Travelers should take direction from their commands.
The Under Secretary of Defense (USD), Personnel and Readiness (PR) issued
memorandum “Updated Guidance on Department of Defense Civilian Travel” [PDF] on September 15, 2025, lifting limitations placed on non-exempted travel for DoD civilians that were established on March 5, 2025. Agency Program Coordinators may restore DoD civilians’ Government Travel Charge Cards to the limits deemed appropriate by their Component.
The March 5, 2025 limits were imposed by
Executive Order 14222 and the Office of USDPR
memorandum “Guidance for Use of Government Travel Cards by DoD Civilian Employees,” which defined non-exempted travel as any travel not in direct support of military operations, permanent change of stations, and other mission-critical categories.
However, the new guidance requires Component Heads to establish and implement a process for requesting, approving/denying, and recording of conference and other “non-essential travel.” The new guidance defines non-essential travel as any travel not in direct support of military operations, permanent change of stations, and other mission-critical categories of travel specified by PSAs and DoD Component heads.
Check with your commands for new guidance and procedures for obtaining approval for travel.