Commandant
2100 Second Street, S.W.
United States Coast Guard
Washington, DC 20593-0001
Staff Symbol: G-WPC-1
Phone: (202) 267-1705
COMDTINST 12570.3D
May 31 1997
COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 12570.3D
Subj: INVITATIONAL TRAVEL
Ref:
(a) Title 5, U.S. Code, Section 5701 through 5709
(b) Department of Transportation (DOT) Guiding Principles, DOT Order 1500.11
(c) Office of the Secretary of Transportation memo dtd 3 June 1994
(d) Office of the Secretary of Transportation memo dtd 30 May 1995
1.
PURPOSE. This Instruction provides guidance on the preparation and approval of invitational
travel orders (ITO's) within the Coast Guard.
2.
ACTION. Area and district commanders; commanders of maintenance and logistics
commands; commanding officers of Headquarters units, assistant commandants for
directorates, Chief Counsel, and special staff offices at Headquarters shall ensure compliance
with the provisions of this Instruction.
3.
DIRECTIVE AFFECTED. Commandant Instruction 12570.3C is canceled.
4.
BACKGROUND: Reference (a) permits the issuance of ITO's when a person travels in
connection with the official business of the U.S. Coast Guard. Because the Federal Travel
Regulation (FTR) and Department of Transportation Secretarial delegations, in references (b)
through (d), do not provide guidelines for issuance and approval of ITO's, this Instruction is
necessary.
5.
CUSTOMARY USE OF ITO's. ITO's authorize the expenditure of funds to persons with
whom the Government does not have a contractual or an employer-employee relationship.
They should be sparingly used. The long-standing, critical concern regarding potential abuse
of invitational orders has resulted in a high-level retention of approval authority and in the
need to ensure each ITO is directly related to the conduct of a Coast Guard function or
mission. Given significant budget constraints, the actual need for ITO's to meet program
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