In keeping with the National Guard tradition of maximizing State and Federal resources while supporting legislative offices' and military Services' requirements, the NGB-LL office examines all congressional travel/official orientation requests for military aircraft to ensure they meet documented, lawful criteria. Per Department of Defense Directives (DoDD), Regulations, and senior leader guidance, congressional travel/orientation flight requests must meet several provisions in order to receive approval recommendation.

Orientation flight requests must meet conditions outlined in current directives and policy (see below References) in order for NGB-LL to forward requests for congressional travel. Requests approved by NGB-LL are subsequently submitted to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (OASD-LA) for final review and decision for approval/disapproval.

Orientation Flight:

According to DoDD4515.13 and DoDD 4515.12, an orientation flight is one that originates at Point A and returns to Point A (NO stops in between), not conducted to provide transportation. All orientation flight requests are routed through NGB-LL to coordinate ASD-LA final approval.

Transportation Flight:

DoDD 4515.12 states that “[t]he Secretary of Defense or the Secretaries of the Military Departments may extend invitations for sponsored non-reimbursable travel within the limitations prescribed in this enclosure. The Secretaries of the Military Departments are delegated the authority unilaterally to extend invitations to members and employees of Congress for sponsored, non-reimbursable, single department-related travel within the 50 United States. Invitations extended by the Secretaries of the Military Departments are subject to the limitations necessary to carry out the policies stated in this Directive as the Secretary of Defense may from time to time prescribe.”

Please Note that DoDD 4515.12 does not provide the CNGB the authority to extend transportation flight requests.

All transportation flight requests must originate from the Member of Congress’s office and routed through OCLL for ASD-LA final approval.