How to PCS + TDY cheat sheet

This How to PCS + TDY cheat sheet and guide is focused on specific tips for student pilots, however, you may be able to find helpful tips for whatever you’re doing, so check it out!

Congratulations on your new assignment! How exciting to be traveling to a new place with new people! Yet with that excitement comes a great level of stress and responsibility to get a book’s worth of checklists and required items done. It can be completely overwhelming to know where to even start and to organize (or even know) everything that you need to get done, and that’s why I’m here to help with some of that!

At the bottom, there is a list of useful links to help you in this process! Feel free to reach out to me through your government email if you have any additional questions.

Getting your assignment

Before you can do anything else, you need to know what you’re doing and where you’re going. This will usually start with an email to your government email address with RIPs. These RIPs will tell you where you’re going to, for how long, if you’re permanently moving there or if you’re temporarily going there and give you the option to take leave along the way. You have to fill out these RIPs with some information and return them by the suspense date, which will be listed on the RIPs and sometimes in the email.

**Pay attention to the date when you are supposed to be leaving versus the arrive NLT date. Sometimes this can be the day after or days after you receive your RIPs. If you need to adjust the date that you’re leaving the base, get in contact with MPF.

Where to begin: Out-Processing checklists

So now that you have your RIPs, go to your losing unit (the STUs) and get the appropriate checklist for what you’re doing. If you are going TDY, there will be a separate TDY checklist but it doesn’t hurt to grab the PCS Out-Processing checklist and get started on it as well.

You’ll need to get to many organizations around base, so give yourself a few days to sit down and tackle this checklist.

Next up: Gaining unit checklists

Your gaining unit may also have a checklist of things that you’ll need to get done specifically at your old base or before arriving at your new one. This can include medical requirements, security clearance requirements, altitude chamber requirements, etc. It may also require a signature from your losing unit commander.

If you need help finding where these checklists are, ask someone you know at the new unit or find someone around your current base that has done it before. You can always contact the base if you’re absolutely lost on what to do.

If you are in the flying community, there is a website called ETCA that will have information on the courses you’ll be attending and specific requirements for those courses. The easiest way to find your course is to search the airframe you’re going to. Some have multiple courses but you won’t be doing all of them, so verify on your RIPs which ones you fall under.

Getting your orders: TDY

This might be the most important step in the process! In order to get your orders rolling for TDY, make a DTS voucher for where you’re going.

Now, this is critical in getting everything done correctly but might not be in your checklists: If you are going TDY and your gaining unit is funding it (it will say so on your RIPs) then you need to contact that unit for the LOA. The LOA will give you the finance authorization to attend your TDY. If you need help finding this contact, get in touch with your out-processing unit.

Your TDY base may have their own requirements for DTS, so be sure to follow these as well or things may be delayed. For example, Little Rock requires you to put Variations Authorized.

Getting your orders: PCS

In order to get your orders rolling for a PCS, you should be receiving an assignment notification email at your government email address. This will most likely come from someone in MPF. This email comes with an entire list of requirements on its own, but start by going to the vMPF website and completing the initial assignment briefing. There will be a link on the bottom left hand side of the page. There is a suspense for this briefing about 7 days after getting the assignment notification email, so don’t put this off.

Finance + Moving

If you are PCSing, your checklists should cover most of what you need to do in regards to these two things. However, if you’re going TDY, this can become foggy.

I would recommend setting up an appointment with TMO (moving office) no matter which one you’re doing to know what benefits and requirements that you have. Make sure you have your orders for this meeting! You may have to head back to the finance office for some additional questions on what’s covered, so plan for that.

From my digging (and my specific case) if you are an Out and Back TDY, the military will not cover a storage unit but will continue to pay you BAH for the duration of your time wherever you’re TDY. You’re welcome to move your stuff into a storage unit and keep the BAH or keep your house.

Don’t forget that if you are TDY and staying in off-base lodging that you should bring a tax exempt form. They will not provide these for you, so here’s a website to help get you started.

Some things you can get started on before your RIPs arrive

Remember that thing called the PHA and PFA? Yeah, well, they’ve returned and you need to get both done before you leave.

In case you forgot, the PHA is the health assessment for pilots that is required for you to fly. It expires 15 months after you last completed it, but medical usually requires you to do it before they will let you leave. Be sure to schedule this months earlier, as many health clinics are backed up and there could be trouble getting you in before you need to leave. This would mean you’d have to go to the next closest base to get your PHA done, which is not ideal if you’re short on time. But if this happens to be your case, make sure that you get your hearing test done at your home base Public Health, because other bases may not include this in your PHA assessment but need it to sign off the 2992 (a required medical document).

As for the fitness assessment – for now, they are resuming. If you’re going on a longer TDY, this is more important because they will not allow you to leave if your PFA expires while you’re on TDY. This could give you days to take it and again takes up precious time, so schedule it early in the process and stay in shape!

Dental is another group that will need to sign you out, so make sure to schedule an exam & cleaning.

Extra tips

If it’s on any checklist, bring at least 3 copies of it. For example, if they ask for 3 copies of your orders or 1 copy of your 2992, bring 6 copies of orders and 3 copies of your 2992. Also, have an idea of where to find all of this online for when you quickly need to print an extra copy.

Other considerations for recent pilot grads

Congrats on making it through UPT! If you want to get the FAA equivalents for your military time, now is the time to do it! There are multiple people that should be able to help you figure out what you need to do in order to get these.

You can try the Education Office, IP and Sim instructors, ask previous classes or reach out to the local airport in your area. Sometimes the local airport will provide a service that gets all of the required paperwork done for you so all you need to do is show up on testing day. If you’re at Vance AFB, I have provided the contact information below. Sheppard Air is another commonly used study tool that will walk you through signing up for each test.

Check out my review of some military crashpads at Little Rock, coming soon!

I hope this How to PCS + TDY cheat sheet and guide was helpful for you. If you have any comments, questions or tips of your own, please leave them in the comments below or reach out!