DoDM 1315.21 Volume 2 - Military Personnel Assignments: Outside the Continental United States Duty and Dependent Travel

Scope

DoDM 1315.21 Volume 2 sets Department procedures for OCONUS duty and dependent travel. The manual has two volumes. This volume prescribes the authorities and procedures for OCONUS duty, including how OCONUS tour lengths are established, the authorities and procedures for dependent travel, including its limits and the early return of dependents, and the guidelines for OCONUS tour length combinations.

The issuance carries the DOWM designation following the 2026 Department of War renaming. References to the same volume in the DoDM form resolve to this entry. The bare number, without a volume, also resolves here, since every portal citation of the manual points at Volume 2.

Sections

• Section 3, OCONUS duty.
  • 3.1. OCONUS tour lengths. The authorized tour lengths and tours of duty are published in the Joint Travel Regulations supplement Tour Lengths and Tours of Duty OCONUS.
  • 3.4 through 3.6. Computing OCONUS duty, determining the type of tour, and tour elections.
  • 3.7. OCONUS tour extensions, voluntary and involuntary. Paragraph 3.7.c sets the Department framework for the OCONUS Tour Extension Incentive Program under 37 U.S.C. 352 and DoDI 1340.26.
  • 3.8. Consecutive overseas tours, including in-place consecutive overseas tours (IPCOT) and intra-theater or inter-theater COTs.
• Section 4, dependent travel. Non-concurrent travel, dependent travel OCONUS and its limits, command sponsorship, early return of dependents, and foreign-born spouse relocation.
• Section 5, the tour length data sheet.

Applicability

The volume applies to the Office of the Secretary of War, the Military Departments including the Coast Guard, the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Defense Agencies, and the DoW Field Activities. It does not apply to Service members detailed to non-DoW activities under DoDI 1000.17. General and flag officers fall outside it except for the OCONUS duty and dependent travel procedures in Sections 3 and 4.

How the portal uses it

MARADMIN 450/26 cites this volume as reference (a) and points to it for IPCOT, which the message keeps separate from the Overseas Tour Extension Incentive Program. Paragraph 3.8 describes an IPCOT as agreeing, before the initial tour ends, to serve another tour within the local commuting area of the original duty station, with no PCS movement for the member.

Department framework and the Marine Corps program

Paragraph 3.7.c lets each Military Department set its own OTEIP terms inside the Department framework.

• Eligibility. The Department requires a specialty designated by the Secretary of the Military Department. MARADMIN 450/26 opens the program to every MOS and pay grade.
• Benefits. The Department authorizes four, special pay, 30 days of SR&R, 15 or 20 days of SR&R with round-trip transportation, or an annual lump sum bonus. MARADMIN 450/26 offers three, a $2,000 financial incentive in 12 installments and the two SR&R options.
• Removal after Service action. Paragraph 3.7.c.(3) continues special pay until its scheduled termination date and cancels SR&R eligibility. MARADMIN 450/26 paragraph 6.d.2 continues the prorated financial incentive until the day of departure from the OCONUS location. The portal's OTEIP pages follow the Marine Corps message.

Status

Approved 10 April 2026 by Timothy D. Dill, Assistant Secretary of War for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Effective 21 May 2026. Issued under DoDD 5124.10 and implements the policy in DoWI 1315.18. Cleared for public release.