A past United States Navy recruiting campaign was driven on the promise that sailors would “see the world.” Those in uniform can still expect to be deployed to distant lands, but the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) civilian workforce should expect their travel opportunities to be far more limited.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon and the Department of the Navy announced that civilian personnel can no longer use their Government Travel Charge Cards (GTCCs), while travel has been restricted unless an exemption is received.
As part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) ongoing “Cost Efficiency Initiative,” which was implemented as part of Executive Order 14222, “the use of all Government-issued travel charge cards by DoD civilian employees is suspended for all travel that is not exempted. DoD civilian employees must cancel all future non-exempted official travel reservations, and those currently on non-exempted travel must return to their respective permanent duty stations as soon as feasible,” according to a memorandum to senior Pentagon leadership from Darin S. Selnick, acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
The memorandum added that exempted DoD civilian employees would be limited to travel that is in direct support of military operations or is part of “a permanent change of station” (PCS). Selnick further stated that Principal Staff Assistants and DoD Component heads should collaborate with the Defense Travel Management Office “to reduce the spending limited to $1.00 on any Government travel charge cards issued to DoD civilian employees whose duties do not require exempted travel.”
Civilian employees were directed to use the Defense Travel System (DTS) to cancel or modify their travel plans, and if that isn’t possible, those travelers were told to contact their Travel Management Company (TMC). Despite the pause, travelers were still told to pay any balances on the travel card accounts as usual.
Naval Sea Systems Command Issues Similar Directive
Last week, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) executive director Chris Miller sent out a similar emailed message to civilian employees.
The message told civilian employees to cancel all non-exempt future travel, which was essentially any travel not yet started.
“Military personnel are NOT impacted by the attached memo, although internally to NAVSEA, we will be publishing business rules to ensure we are aligned with the intent of the Executive order,” Miller wrote in the email.
Purchase Cards Also Frozen
The Pentagon was also directed to freeze all civilian purchase cards. GTCCs are used to pay for flights and lodging, while the purchase cards are used by civilian employees to buy items not available through the General Services Administration or U.S. Navy supplies. According to NAVSEA guidelines, civilian employees were told not to use the purchase cards for 30 days beginning March 6.
The other branches of the military are reportedly following similar guidance. According to a Pentagon memo, there were exemptions made for the use of purchase cards, which included “disaster relief or natural disaster response benefits or operations, or other critical services.”
The purchase cards will continue to pay existing contracts until April 9.
What Impact Is This Actually Having?
According to a report from Military.com, it remains unclear how much the travel ban will impact operations or what saving it will mean for the DoD. A Pentagon spokesman said that DOGE claimed the cuts “probably” saved around $80 million, but Military.com said examples in savings only showed around $13 million in cuts – a fraction of the DoD’s $840 billion annual budget.
The news outlet had also previously reported that last week’s Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora, CO, had seen “noticeably lower attendance than in previous years.” It should be noted that the symposium is one of just two major professional development conferences for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. This year’s theme was “The Threat is Now: Building the Force to Win,” which featured more than 140 senior leaders from the services and industry partners. However, due to the travel ban, the Air Force confirmed that attendance had been “limited to individuals with a direct role in the conference, such as speakers, moderators, panel members, award winners and their supervisors, senior leaders with previously scheduled industry engagements, and local participants that attend at no cost.”
