[RPA School at Holloman]

Staying off base stupidity is still in place, a couple people in my class were given LOCs for staying off base without the "approval" of the training sq. Anyone who has actually stood up to them has been able to stay off base, but expect push back. I told them I have cats, guns, and refuse to only have a mini fridge and a microwave for 5 months and they still gave me the third degree for quite a while.

Here's where I'm staying: https://www.tdyholloman.com/index.php/aspen/

You get a 2 bed/1.5 bath townhouse all to yourself for the $60/day rate. Comes furnished, kitchen has all the basics, it's about a 20 minute door-to-door to work. 

As far as how long as training takes, it's planned for about 5 months. Everyone I've talked to ahead of me has graduated pretty close on time, expect to be pretty slow in the beginning (1-2 flights a week maybe) and then get crushed towards the end as you become the "senior" class in your squadron. 

[RPA School at Holloman]

Same question that's been asked, but has anyone heard/know of someone who has successfully stayed off base at Holloman? I've had my fill of roach hotel lodging, looking to not stay in a room with shitty a/c in the New Mexico summer. 

The new update to the JTR (as of 1 Nov) says "1. A DoD Service member must use available Government quarters if ordered to a U.S. installation" and "a Service member is sent on TDY to a U.S. installation and the Government quarters on that installation (not nearby) are adequate and available, he or she is required to use Government quarters." Which seems pretty cut and dry, but follows up with "adequate Government quarters are available on the U.S. installation to which a Service member is assigned TDY, but the Service member chooses to use other lodging, the Service member is limited to the reimbursement cost of Government quarters on the assigned TDY installation n (44 Comp. Gen. 626 (1965))."  The quoted file there is a bunch of legalese that my pilot brain can't quite decipher, maybe someone is smarter than I am?

Regardless, how I read that is I am required to stay on base, or only be reimbursed for the cost of gov quarters (standard $60/day), which is how it's been forever. A guy in my squadron who just left for Holloman supposedly got a welcome letter from their CC saying they have to stay on base regardless, but I'm assuming the JTR still trumps.  

As a captain headed to my last assignment before I'm allowed to punch, I'm willing to press to test a bit, but wondered if anyone had recently been successful. 

[Non-Availibility lodging/letter]

9 hours ago, nunya said:

So here's what you do.  Tell him thanks for his help, get his name, number, and the date and time you called.  If he books you rooms, tell him thank you, walk out of his office, and have your copilot call the hotel directly and cancel all the rooms.  Go stay at the hotel of your choice, while of course staying under the max lodging allowance.  Do your mission, go home, and file your voucher.  Where it asks for the non-a, provide the name, number, and the date and time you called and he said there were no rooms.  Reference JTR Chapter 2, Part, H, Paragraph 2570(A)(2) and Paragraph 2570(C).

The caveat to all of this is the new Integrated Lodging Program.  If wherever you're going is in that, you have to involve CTO and it gets way more painful unless your AO will let you slide without it for mission accomplishment.

Message_-_Lodging_Reimbursement_Uniformed_Members_-_221800Z_DEC_06.pdf

This is great, appreciate the heads up from experience. I did double check the ILP list, Nellis isn't on there just yet, so we should be golden. 

Thanks guys

[Non-Availibility lodging/letter]

I'm taking a group tdy out to Nellis for a couple weeks, and having some issues with lodging...  DTS sent us a non-a letter for lodging, but the head of the lodging (who is a civilian contractor) is telling me we have to stay at one of the hotels they have a contract with. I found a hotel we'd rather stay at for the per diem rate (aka not ghetto and full of roaches), but he says it isn't one of their "contracted" hotels so we can't stay there.

 

Any time I've gotten a non-a I've been allowed to stay where I want, the base can just recommend places they have lower rates with. Has that changed? If not, anyone have luck getting around the lodging office?

[Montana C-130s]

I'm thinking about putting in my palace chase application, but my ISR doesn't have any info on the new

Montana unit and when they might start hiring people up there. C-130s in Montana pretty much equates to my dream job (airframe + close to home), so if I have to stick around AD for a while longer for a spot to open up I would rather do that than skip out now and miss out.

If anyone has any inside info on it or knows someone who would let me pick their brain, I'd appreciate it.