MARADMIN 197/26
UPDATE TO AMPLIFYING GUIDANCE FOR USE OF OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AIRLIFT
R 271829Z APR 26 MARADMIN 197/26 MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC AVN WASHINGTON DC// SUBJ/UPDATE TO AMPLIFYING GUIDANCE FOR USE OF OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AIRLIFT// REF/A/MSGID:MSG/MARADMIN 344/22/DTG:071900Z JUL 22// REF/B/MSGID:DOC/OMB CIRCULAR A-126/YMD:19920522// REF/C/MSGID:DOC/DODI 4500.43/YMD:20210730 REF/D/MSGID:DOC/DODI 4500.56/YMD:20240520// REF/E/MSGID:DOC/USTI 3200.03/YMD:20230127// REF/F/MSGID:DOC/JTR/YMD:20260101// REF/G/MSGID:DOC/NALO MOU/YMD:20250227// REF/H/MSGID:DOC/JALIS MOA/YMD:20231101// REF/I/MSGID:DOC/OSD MEMO/YMD:20230808// NARR/REF A IS THE PREVIOUSLY CANCELLED OSA MARADMIN. REF B IS THE OMB CIRCULAR NO. A-126 FOR IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT. REF C IS THE DOW INSTRUCTION FOR OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AIRLIFT. REF D IS THE DOW INSTRUCTION FOR USE OF GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT AND AIR TRAVEL. REF E IS THE USTRANSCOM INSTRUCTION POLICY FOR OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AIRLIFT. REF F IS THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS. REF G IS THE NAVAL AVIATION LOGISTICS OFFICE (NALO) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) FOR THE SCHEDULING OF C-20G AIRCRAFT SITED AT MCAS KANEOHE, HI. REF H IS THE MEMORANDUM FOR SENIOR PENTAGON LEADERSHIP, COMMANDERS OF THE COMBATANT COMMANDS, DEFENSE AGENCIES, AND DOD FIELD ACTIVITIES DIRECTORS FOR THE USE OF GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT AND AIR TRAVEL. REF I IS THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE JOINT STAFF, U.S. ARMY, U.S. NAVY, U.S. AIR FORCE, U.S. MARINE CORPS, AND NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU ON FUNDING FOR THE JOINT AIR LOGISTICS INFORMATION SYSTEM (JALIS).// PRIMARY AVN POC/EMERICH, J.M./GS-14/HQMC AVN/ASCO DIRECTOR/ COMM: 703-693-9888/EMAIL: [email protected]// AVN COMMAND POC/ALLISON, B.A./COL/HQMC AVN/EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/ COMM: 703-614-1010/EMAIL: [email protected]// PRIMARY LEGAL POC/COUNSEL FOR THE COMMANDANT/ ENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT/COMM: 703-614-4067// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Purpose. To minimize transportation costs and improve mission effectiveness, there is an increased effort to utilize Operational Support Airlift (OSA). When executed properly, the use of OSA assets makes significant contributions to airlift support while avoiding the high cost of tactical assault support and/or commercial travel. Appropriate use of OSA programs also enables aircrews to perform dynamic training in conjunction with official DoW travel to support operational and wartime readiness requirements. IAW the references, the guidance below is intended to reinforce current policy and prevent misuse and/or the perception of misuse of Opportune and Dedicated OSA programs. 2. Operational Support Airlift (OSA) 2.a. Passenger travel on Government aircraft is considered a premium mode of travel involving high costs and limited resources. IAW references (b) thru (e), Government aircraft may only be used for official travel to meet mission requirements, for required use, or to support other DoW official travel requirements. OSA may be requested for other DoW official travel requirements when one of the following parameters is met: 1) No commercial airlift can meet the traveler’s departure or arrival requirements within a 24-hour period, unless the traveler demonstrates that extraordinary circumstances require a shorter period to effectively fulfill the requirement; or 2) The actual cost of using OSA airlift is not more than the cost of using commercial airlift. Alternatively, IAW reference (d), a requester may show: (1) highly unusual circumstances that present a clear and present danger; (2) an emergency exists; (3) other compelling operational considerations make commercial transportation unacceptable. 2.a.1. References (b), (e), and (f) define “official travel” as traveling in the discharge of U.S. Government business at Government expense, including travel to meet mission requirements, required use travel, and other travel for the conduct of agency business. “Other travel for the conduct of agency business” includes, but is not limited to, official travel to give speeches, to attend conferences or meetings, or travel to make routine site visits. Official travel does not include travel for personal reasons, by a circuitous route, or by transportation modes not authorized or approved. 2.a.2. Reference (c) defines “mission requirements” as activities that constitute the discharge of an agency's official responsibilities. Such activities include, but are not limited to, the transport of troops and/or equipment, training, evacuation (including medical evacuation), intelligence and counternarcotics activities, search and rescue, transportation of prisoners, use of defense attaché-controlled aircraft, aeronautical research and space and science applications, and other such activities. Mission requirements do not include official travel to give speeches, to attend conferences or meetings, or travel to make routine site visits. 2.a.3. Reference (b) defines “required use” as use of a government aircraft for the travel of an Executive Agency officer or employee, where the use of the government aircraft is required because of bona fide communications or security needs of the agency or exceptional scheduling requirements. Required use travelers are designated by SecWar in reference (d). Only Marine General Officers serving in specific positions such as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), Vice CJCS, Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), or as a Combatant Commander are USMC required-use travelers. 2.b. Per reference (e), CDRUSTRANSCOM operates the Joint Operational Support Airlift Center (JOSAC). JOSAC provides unified OSA scheduling and coordination for dynamic training missions to meet wartime readiness and aircrew currency requirements. IAW references (b) and (e), these missions may be used to transport authorized users on official DoW business within CONUS when determined to be 1) a mission requirement or 2) a cost benefit to the DoW. 2.b.1. Per references (b) and (c), DoW Components are not required to calculate cost comparisons for the use of government aircraft to meet mission requirements for DoW official travel and required-use travelers. The secondary use of an aircraft scheduled to satisfy a mission requirement or required use travel in accordance is presumed to result in cost savings and requires no cost comparisons; reference (b) requires the agency conducting the mission to certify prior to the flight that the aircraft is scheduled to perform a bona fide mission requirement/required use activity. 2.c. OSA may be Dedicated or Opportune. Dedicated OSA shall only be used to support mission requirements IAW paragraph 4. Opportune OSA may be requested for all other official travel IAW paragraph 3. 3. Opportune OSA Support (commonly referred to as MilAir) 3.a. “Opportune OSA” refers to OSA used for official travel that is not directly in support of mission requirements or required use. This includes OSA in support of “other official travel” in the conduct of agency business. 3.a.1. IAW references (b) and (c), secondary use of an aircraft refers to the support of any additional official travel requirement when primary use is to meet mission requirements. Secondary use of an aircraft is presumed to result in cost savings and does not require a cost comparison. 3.b. Request 3.b.1. Per references (b) and (d), Military Airlift (MilAir) requests must demonstrate that commercial airline or airlift service is not reasonably available to effectively fulfill the traveler’s mission requirements in a 24-hour period, unless the traveler demonstrates that extraordinary circumstances require a shorter period. Alternatively, the requester may show: (1) highly unusual circumstances that present a clear and present danger; (2) an emergency exists; (3) use of government aircraft is more cost-effective than commercial air; or (4) other compelling operational considerations make commercial transportation unacceptable. Cost-effectiveness will be determined by the scheduling agencies. Authorizing officials may provisionally approve a request that states an official purpose for use of MilAir, subject to a later cost-effectiveness analysis. 3.c. Approval Process 3.c.1. Requests shall be submitted via the DD Form 2768 dated Mar 1998 located at: https:(slash) (slash)www.esd.whs.mil/ Portals/54/Documents/DD/forms/dd/dd2768.pdf. 3.c.2. All blocks of the DD Form 2768 must be completed. 3.c.3. The name, grade/DV code, duty title, and branch of service must be provided for the senior traveler, all General/Flag Officers, Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, spouses, or any non-federal personnel. 3.c.4. Times on the DD Form 2768 shall be identified as both Zulu and local time in the remarks section. 3.c.5. The email addresses of the Requester, Departure, and Arrival Coordinator(s) must be listed in the “Remarks” section (Block 11). 3.c.6. The Departure and Arrival Coordinator cannot be the same individual. 3.c.7. All requests must be signed by the senior traveler. Per reference (d), this signature authority cannot be delegated. 3.c.8. Per reference (d), the Travel Authorizing Official (Block 13) must be at least one organizational level above the Senior Traveler (e.g. if the Senior Traveler is a MAG CO, the MAW CG must sign Block 13; if the Senior Traveler is a MAG OPSO, the MAG CO must sign Block 13). The Travel Authorizing Official may also be an individual with delegated authority via a written “By direction”, explicitly including transportation eligibility authorization. 3.c.9. Requesters shall submit the completed DD Form 2768 to their respective validating office (3.f.1.). 3.d. Approval Based on Reasonable Availability 3.d.1. Travel Authorizing Officials shall only approve requests that sufficiently demonstrate that commercial airline or airlift service is not reasonably available to effectively fulfill the traveler’s mission requirements in a 24-hour period (unless the traveler demonstrates that extraordinary circumstances require a shorter period). 3.d.2. Requests must clearly demonstrate that a valid official reason for the use of government aircraft exists, other than for personal convenience. 3.d.3. Per reference (d), requests must provide scheduling requirements and explain why they cannot be changed. Scheduling requirements include those occurring before, during, and after the travel period that impact potential availability of commercial travel options. 3.d.4. Requests may cite other factors that make commercial transportation unacceptable, that justify the use of government aircraft over alternative modes of transportation. 3.d.5. A need for secure communications is ordinarily insufficient justification for approval of a non-required user, unless extraordinary circumstances require the traveler to have otherwise inaccessible secure communications for a specific purpose during the travel period. The request shall explain why the activity requiring secured communications cannot be rescheduled. 3.e. Provisional Approval Based on Cost Effectiveness 3.e.1. Per references (d) and (e), when the initial assessment of cost effectiveness is not favorable, Travel Authorizing Officials are encouraged to provisionally approve a request on the basis that, if consolidated with another request(s), it is determined to be cost-effective by the scheduling agency. IAW reference (d), only scheduling agencies shall determine overall cost-effectiveness for OSA missions. 3.e.2. Upon determination that MilAir is requested for legitimate “official travel” IAW references (b) thru (e), Travel Authorizing Officials are encouraged to provisionally approve and forward requests to their respective scheduling agencies, via service validators listed in 3.5, for a cost effectiveness determination, even in the absence of other justification. 3.e.3. To ensure scheduling agencies may accurately determine cost-effectiveness, requests shall include the costs of all reasonable commercial travel alternatives. Per reference (d), reasonable commercial travel alternatives are other available modes of transportation that are capable of meeting the travel requirements. The cost of each commercial travel alternative shall be supported by sufficient information to reflect the fully burdened cost to complete official DoW business. IAW references (b) thru (d), information about the cost of commercial travel must: 1) Reflect the current government contract fare or price (e.g. the General Services Administration city-pare program fare) or price of the lowest fare known to be available if a government contract does not exist or is not applicable; 2) Include, as appropriate, associated costs of any additional ground or other transportation, per diem and miscellaneous travel (e.g., taxis, parking, etc.), and lost employees' work time (computed at gross hourly costs to the government, including benefits) between the commercial and government options; and 3) Only include costs associated with passengers on official business. 3.e.4. Format for submission of this information shall use the example Commercial Cost Worksheet available at https:(slash) (slash)wwww.aviation.marines.mil/Portals/11/Documents/ASCO/ MilAirCommercialCostWorksheet.xlsx. 3.f. Review and Validation Process 3.f.1. MilAir requests shall be submitted to the appropriate validation office based upon the requester’s location: (a) National Capitol Region/HQMC/MARFORs - HQMC AVN (ASCO); PLAD: CMC AVN ASCO WASHINGTON DC – [email protected]. (b) East Coast – MCI-EAST (G-3); CG MCIEAST MCB CAMPLEJ G THREE G FIVE – [email protected] (c) West Coast - MCI-WEST (G-3); CG MCIWEST MCB G THREE G FIVE - [email protected] (d) Hawaii/Japan/Korea - MCI-PAC (G-3); CG MCIPAC G THREE G FIVE – [email protected] (e) Marine Forces Reserve - 4th MAW (ATCO), CG FOURTH MAW G THREE - [email protected] 3.f.2. IAW reference (c), validators shall review airlift requests and assign prioritization using the priority system. 3.f.3. IAW reference (g), validators shall review the accuracy and validity of travel requirements. If necessary, they may also re-validate modifications to original travel requests so long as the overarching mission remains the same. 3.f.4. Once requests have been reviewed and validated, validators will forward the request to the proper scheduling agency (JOSAC/NALO/HQMC) via JALIS. 3.f.5. In the event of an MCI-PAC conflict of support, due to similar priority between two or more requests, MCI-PAC shall forward the request to MARFORPAC Air to adjudicate supportability based on mission priority. 3.g. Scheduling Agency Details 3.g.1. Per references (g), and (h), OSA CONUS requests shall be submitted to JOSAC for small lift or NALO for medium/large lift through the appropriate validating office. 3.g.2. OSA CONUS-OCONUS requests shall be submitted through the appropriate validating office. Validating offices shall determine whether the request should be forwarded to NALO or DC AVN for sourcing. 3.g.3. INDOPACOM requests shall be appropriately scheduled by the MCI-PAC validation office via JALIS only. 3.g.4. All other OSA OCONUS requests shall be adjudicated via the appropriate Combatant or Component Command. 3.h. Scheduling 3.h.1. Only service assigned validators and scheduling agencies may coordinate scheduling. Modifications to flight advisories shall only be made by a scheduling agency. The scheduling agencies may schedule any branch of service to support another branch’s mission (i.e., USMC units can be scheduled to support an Army and/or Navy mission). Supporting and supported USMC units shall not attempt to circumvent the process by arranging conditional “will supports” with a flying unit or by utilizing perceived undue command influence. 3.h.2. IAW references (d) and (i), OSA flights will not be scheduled between locations where the ground transportation is one hour or less or flight time is 30 minutes or less. 3.h.3. IAW references (d) and (i), only one basic crew and one aircraft are allocated per mission. Therefore, travel must be arranged within the crew duty day and crew rest limitations. 3.h.4. Exceptions to Policy (ETP) for provisions of paragraph 3.h. are permissible IAW references (d) and (i). Requests for ETP must be submitted to HQMC ASCO no fewer than 14 days prior to the mission execution date. 3.i. Opportune OSA Amplifying Guidance 3.i.1. Requesters must be mindful that MilAir is opportune airlift regardless of rank and should prepare to utilize another mode of travel should a request be deemed unsupportable. Be advised that requests may be deemed unsupportable as late as (3) days prior to the requested departure. 3.i.2. Per references (b) and (i), DoW Components shall not schedule training missions to accommodate the travel of DoW senior officials. 3.i.3. For travelers who are DoW Senior Officials, authorizing authority cannot be delegated below the two-star or equivalent level. Reference (c) defines DoW “Senior Official” General and flag officers and civilian employees of the Senior Executive Service, or equivalent, and higher-level employees. MilAir requests identifying a Senior Official the senior traveler are not required to be authorized beyond the next level of Command (minimum two-star) unless otherwise determined in writing by local Command. 3.i.4. All Senior Official requests must obtain a legal/ethical review prior to execution. 3.i.5. All OSA flying units shall ensure aircraft availability in the JALIS system is open for Joint Scheduling to the maximum extent possible. The following are the only exceptions in which aircraft may be blocked: maintenance, scheduled training, tasking from PP&O for Global Force Management (GFM) requirements, authorization from DC Aviation or an applicable Component Command to execute Dedicated OSA/direct support. 3.i.6. All Senior Official scheduled flights shall be closely monitored by the applicable validation office. Regretted and or dropped flights are required to be reported to the HQMC ASCO within 30 minutes of the regret or dropped flight or as soon as the validation office is made aware. This reporting can be completed by phone at (703)693-9888 or by email to [email protected] or [email protected]. 4. Dedicated OSA/Direct Support 4.a. Per references (c) and (e), “direct support” is defined as a mission requiring a force to support another specific force and authorizing it to answer directly to the supported force’s request for assistance. “Dedicated OSA” or “direct support” missions generally refer to aircraft or missions scheduled by the Military Departments to support their forces and operations. Dedicated OSA/direct support may only be utilized to support mission requirements. 4.b. Request and Endorsement Process 4.b.1. Requesting units must staff a Dedicated OSA request message through their respective Chains of Command via Automated Message Handling System (AMHS) and should include a DD Form 2768. The request shall, at a minimum, include location, dates, and a justification statement for the request as it relates to a mission requirement. 4.b.2. The applicable MARFOR shall review the request for completeness and accuracy, as well as validate the mission requirement prior to submitting an endorsement to the Aviation Support Coordination Office (ASCO), HQMC, DC Aviation. Requests must be submitted NLT 14 days prior to execution, with the exception of Priority 1 requests or Priority 2 requests where training or operations would be degraded without OSA support. 4.c. Approval, Review, and Validation Process 4.c.1. Dedicated OSA Mission Approval. The Deputy Commandant for Aviation (DC AVN) is the approval authority for all CONUS-originated DED OSA missions. Approval is granted based on the justification provided in the AMHS request message and its alignment with Marine Corps operational and training mission requirements. Applicable Combatant or Component Commands shall be notified of all OSA flights transiting their Area of Responsibility (AOR). This process is separate from the approval and validation of Opportune Airlift requests. 4.d. Scheduling Agency Details 4.d.1. Dedicated OSA flights originating and or terminating in/from CONUS will be scheduled via HQMC ASCO. 4.d.2. OSA OCONUS-OCONUS shall be scheduled by the Component Command when Aircraft are attached via a PP&O GFM requirement. All others will be approved by the Component Command and scheduled via the appropriate validation office. 4.e. Scheduling 4.e.1. Dedicated OSA Mission Scheduling. DED OSA missions are not scheduled through JOSAC or NALO. Upon approval of a DED OSA request(s), HQMC AVN will task the appropriate Marine Corps aviation asset directly to execute the mission as specified in the approved request. 4.f. Dedicated OSA Amplifying Guidance 4.f.1. MARFORs shall determine priority of support for applicable operational command requests for Dedicated OSA/direct support. 4.f.2. Aircraft assigned Dedicated OSA missions shall block Aircraft availability to USTRANSCOM/Joint scheduling. 4.f.3. All Dedicated OSA/direct support flights shall be closely monitored by the applicable validation office. Regretted and or dropped flights are required to be reported to the HQMC ASCO within 30 minutes of the regret or dropped flight or as soon as the validation office is made aware. This reporting can be completed by phone to (703)693-9888 or by email to [email protected] or [email protected]. 4.f.4. Priority 1 flights involving the potential loss of life or limb may be approved and tasking by the applicable installation Commanding Officer or validation office. 4.f.5. All approved Dedicated OSA/direct support missions exceeding 30 days shall be reported to the Joint Staff and DoW ExecSec via HQMC ASCO biannually. 4.f.6. OSA flying unit aircrews shall ensure all foreign clearance guide and diplomatic aircraft clearance procedures have been met prior to support. 4.f.7. Requester(s) shall ensure all foreign clearance guide procedures have been met for all passengers prior to support. 5. Rotary-Wing/Tilt-Rotor Aircraft for OSA 5.a. The use of rotary-wing/tilt-rotor aircraft shall be approved by the Deputy Commandant for Aviation. 5.a.1. Rotary-wing/Tilt-rotor aircraft shall only be utilized if the desired destination cannot be reached by OSA aircraft or any other means of travel. However, IAW reference (d), required-use travelers are an exception. 5.a.2. Per reference (d), Rotary-wing/tilt-rotor aircraft will be used only when the use of ground transportation would have a significantly adverse impact on the ability of a senior official to effectively accomplish the purpose of the official travel. This policy applies to all officers and employees of the DoW. The Marine Corps does not currently allocate any rotary-wing/ tilt-rotor Aircraft for OSA use. 5.b. Approval Process. 5.b.1. Submit rotary-wing/tilt-rotor aircraft travel requests to HQMC ASCO. 5.b.2. Submit rotary-wing/tilt-rotor aircraft requests within the NCR, or outside the NCR for OSW senior officials, to the DoW ExecSec via HQMC ASCO. 5.c. Review and Validation Process 5.c.1. All rotary-wing/tilt-rotor CONUS OSA requests shall be submitted to the HQMC validation office. 5.c.2 All rotary-wing/tilt-rotor OCONUS OSA requests shall be submitted to the appropriate Combatant or Component Command air office. 5.d. Scheduling Agency Details 5.d.1. All rotary-wing/tilt-rotor CONUS OSA requests shall be scheduled by the HQMC ASCO office. 5.d.2 All rotary-wing/tilt-rotor OCONUS OSA requests shall be scheduled by the appropriate Combatant or Component Command air office. 5.e. Scheduling 5.e.1. Scheduling for rotary-wing/tilt-rotor shall use the same process as described in paragraphs 4.d. – 4.e.1. 6. This MARADMIN shall be canceled upon the publication of a forthcoming Marine Corps OSA Order. 9. Release authorized by Lieutenant General William H. Swan, Headquarters Marine Corps, Deputy Commandant for Aviation, and SES Mark A. Romano, Counsel for the Commandant.//