCS move upon graduation. I will make sure to pass that information along to her, especially the tip about weighing all the items she takes with her in her car.
However, I do have a question on what you suggested. You said she should request a HHG from BOTH the academy and our residence. However, the firsties have to be out of Chase Hall by 1600 on the day of graduation. That means they either need to rent a UHaul, cram everything in their car and maybe the vehicles of family members, or maybe bring some stuff home over spring break. I don't understand how they could possibly do a HHG from the Academy. There isn't anywhere to store anything at the Academy after graduation. I don't think the firsties have had their briefs on moving to their first location yet, so maybe they will get some questions answered then.

 

[Haveaniceday]

The PCS brief will give you details. But the usual set up is the moving vans (HHG) come a few days/week prior to graduation and the cadets bring boxes of stuff down to the loading dock for loading. It's textbooks, some ODUs you don't need immediately, dorm stuff etc. Cadets don't have furniture to take so it really is not much. If the cadet fly's southwest they can bring an extra military duffle for free that is full of stuff home at spring break, that will also help lighten the load on graduation day. That way, at graduation you can fit the rest of the cadets stuff in your POV to get home without renting a U-Haul, etc.

You will work through the Groton Base PCS folks for details once orders are issued. The orders will take a while after billet night. Time gets very compressed at the end: Capstone due, find a roommate for new PCS, lease an apartment, HHG and PPM, Grad events, etc. Most get 30 days grad leave so expect to report like June 18ish at the new duty station. That includes travel time there as some drive cross country.

Good luck on Billet night!

 

[VAcadetmom]

Here is the deal on travel pay: It's complicated.

Cadets get Comrats automatically without submitting paperwork for school leave periods, ie: Christmas and Thanksgiving like @Sierra describes.

For summer duty travel, Cadets do an E2 online trip authorization form before they go requesting funds. USCGA pays travel from Academy to duty station and back to Academy. However, you can take leave in route to visit home, etc. You have to do a constructed cost request before travel to do this. What it basically means is the USCGA will pay up to the cost of what they would pay to get you back from your assignment and not more, they call that "most advantageous to the government." If you want to do anything beyond basics on your E2 request you have to get with a company chief or YN before you go and ask them to help you make the proper requests and calculations. It is complicated especially for kids who are new to GOV travel.

Bottom line: There are lots of options to do travel, but you must get expert help before you begin. The situation is, at USCGA orders always run late as there are like 3 YN for 1100 cadets who need orders, and E2 is always a rush job to get tickets etc. Often, E2 must be done within hours of getting orders and this rushing causes both errors and cadets not requesting all they are due. They give you an hour or two class on E2 and travel vouchers, but it is way more complicated than that. Over time you will figure it out as you travel more in the USCG. Find a Chief or YN that is good at travel and try to learn this early as you will then make sure you are getting reimbursed for everything you should be. For example, often cadets enter hotel and leave out hotel tax on their E2 request which can add up to a lot of money they should have been reimbursed for on a trip.

Finally, don't try to game the travel process or E2, or for that matter your PCS move to your first assignment. Put in everything you are due, but don't lie and make stuff up. Keep all receipts and turn them in even if not required for a small expense. E2 travel voucher submissions are signed under penalty of perjury and there are big penalties for cheating. Best to treat travel like taxes to the IRS, be accurate, claim all you can, but do not cheat. To many members get in trouble for falsifying vouchers.

I have to say that my cadet requested to fly home after his summer assignment rather than back to CGA. It was significantly cheaper to fly here than it was to fly into PVD or BDL. It was not allowed at all even though it was more advantageous to the government. He also tried to fly into Boston as there was a nonstop flight into Boston (and cheaper), but again, it was not allowed. He had to fly into PVD and we booked him a flight home from there. It only added about 10 hours to his travel time .....

 

[jrlowscot]

Similar story when I graduated boot camp in 2002. Went home to Iowa on leave after graduation. Had to fly back to Philadelphia to fly to Oregon to my first duty station in order to get the CG to pay for it. When I landed at 10 pm for a 2 hour taxi ride, they asked if I couldn’t have gotten an earlier flight, I had left my house at 5am. Long day of dumb travel.

 

[momoftwo]

Is there any travel home (eg when dorms are closed, like winter/Christmas break) paid for by the academy? The cadet stipend would certainly be enough to pay for that, but I'm curious.

No - all travel during holidays/breaks are your cadets responsibility. When my daughter travels home the expense is usually greater than their monthly pay- so we have had to pay for her travel. They usually only come home for Christmas holiday break- we usually travel to her at Thanksgiving.