Can anyone explain to me how travel/lodging reimbursement is working for National Guard?

Some confusion between travel and conditions of the billet you're in. A lot of Reserves have to travel long distance on their own dime. If you want the pay billet, there you go. However when having to travel in performance of your official duties, the NG, Reserves, Active, etc. all have to follow the JTR. So I'd recommend every SM have a basic working knowledge of the JTR, what it pays for and what it doesn't. Some S-1 shops purposely put weird endorsements on orders trying to circumvent the Reg. That's not allowed and your IG would be interested in hearing about it. So it's legal for you to take no cost permissive orders, but you can refuse them too. They can't force you to travel on Government business on your own dime. Had a couple cases where I found a unit had a senior ENL who'd do equipment certifications. So he was directed to "drill" by driving one month to San Diego, one month to Seattle, one month to Texas; you get the idea. We canned their XO and S1 on that one and would have the Skipper but he was there only a couple of weeks. Never fear, the ex Skipper found it wise to retire immediately.

We used to get a free hotel room Friday and Saturday night for home station drills if you lived 70 miles or more from the armory. Alas, Illinois is out of money and that is no longer an option. We are always welcome to crash at the armory.

Current regulations (NGR 600-200, 4-7) state that you cannot be involuntarily assigned to a unit that is outside reasonable commuting distance as defined in AR 135-91, 5-5. It states that you can be assigned at your state's leisure to a unit up to 50 miles from your Home of Record. If they assign you to a unit 50-100 miles from your Home of Record, they must provide you lodging and meals (keep in mind this will likely be your own little plot of land on the drill floor and an MRE). Going back to NGR 600-200, 4-7...if the state wishes to assign you farther than reasonable commuting distance (100 miles from the AR), you must agree to it on paper. They will still owe you meals and lodging, but it will likely be the same conditions described above.

All of that being said, you will have to eat the mileage.........until...TAX SEASON! That's right. As a member of the Guard or Reserves, you get a deduction based on the number of miles you had to drive your POV in a calendar year to fulfill your reserve commitment.

I can't speak for your state, but ours did away with lodging in kind some time ago. When I drilled at a distance, I went down the night before and slept on the drill floor. I now drill locally, but guys drive from as far as 3-4 hours away. They all spend the night at the armory, and drive on their own dime.