| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mrs. Nancy Amos | Analyst |
| Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr. | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Celia L. Adolphi | Member | |
| Mr. John T. Meixell | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That he be reimbursed all the pay he has forfeited to the present to include interest.
APPLICANT STATES: He married on 3 February 1997. When he and his wife went to finance to turn in their marriage paperwork, he disclosed all information about paying child support. He was informed that he was still entitled to basic allowance for housing (BAH) at the without dependents rate as well as BAH differential (BAH-DIFF) because he was paying court-ordered child support. He never drew BAH at the with dependents rate. He was provided erroneous information at Fort Campbell, KY and then the BAH code was changed. This information was not provided to him or his unit in order to make the necessary correction until three years later. He believes this debt was not due to his own fault and he should not be held liable to repay the Government $7,200. He provides an 8 June 2000 memorandum from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Fort Sill, OK office and a 26 December 2000 letter from himself to “To whom it may concern” as supporting evidence.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
He enlisted in the Regular Army on 17 September 1986. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant, E-6 on 1 April 1993 and to Sergeant First Class E-7 on 1 April 2001.
Apparently around April 2000, the applicant incurred a debt of $6,678.31 as a result of an overpayment of BAH and applied for remission or cancellation of indebtedness based upon injustice. On 8 June 2000, DFAS, Fort Sill, OK prepared a memorandum for the U. S. Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) recommending disapproval of his request. That office noted that “The ‘child in custody’ block of the DA Form 5960 does not contain a child in custody of service member election area. It states child in custody and the blocks identify member, spouse, former spouse, and other (copy attached).” It noted that he drew the with dependent rate of BAH at the grandfather code prior to being married to another service member on 3 February 1997. His BAH rate was changed to code I (soldier married to soldier) and BAH-DIFF (paying court-ordered child support effective the date of marriage). Conversation with DFAS, Fort Sill, OK on 6 February 2002 revealed that the Authorization to Start, Stop, or Change Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ) and/or Variable Housing Allowance (VHA), DA Form 5960, which should have been attached to the applicant’s remission of indebtedness packet was no longer available (the 2000 files which should have had the remission packet having been destroyed a short while ago). The point of contact on the 8 June 2000 memorandum could not remember
exactly what was in block 4 (“child in custody” block) of the subject DA Form 5960. She also stated that the applicant’s BAH code was actually changed, to be effective the date of his marriage, on 20 April 2000 and was most likely the result of a routine audit.
In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Special Actions Branch, PERSCOM. That office stated that there was a lack of evidence to support injustice and disapproved his remission application. That office further stated that reconsideration should be given to his request if he could produce the DA Form 5960. On 6 February 2002, that office stated that if the applicant can produce the DA Form 5960 and has not repaid the debt, he could resubmit his packet to that office.
A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment or rebuttal. He did not respond within the given time frame.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, and advisory opinion it is concluded:
1. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.
2. The applicant has submitted insufficient evidence for the Board to conclude that an injustice has occurred in this case. The applicant has not provided the DA Form 5960 in question. The comment made by the DFAS, Fort Sill, OK office concerning block 4 of this DA Form 5960 is unclear to the Board. It could mean he checked no item in this block or he checked all items. He states that he was never paid BAH at the with-dependents rate but provides no leave and earnings statements to verify this.
3. Even if the applicant had completed the DA Form 5960 correctly and the finance office had processed it incorrectly, the applicant had the use of the extra pay he received over a period of three years. The Board does not find it unreasonable to expect him to repay monies he was not entitled to receive once the error was discovered.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__rvo___ __cla___ __jtm___ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2001062147 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020228 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (DENY) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 128.10 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002076561C070215
On 18 April 2002, the Special Actions Branch, U. S. Total Army Personnel Command disapproved the applicant's request for remission or cancellation of his indebtedness, apparently based upon the applicant's failure to inform finance that he was married to another service member who also was receiving BAH. All told, the pertinent parts of the chapter governing BAH is about 27 pages long. DISCUSSION : Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110004019
The applicant provides: * Memorandum, dated 10 February 2011 * Transmittals of Pay and Other Documents, dated 1 November and 20 October 2010 * Memorandum, dated 27 October 2010 * Memorandum, dated 15 October 2010, from his Battalion Commander * DA Form 3508 (Application for Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness) * Parent's Worksheet for Child Support Amount * DA Forms 5960, dated 3 October and 20 October 2008 * Sworn statement, dated 1 October 2010 * Memorandum, dated 4 October 2010 *...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120014144
Finance instructed me to submit the request and if I was not entitled to receive FSA, Finance would not authorize funding. The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request for full remission or cancellation of a debt in the amount of $28,554.80. The available records show the applicant received erroneous payments of FSA, COLA, HDP, and BAH.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110013839
His pay records at DFAS show he received BAH at the with dependent rate as follows: * 2007 $954.70 * 2008 $1,058.70 * 2009 $1,138.70 11. Single members who are authorized to reside off base at government expense who pay child support are entitled to the full, with-dependent rate housing allowance. Although single members who are authorized to reside off base at government expense and who pay child support are entitled to the full, with-dependent rate housing allowance, the applicant in...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140003538
Even though they were married, her spouse continued to receive basic allowance for housing differential (BAH-Diff) based on court-ordered child support and she was told by her unit S-1 that she was entitled to receive BAH with dependents. She provides: * Self-authored statement * Final Decree of Divorce * Spouse's Judgment Summary, dated 15 May 2003 * Applicant's and spouse's Master Military Pay Account (MMPA) * Memoranda, Subject: Outstanding Debt for Overpayment of BAH, dated 4 November...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2004 | 20040007904C070208
He was told by field grade officer(s) at the Camp Doha, Kuwait FSO (Financial Service Office) he was entitled to BAH-S. c. Finance officers could not agree on the proper interpretation of pay and allowances regulations as they applied to divorced Soldiers and the issue of dependents. The applicant provides: a. The applicant believes because he has a dependent child and pays court- ordered child support to his ex-wife, he should have been entitled to BAH-S while occupying Government...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120017641
The applicant states she was informed by the Fort Campbell Defense Military Pay Office, Fort Campbell, KY, that the BAH was not corrected and she had a BAH overpayment debt. However, there is no evidence in her available records and she has not provided evidence which shows the Fort Campbell Defense Military Pay Office was in error when it approved BAH for her based on her DA Form 5960. However, there is no evidence in the applicant's available record that shows the Fort Campbell Defense...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002076096C070215
In support of his application, he submits copies of his: DA Form 3508-R (Application for Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness) with supporting documents; a memorandum from Chief, Special Actions Branch, Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM); a notice of indebtedness from the installation finance office with supporting documents; an e-mail notification; and a copy of his May 2002 leave and earnings statement (LES). The letter also informed the applicant that $2,348.60 of the debt...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100022844
Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). The applicant provides: * a letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria, VA (HRC-ALX) * a DD Form 1172 (Application for Uniformed Services Identification Card - DEERS Enrollment * a DD Form 93-E (Record of Emergency Data) * an SGLV-8286 (E) (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Election and Certificate) * a DA Form 3508 (Application for Remission or Cancellation of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2003 | 2003086367C070212
He states that if he were not authorized to receive the BAH-DIFF pay, the finance office in Germany should not have authorized the payment. In his supporting statement, the unit commander also indicated that other soldiers were receiving BAH-DIFF for the same reasons as the applicant, and it was the opinion of finance officials in Germany that the applicant was entitled to the allowance. Therefore, Board concludes that it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s record to show his...