Anyone else have issues with DTS?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:12:26 -0400

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2016 11:13 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:13:52 -0400

Ya! I just did my first DTS authorization and signed it but it won't let me do the second authorization.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2016 11:16 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:16:23 -0400

I did Key Resolve in 2013. Filed my DTS and they overpaid me. took it back out of my drill pay. Last September I got a notice saying they had miscalculated the overpayment and they owed me money and I needed to file an amendment. No big deal. Then in November I get two notices within 5 minutes of each other saying the same thing, both had different amounts. Filed an amendment to the amendment. Yesterday I got two more notices, again within 5 minutes of each other and again for different amounts. So I get to file an amendment to the amendment to the amendment.

Response by Cpl Ryan Minson made Apr 1 at 2016 11:19 AM

Cpl Ryan Minson — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:19:02 -0400

What type of issues are you having with DTS?

Response by SSG Ed Mikus made Apr 1 at 2016 11:24 AM

SSG Ed Mikus — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:24:00 -0400

here is my favorite pictograph on DTS use

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2016 11:29 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:29:45 -0400

after 4 months I finally learned my way around. I received lots of help though.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2016 12:19 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:19:17 -0400

there are always issues with DTS , DTMS too LOL

Response by MSgt Stephen Council made Apr 1 at 2016 1:50 PM

MSgt Stephen Council — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:50:08 -0400

LTC Private RallyPoint Member I think the better question would be: is there anyone out there who hasn't had issues with the Devils Travel System?

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2016 4:29 PM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 16:29:10 -0400

DTS is the greatest system in the world. We did a study at our last base on this system. Prior to DTS we had 2 full time workers managing orders generation and travel vouchers. That's 80 man-hours a week. On average, our base wasted order 95-145 man-hours (accounting for all TDY's and deployments and PCS) across the base a week on DTS and DTS related problems. With that being said, this number dropped to 74-96 after manning cuts and TDY restrictions.

Response by MAJ Javier Rivera made Apr 1 at 2016 8:19 PM

MAJ Javier Rivera — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 20:19:24 -0400

Who doesn't? Particularly when each MACOM have its unique SOP

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2016 8:22 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 20:22:14 -0400

Hate DTS. It is NOT user friendly in the least.

Response by SSgt Mark Lines made Apr 1 at 2016 9:48 PM

SSgt Mark Lines — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 21:48:03 -0400

Sir, having spent several years with DTS as an Approving Official or as an ODTA, I have never known anyone who has not had problems with DTS. This includes myself. EDIT - I see you posted your problem in a later post, I will look at it and see if there is some advice I can give you to get answers.

(RANT) From interface changes that make no sense, DTS using outdated travel regulations, to users just not wanting to learn how to use it, DTS was nothing but a nightmare for me. "But you got training in it to be the ODTA and the AO." people would say. True, if you call an out dated power point presentation that did not match up with DTS's own website training. I would give the Marines a Power Point print out with exactly what they needed to do for their orders and vouchers, and it would still get messed up. (END RANT)

Response by SSG Patricia King made Apr 2 at 2016 12:22 AM

SSG Patricia King — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 00:22:06 -0400

I am a DTS level 10 (reviewer). Please feel free to PM me and I can help you (and anyone else struggling) in the future.

A sign hangs on my wall with my rules of DTS. Rule number 1 states "the only person who hates DTS more than you is me." The system is tricky, but with a little help I think we can get you where you are trying to go and get you paid when you are done.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2016 12:52 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 00:52:33 -0400

Sir, I think you worded it wrong. It should be who haven't had an issue with DTS. I don't know a person who hasn't had an issue with it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2016 10:24 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 10:24:01 -0400

It took me 2 months to get paid for 2 weeks of training... I finally paid my GOV CC off myself so that I didn't have to take the hit. When I got a call from my commander about delinquency, I gave her hell bc once they got my on orders the pressure was off and the help with DTS evaporated. No support what so ever!

Response by PO3 Rick Kundiger made Apr 5 at 2016 9:09 AM

PO3 Rick Kundiger — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 09:09:33 -0400

Thankfully I no longer have to use DTS. I hated that system. It had a maddeningly non-intuitive UI, screens and tabs which didn't seem to be in any particular order, subscreens and backend screens which were hard to find when you needed them, archaic error messages (or no error messages at all), and so on.

I see someone posted that it saved man-hours to use DTS. Personally, I don't believe this. I remember when we cut over from having a person do orders and voucher processing to DTS. That person did spend perhaps 40 hours a week doing these travel related things as their primary job and when DTS came online they didn't have to do that part anymore. But that job wasn't eliminated. Instead they spent their time processing DTS support calls and complaints. So, there was no real savings there.

Additionally, DTS would take hours out of my day. Didn't matter if I was the traveller or the approver. I was a GS-13 when DTS came online at my agency, and subsequently a GS14 and "15" (NSPS equivalent), and I was one of 9 Directors and each directorate had between 2-3 branches. Each hour spent by a GS13-15 doing DTS pays for about quarter or a third of the GS9s daily pay. I know I spent more than 4 hours a week reviewing, approving, submitting, kicking back, re-reviewing, etc... DTS travel requests and vouchers for my various branches and their employees. Again, I was one 0f 9 Directors and some directorates travelled much more than mine.

So, in the end, I am quite sure that many more $$ were spent on GS13-15 man hours processing things in DTS than was spent on a GS9 or two to do everything properly the first time.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 20 at 2016 6:21 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 18:21:00 -0400

DTS is as effective as the people running it. I think it's great and much better than the old system. The downside is that most commands don't know or have a process in place to make it run efficiently. It's always a reaction to everyone and money issues are a plague.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2018 12:51 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 May 2018 12:51:33 -0400

DTS will be the number one reason I get out. Go ahead and judge me. This is a fight that doesn't seem to be worth it. The crazy thing is is that if you gave this to a private software company they would be able to come up with something simple, intuitive that flows through each screen like milk chocolate being poured on your ice cream sundae on a Saturday afternoon. What do we get? A car wreck with no insurance and two dead pedestrians.