Eligibility

The following are eligible for Space A travel:                                               

• Members of the Uniformed Services and their family members

• Foreign exchange service members on permanent duty with the DoD

• Retired members of the Uniformed Services and their family members

• Members of the Reserve Components

• Civilian employees of the DoD stationed overseas and their families

• American Red Cross personnel serving overseas with the U.S. military

• DoD Dependent School (DoDDS) teachers and their family members

Travel Categories

The categories that determine your order of selection for Space A flights are:

• Category 1 Emergency leave

• Category 2 Environmental Morale Leave (EML)

• Category 3 Ordinary leave

• Category 4 Unaccompanied dependents on EML

• Category 5 Permissive Temporary Duty and students

• Category 6 Retirees

Category 1 – Emergency Leave

Space-A Travel is allowed on a round-trip basis in connection with serious illness, death, or impending death of a member of the immediate family of the following:

• United States citizen civilian employees of the DoD stationed overseas.

• Full-time, paid personnel of the American Red Cross serving with United States military Services overseas.

• Uniformed Service family members whose sponsors are stationed within the continental United States (CONUS) and the emergency exists overseas.

• Family members of United States citizen civilian employees of the DoD when both sponsor and dependents are stationed overseas at the same location.

• Uniformed Service family members when accompanied by their sponsor may travel within the continental United States (CONUS) if the emergency exists in the CONUS.

Note: Active-duty military personnel do not qualify for Space-A Emergency Leave under Category 1 and would be assigned to a lower priority category.  Active-duty personnel should contact their command to requested funded travel under emergency leave circumstances.  

Category 2 - Environmental and Morale Leave

• Sponsors on environmental and morale leave (EML) and accompanied family members. Military personnel must also be on ordinary leave. Any other type leave such as convalescent or overseas tour extension incentive program (OTEIP) with EML is not authorized.

• DoD Dependent School (DoDDS) teachers and their accompanied family members in EML status during school year holiday, vacation periods or employer-approved training during recess periods.

Category 3 - Ordinary or reenlistment leave, temporary duty for house hunting

• Members of the Uniformed Services in an ordinary or reenlistment leave status and Uniformed Services patients on convalescent leave. Members on convalescent leave may not travel overseas unless their leave form is so annotated.

• Military personnel traveling on permissive temporary duty (TDY) orders for house hunting.

• If the permissive TDY is for the purpose of permanent change of station house hunting, and the member travels in Category III, then the member may travel within the continental United States (CONUS) as well as international travel, and may be accompanied by one family member.

• Bona fide family members (with a valid identification card) of a Service member of the Uniformed Services when accompanied by their sponsor who is in an ordinary leave status within overseas areas between overseas stations and air terminals in the CONUS.

• This privilege does not apply to travel of dependents to or from a sponsor's restricted or unaccompanied tour location or to travel in a leave status to or from TDY locations. It applies only to round-trip travel to an overseas area or the CONUS with the sponsor. DoD 4515.13-R restricts use of these privileges to establish a home for family members in an overseas area or the CONUS.

• Foreign exchange service members on permanent duty with the DoD (when on leave status), Medal of Honor recipients, service academy cadets and midshipmen.

Category 4 - EML

• Unaccompanied family members (18 years or older) traveling on EML orders. Family members under 18 must be accompanied by an adult family member who is traveling EML.

• DoDDS teachers or family members (accompanied or unaccompanied) in an EML status during summer break.

Category 5 - Permissive TDY

• Students whose sponsor is stationed in Alaska or Hawaii.

• Students enrolled in a trade school in the CONUS when the sponsor is stationed overseas.

• Military personnel traveling on permissive TDY orders for other than house hunting.

• Command sponsored dependents (18 years of age) of Uniformed Services members who are stationed overseas may travel unaccompanied from the sponsor's PCS duty location to the CONUS and return. Travel is also authorized within the overseas theater. Travel cannot be between two overseas theaters (i.e., from Germany to Japan). Dependents must have command-sponsored documentation signed by the Commander verifying command sponsorship. Documentation is valid for one round trip.

Category 6 - Guard and Reservists, Retirees and Family

• National Guard/Reserve components/members of the Ready Reserve and members of the Standby Reserve who are on the Active Status List.

• Retired military members who are issued DD Form 2 and are eligible to receive retired or retainer pay.

• Family members (with a valid identification card) of retired members when accompanied by a sponsor, ROTC, NUPOC, CEC.