To request government-funded lodging for drill weekends, get the Army LIK lodging-in-kind form from your Unit Administrator, complete it with your personal information, home-to-drill distance, and Battle Assembly dates, and turn it in — signed by you and your commander, along with a signed Soldier’s Statement of Understanding — at least 30 days before the drill. There is no single Army-wide form number: each unit or command issues its own version of the request sheet, so the first step is always asking your Unit Administrator or Training NCO for the current copy.
Who Can Use LIK
Federal law lets Reservists traveling to inactive-duty training more than 50 miles from home use Department of Defense billeting on the same terms as active-duty members on orders.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 12604 – Billeting in Department of Defense Facilities: Reserves Attending Inactive-Duty Training Army Reserve policy narrows that to Troop Program Unit soldiers whose residence of record sits more than 50 miles from the Battle Assembly location and who are not already receiving travel or per diem for the same period.
The 50 miles is measured from your official address in your personnel file, not wherever you happen to be staying. Live closer than that and you’re expected to commute, unless your commander approves an exception for something like severe weather. You also cannot draw LIK and travel reimbursement for the same drill; it is one or the other.
Getting the Right Form
Ask your Unit Administrator, Training NCO, or unit clerk for the current LIK request sheet. Some units call it a “Lodging-In-Kind Request.” Others fold it into a broader drill sign-up. Whatever the layout, request it during the drill before the month you need a room, because the submission window closes fast.
You will also need a Soldier’s Statement of Understanding. This is a separate document that spells out the cancellation rules and your liability if you no-show. Pick up both papers at the same time so you can turn the whole package in together. Units routinely refuse to process a request that arrives without the signed statement.
What Goes on the Form
Layouts vary, but the fields are consistent. Have this information ready:
- Full legal name and current rank as they appear in your personnel records.
- Unit designation — the unit identification code or full unit name.
- Home address matching your official residence of record: street, city, state, ZIP. If the address on file is out of date, correct the personnel record first. A mismatch can get the request denied on the spot.
- One-way mileage from your home of record to the training site. Most units require the calculation to come from the Defense Table of Official Distances or a standardized mapping tool such as Google Maps. Some forms also ask for round-trip.
- Drill dates: the exact check-in and check-out dates. Some forms ask whether the request is for a regular Battle Assembly, a Rescheduled Training (RST), or an additional training period.
- A home number and a cell or work number so the unit can reach you about reservation changes.
- Your signature and date, plus your commander’s signature and date. The commander’s signature confirms eligibility and authorizes the government to fund the room.
Copy the drill dates directly from the current training calendar and check them twice. A one-day mismatch can create an unauthorized billing situation that you may end up paying for yourself. If you know you will arrive late on check-in day, note that on the form or tell your Unit Administrator so the hotel does not release your room.
Submitting the Request
USARC policy sets the floor at 30 days before the Battle Assembly. Your unit may set an earlier internal cutoff to give the Unit Administrator time to build the rooming list and coordinate with the contracted hotel. Turn the completed form and signed Statement of Understanding in to the Unit Administrator or designated representative. Do not contact the hotel directly.
The Unit Administrator verifies that your address is more than 50 miles from the drill site, confirms you are not drawing travel pay for the same period, checks the paperwork, and rolls your request into the consolidated list sent up for funding approval. The UA also keeps an approved copy for audit. Once reservations are confirmed, you will get the hotel name, address, and any special check-in instructions through your chain of command, official email, or a posted roster.
What to Bring at Check-In
Bring a valid government-issued ID. DoD lodging policy requires every guest 18 or older to show identification at check-in; a Common Access Card is the cleanest option, but a military retiree ID or a state driver’s license also works.2Department of Defense. DoD Instruction 1015.11 – DoD Lodging Policy – Section 4: Guests and Identification The front desk will match your name against the master rooming list the unit provided.
Expect to be asked for a personal credit or debit card for incidentals: phone calls, room service, minibar, parking, and anything else outside the government contract. The room and applicable taxes are paid by the government; incidentals are yours. If you cannot put a card on file, tell your Unit Administrator ahead of time. Some facilities will refuse to check you in without one.
Cancellations and No-Shows
If you will not use the reservation, cancel through your Unit Administrator right away. Do not call the hotel yourself; the booking sits under the unit’s government account. DoD lodging policy lets a hotel charge the first night against the guarantee when a guest with a confirmed reservation neither cancels nor shows up.3Department of Defense. DoD Instruction 1015.11 – DoD Lodging Policy – Section 3: Reservations That charge normally hits the unit’s funding, and command tends to take it seriously.
The Statement of Understanding you signed puts the consequences in writing. If you fail to cancel a room you will not use, you can be held personally liable for the charge and removed from the LIK program. Repeated no-shows can also cost the command rooms in future months. If anything about your attendance changes, tell the Unit Administrator as early as possible.
Mistakes That Get Requests Denied
Most LIK problems trace back to a small set of avoidable errors:
- An outdated address on file. If you moved closer to the drill site and never updated your record, an approved request can be flagged later in an audit. If you moved farther away but your file still shows the old address, you may be denied lodging you actually qualify for.
- Turning the form in after the unit’s cutoff. Once the rooming list is compiled, the UA cannot add you.
- Wrong drill dates. Copying from the wrong month’s calendar creates a reservation that does not match the actual Battle Assembly.
- Skipping the Statement of Understanding. Without it on file, the UA may not process the request at all.
- Forgetting to cancel. Depending on your commander’s policy, a single no-show can drop you from the program for the rest of the fiscal year.
If you decide to skip LIK for a given weekend — staying with family nearby, for instance — still tell the Unit Administrator so the room is not reserved and billed against the unit’s budget for nothing.