# News

## U.S. Air Force LogoUnited States Air Force

# AFIMSC revamps tool to save manhours, deliver timely tracking of travel dollars

              - Published  Sept. 26, 2022
              -                             By Debbie Aragon                                                    
              - Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs

**   JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) --  **

The **Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center** is launching a revamped tool to help traffic managers enterprise-wide customers save time and streamline reporting when it comes to unused government-issued ticket reimbursements Oct. 1. Each year, AFIMSC helps the Department of the Air Force recover over $11.5 million in unused government travel tickets through the passenger movement SharePoint tool, developed by the center. 

The tool, launched shortly after AFIMSC stood up in 2015, was designed to gather the total cost of unused tickets across the 78 installations providing passenger travel support.  

Installation Travel Management Company agents at those installations, who are under contract with the DAF, are required to report unused government travel ticket data to quality assurance evaluators who, in-turn, update the tool each quarter. That data is then compiled by AFIMSC into a single report for submission to the Pentagon. “Submitting the quarterly reporting to Washington, D.C., is often delayed because traffic managers find the tool cumbersome and often difficult to follow,” said Gina Hoover, Installation Support Directorate passenger travel movement lead. 

“It's a manpower drain for the traffic managers at the installations and our passenger movement teams each quarter with phone calls and emails back and forth,” she said. Taking advantage of the evolving capabilities of SharePoint, the new unused ticket reimbursement tool will allow traffic managers to easily submit quarterly data in an enterprise-wide, standardized format. Tech. Sgt. Mariana Hernandez-Chavez, AFIMSC passenger movement specialist, recently redesigned and updated the tool with a goal of decreasing the manpower drain and increasing the timeliness of the quarterly reports, thanks to feedback from the field.  

 “From our perspective and that of the field, the tool was always difficult and uneasy to read,” Hernandez-Chavez said.  

 “Although the initial version of the tool allowed us to gather needed data it wasn't user friendly and no longer fits the needs of the field or AFIMSC,” Hoover said. “I was able to take advantage of my position at AFIMSC to create a more simple, user-friendly tool to help us get the metrics we need,” Hernandez-Chavez added. By federal regulations, travelers must always report unused government-issued tickets and turn them in, even if it's just an unused leg of a journey. They can do that as soon as they return or during the travel voucher process. Travel vouchers are required to be filed within five duty days of travel completion.

FSUSAFAFAir ForceAFIMSCAFMCInstallation Support Directoratetravel ticketsticket reimbursement tooltravel management officeTMOReimbursementSharePoint toolAir Force Materiel CommandAir Force Installation and Mission Support Center