MCO 4650.39A - Defense Travel System (DTS)

Scope

MCO 4650.39A sets policy for the operation and use of the Defense Travel System across the Marine Corps. DTS is the single paperless travel management system for every DoD traveler. It arranges transportation and lodging, estimates travel cost, produces the travel authorization, obligates funds, issues tickets, processes the voucher for reimbursement, and feeds DoD and service reporting. The order assigns the roles, permissions, training, reports, and debt procedures making the system run inside the Marine Corps.

Audience

• Every Marine traveling on official orders and building authorizations and vouchers.
• Approving, Authorizing, Certifying, and Reviewing Officials carrying pecuniary liability for the payments they certify.
• Defense Travel Administrators at unit, command, and headquarters level, LDTA, ODTA, and FDTA.
• Commanders managing routing lists and permission levels to hold separation of duties.

Chapter map

• Chapter 1. Roles and responsibilities. LDTA, ODTA, FDTA, AO, and traveler duties, DD Form 577 appointments, and grade-requirement waivers.
• Chapter 2. Permissions, accesses, and training. Training completes before permissions grant.
• Chapter 3. Profile management, opening, importing, and closing traveler profiles.
• Chapter 6. Reports and reconciliation cadences.
• Chapter 9. Debt management, the DMM clears travel-incurred debt before profile closure.
• Chapter 11. Appointments and FDTA validation.

Operative content

• Voucher cadence. The traveler signs and submits the voucher within 5 business days of return, paragraph 5.a.(2)(d). The voucher routes to the servicing finance office within 3 business days after signature, paragraph 5.b.2. The AO approval target is 5 working days.
• Appointments ride DD Form 577. Waivers to grade and duty-assignment requirements go by name through standard naval correspondence to the first O-6 or GS-15 in the supervisory chain. Disbursing and finance personnel hold a blanket waiver per MARADMIN 291/12.
• Training gates. COL certification refreshes annually by end of calendar year, traveler and NDEA training refreshes every three years, appointees train within two weeks of appointment. Chapter 2 paragraph 3.
• Report battle rhythm. The Complete Traveler Information List reconciles monthly against GTCC vendor data, the Approved Status Report pulls every two weeks, the Debt Management Report pulls weekly and commanders certify collection actions on debts older than 30 days. Chapter 6.
• Deceased traveler vouchers do not process in DTS, records manage outside the system through the DTS PMO. Paragraph 5.c.

Connection to higher policy

• DoD 7000.14-R DoDFMR Volume 9. The DoD travel pay policy DTS executes.
• DoDFMR Volume 5. Certifying officer liability behind the AO role.
• The Joint Travel Regulations. The entitlement framework every authorization and voucher applies.
• DoDI 5154.31. The GTCC program policy DTS integrates with through split disbursement.
• Public Law 105-264. The Travel and Transportation Reform Act behind mandatory card use.

Connection to Marine Corps doctrine and lower policy

• MCO 4600.40 GTCC program order. Card issuance, delinquency, and misuse handling paired with DTS debt work.
• DTMO guides. The Guide to Managing Travel-Incurred Debt and the DTS guides carry the working procedures.
• MCO 7300.21 Financial Management SOP. Fiscal-side counterpart on obligations.

Status

Active. Signed 2014-02-24. DC, M&RA provides oversight, the Manpower Information Support Systems Division sponsors the system, and the Travel Management Section at MIF administers the program. Confirm current MARADMIN-level policy changes, travel program updates ship as MARADMINs between order revisions.