Official Representation Funds (ORF)

Official Representational Funds ,(ORFs) outlines the official DoD policy concerning ORFs. It has been periodically changed only to reflect the increasing dollar limits for gifts and mementos, and to change the list of DoD officials eligible for official courtesies on official visits to the field (accommodates internal reorganization within DoD). Authorized expenditures fall into the categories of community relations, international relations, public relations, DoD Protocol, and other expenditures. The following list reflects those DoD officials who may be officially hosted on official visits to the field. Note that this list may change due to internal reorganization of DoD at any time. Also note that the directive specifically mentions visits to the field, which includes all Air Force installations. Since the Pentagon is not considered an Air Force installation, DoD officials may not be officially hosted by HQ USAF senior personnel stationed at the Pentagon.

• Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense
• Under Secretaries of Defense
• Director, Defense Research and Engineering
• Assistant Secretaries of Defense
• Comptroller of the Department of Defense
• General Counsel of the Department of Defense
• Inspector General of the Department of Defense
• Director, Operational Test and Evaluation
• Assistants to the Secretary of Defense
• Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Director, Joint Staff
• Unified Commanders
• Deputy Commanders-in-Chief, Europe
• Secretaries, Under Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and General Counsels of the Military Departments
• Chiefs and Vice Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Air Force
• Chief and Vice Chief of Naval Operations
• Commandant and Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
• Directors of the Defense Agencies
• President, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences

ORF costs of an event honoring any of these authorized individuals may include members of their official party and other essential invitees. Guest lists must conform to the ratios of DoD personnel to non-DoD personnel discussed later in this chapter. Do not authorized separate events to honor spouses of visiting officials unless they are related to the official purpose of the visit.

The Secretary of the Air Force then allocates these funds to the MAJCOM commanders, who further distribute them to the bases based on mission requirements and funds availability. Secretary of the Air Force Order Number 530.4 delineates Air Force policy for the Secretariat and the Air Force on Contingency Funds and designates that the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force is responsible for the overall management of the contingency funds. There are strict limits on the amounts allocated to the MAJCOMs and bases, and the purposes for which they may be used. Exceptions to some policies are possible (maximum ratios when entertaining non-DoD guests, use of funds for change of command ceremonies, etc.), but these require approval from the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force.

This order requires the advance approval of all requests for official representation funds by the appropriate delegated authority. This advance approval is a key element in the funding process. All funds must be approved ahead of time. You, as a protocol official, cannot obligate the Air Force to spend money. If you spend money without prior approval, the Air Force is under no obligation to pay, and you could end up paying expenses from your personal funds.

Air Force Instruction 65-603 dtd 24 August 2011 implements Air Force Policy Directive 65-2, Management Control Program, and governs the use of official representation funds to all Air Force activities using ORF. It incorporates and further delineates the policy established in DoD and the Secretariat. This is the Air Force policy on the use of official representation funds.

Occasionally, you may have a foreign visit sponsored by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the Air Force (see the chapter on Visits for more information on conducting a distinguished visitor or "DV" visit). Normally, these visitors will be accompanied by a DoD escort officer (otherwise known as the "bag person") empowered to pay for certain entertainment and meals. The DoD escort draws the funds to pay for those events from his ORF account in Washington, DC. These events are straight forward from a funding perspective: the DoD escort will ask for your suggestions about local dining and entertainment to include local invitees and then tell you how much they can spend. You'll make the arrangements and the DoD escort will pay the bills. The only paperwork required is a written receipt presented for payment (recommend the DoD escort pay the bills directly as they occur to avoid out-of-pocket expenses on your part -- this may not always be practical).

At other times, you'll have DVs who qualify for contingency funds or your commander will want to host a social event with invitees who can be entertained with contingency funds. In these cases, you will be responsible for completing all the paperwork -- your local Financial Management (FM) folks can help you with what is required. AFI 65-603 provides very specific guidelines on who can be entertained with contingency funds and what types of entertainment and functions are authorized. Here are a few highlights, but as mentioned earlier, always consult AFI 65-603:

• Authorized categories of entertainment: Community Relations, International Relations, Public Relations, DoD Protocol, Other Expenditures (most frequently funded items: meals, alcohol, mementos, amenities/refreshments).

• Who may be entertained (see AFI 65-603 for complete list):
  • Distinguished foreign or U.S. citizens whose rank, position, function, or stature warrant extension of official courtesies by the U.S. Government.
  • Certain U.S. Federal, state, and other local officials and other distinguished or prominent citizens who have made a substantial contribution to the Nation or DoD, including the local community and members of the news media on certain occasions. Members and professional staff personnel of the Congress are included.
  • Certain senior DoD officials, including the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the JCS; CINCs; Service Chiefs of Staff and their Deputies; Secretaries, Under Secretaries, and Assistant Secretaries of the Department of Defense and military departments.
  • When honoring guests from outside the DoD, observe the following ratios of DoD personnel (including spouses and escorts) to non-DoD guests:
    • Parties of less than 30 persons, not more than 80% should be DoD personnel.
    • Parties of 30 or more persons, not more than 50% should be DoD personnel.

• NOTE: Advance fund requests must justify and itemize proposed expenditures, identify the category of entertainment, include a proposed guest list with position or title of invitees, date of the event, and the ratios of DoD to non-DoD personnel. After the event, you must provide a revised guest list of actual attendance as part of the accounting justification.
• The question of ratios becomes a huge problem for the protocol person making up the guest list, especially for larger local civic functions over 30 people. You have no idea how many non-DoD or DoD personnel will accept your invitations. What happens when your event is over and you don't attain the proper ratios? The answer falls within the intent of your event and your best approximation of acceptances, perhaps based on past statistics. Indicate your intentions in your initial fund request. Deviations of more than 5% from maximum DoD participants paid from ORF require advance approval from the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and must be explained in the after-event accounting.
• Guidance from HQ USAF regarding retired DoD personnel, retired general officers and their spouses, and retired military personnel is to treat them in the non-DoD category.
• Mementos are authorized for certain recipients, but cannot exceed $245 in aggregate cost. Personnel drawing a U.S. Government paycheck cannot receive mementos funded by ORFs. See MEMENTOs.