Space-A travel is a means by which members of

United States Uniformed Services The United States has eight federal uniformed services that Officer (armed forces), commission officers as defined by Title 10 of the United States Code, Title 10 and subsequently structured and organized by Titles 10, Title 14 of the United St ...

(

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

reservists A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

and retirees,

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

civilian personnel under certain circumstances), and these groups' family members, are permitted to travel on aircraft of the

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense when excess capability allows.

Background

Space available travel is a privilege that derives, in part, from United States Code, title 10, section 4744, which states, "officers and members of the Military Departments, and their families, when space is available, may be transported on vessels operated by any military transport agency of the Department of Defense". Space available travel is defined as "travel aboard DoD owned or controlled aircraft and occurs when aircraft are not fully booked with passengers traveling under orders". It is a privilege offered to United States Uniformed Services members. Retired members are given the privilege in recognition of their career and because they are eligible for recall to active duty. The criteria for extending the privilege to other categories of passengers is their support to the mission being performed by Uniformed Services members and to the enhancement of active duty Service members' quality of life.

Procedures

Guidelines

There are rules and guidelines which apply to such travel. Uniformed personnel may only travel Space-A while on

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

for the full duration of their Space-A trip, and Space-A travel cannot be used in conjunction with travel required by the service. Space A travel may not be used for personal financial gain or in connection with business enterprises or employment. Other nations' laws and policies, as well as U.S. foreign policy, may limit the ability to travel using Space-A. Aside from members of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, travelers do not have to be in uniform for their flights.

Sign-up process

Eligible passengers wanting to travel using DoD Space-A travel are required to sign up at the departing location and are then placed on a locally managed Space-A register. The registration process varies depending on the location, but most locations allow signups via electronic mail, fax, or postal mail. Each location's passenger service center maintains their own Space-A register. Each person signing up is placed on this register using category of travel, signup date and signup time. Based on status (active duty military, retired military, emergency traveler, etc.), Space-A travel applicants are assigned a category of travel from 1 to 6, which categorizes their priority of movement, 1 being the highest priority. Thus, an applicant with priority 1 will gain a place on an available aircraft over an applicant with priority 4, for example. The number of space-available seats may not be known until the flight's "Roll Call" just prior to the flight departs. After sorting the signup register by category of travel and signup date, the passenger terminal personnel follow a selection procedure. If there is sufficient seating for everyone desiring a seat, then everyone boards; otherwise, a cutoff point is determined.

Eligibility

The branches of service eligible for Space-A travel are: *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant S ...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

Space-required versus space-available

Space-A travel is not without its pitfalls. Unlike traditional commercial air traffic, military flights are not always assigned predictable takeoff times. Many factors go into planning a military flight, with space-required cargo and passengers forming the basis of planning. There is no consideration given to potential Space-A travelers during the planning process.

Veterans Space-A travel eligibility

Uniformed Services Retirees (receiving retirement pay and possessing a BLUE Retiree ID Card) and their accompanying dependents can travel Space-A anywhere that Space-A is allowed. "Gray Area" Retirees have limited eligibility (but not their dependents). DoD reg, Section 4, Table 3, a Gray Area Retiree (Reservist who is "eligible" for retirement pay at 60 years of age but not fully retired with a BLUE ID Card), can fly Space-A only within the

CONUS ''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...

and directly between the CONUS and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa (Guam and American Samoa travelers may transit Hawaii or Alaska); or traveling within Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. As of August 13th 2018, authorized veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rated 100% as total are eligible for Space-A travel traveling in the CONUS or directly between the Continental United States CONUS and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa (Guam and American Samoa travelers may transit Hawaii or Alaska); or traveling within Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dependents and caregivers of 100% disabled veterans are not eligible to fly Space-A.

Aircraft generally allowing for Space-A travel

The majority of flights that passengers take occur on: C-5, C-17, C-40, C-130, KC-10, and KC-135 aircraft.

Non-governmental support for Space-A travel

Space-A travelers might meet abrupt, sometimes even in-flight, changes in travel. This need for pre-planning has given rise to a small industry surrounding such travel. Non-governmental enterprises (for the most part, publishers) produce products, initially through books and maps, with more recent incarnations as websites which provide travelers with information regarding Space-A travel.

References

DoD policy – Air Transportation Eligibility
retrieved on February 3, 2022.

External links

Air Mobility Command
– Official Military Space-A Travel site hosted by USAF The following information Space-A links are hosted by volunteer military:
John D's Space-A Information Pages
– private, non commercial, Comprehensive Space-A information, including eligibility, regulations, news articles, FAQ, etc. about Space-A Travel.
''USMCLife.com'' "My First Adventure on Space-A: How I Did It"
– narrative on Space-A travel
Poppin' Smoke Quickstart Guide to Space-A Flights
- a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to flying Space-A United States military pay and benefits Aviation in the United States