| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Jessie B. Strickland | Analyst |
| Mr. Fred N. Eichorn | Chairperson | ||
| Ms. Lana E. McGlynn | Member | ||
| Mr. Larry C. Bergquist | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That he be paid for 25 days of leave he lost at the time of his separation from the service.
APPLICANT STATES: That it was his intent to cash in 25 days of leave for the purpose of paying off some personal debts prior to separation from the service; however, he was forced out of the military because of his mandatory release date (MRD) and due to his misunderstanding of military pay regulations which state that only 60 days leave may be cashed in during a career, he lost 25 days of leave. He further states that his supervisor was uncooperative with him taking excessive days of leave and that the workload was heavy and his replacement was not scheduled to arrive until after his departure.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
He was born on 16 September 1942 and entered on active duty in the Active Guard Reserve Program (AGR) in the pay grade of E-6 on 21 September 1986, for duty as a personnel senior sergeant. He was promoted to the pay grade of E-7 on 1 November 1988 and remained on active duty through a series of continuous reenlistments.
On 14 May 2002, the Total Army Reserve Personnel Command (ARPERSCOM) published orders which directed his release from active duty (REFRAD) effective 29 September 2002, due to having reached maximum age.
On 29 September 2002, at age 60, he was REFRAD and was transferred to the Retired Reserve. He had served 19 years and 19 days of total active service and had 28 years, 10 months and 17 days of total service for pay purposes.
At the time of his REFRAD, he had accumulated 83 days of leave. He was paid for 60 days and lost 23 days of leave.
Army Regulation 600-8-10 serves as the authority for leaves and passes. It states, in pertinent part, that the leave program is designed to encourage the use of leave as it accrues rather than to accumulate a large leave balance. Soldiers who build their leave balance to the maximum level risk losing their leave should a situation occur that prevents or delays leave use. Congress has provided compensation (no more than 60 days in a military career) for soldiers who were not able to use their leave because military requirements prevented it. Soldiers will not be required to use leave immediately prior to separation simply for the purpose of reducing leave balances. On the other hand, use of leave as an extra money program defeats the intent of Congress to provide for the health and welfare of soldiers. It should not be used either as a method of compensation or as a career continuation incentive. It is specifically intended that large leave balances will not be accrued expressly for settlement upon release from active duty. Additionally, leave will not be granted that will interfere with timely processing or transition. Chapter 3 of that regulation provides the provisions for special leave accrual. The intent of special leave accrual is to provide relief to soldiers who are not allowed leave when undergoing lengthy deployments or during periods of hostility.
Department of Defense (DOD) Financial Management Regulation (Also known as the DOD Pay Manual) provides, in pertinent part, that beginning on 10 February 1976, a military member may not be paid for more than 60 days of accrued leave during a career. An exception to that provision was approved effective 2 August 1990, which allowed Reserve and Retired Component members who were called to active duty during the Persian Gulf Conflict to be paid for accrued leave over the 60-day limit.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, 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. Although it is not the intent of the Government that soldiers lose their accrued leave, soldiers are routinely denied leave due to mission essential needs. There are no guarantees that leave will always be approved or that circumstances will change that prevent one from taking leave for an extended period of time, which is an inherent risk in accumulating large sums of leave for such purposes.
3. While it is unfortunate that the applicant lost some of his accrued leave, as do many soldiers every year, he has failed to show through the evidence submitted with his application or the evidence of record that he was unjustly denied the opportunity to take leave prior to accumulating such a large leave balance.
4. The applicant’s contentions have been noted by the Board; however, the applicant simply accumulated a large leave balance before he reached his MRD and ran the risk of not being able to take it or be paid for it. This personal decision on his part does not constitute error or injustice on the part of the Department.
5. The Board understands the operational tempo of units such as his and it appreciates his dedication to his profession. However, it is also reasonable for the Board to presume that he understood the operational tempo as well and could have better planned for what was an inevitable event.
6. Notwithstanding the foregoing conclusions, there are no provisions in the applicable law that allow for payment to the applicant for accrued leave at this time under the circumstances presented.
7. 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
___lem __ __fe____ ___lb ___ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2002081435 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 2003/05/06 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 254 | 121.0200/LUMP SUM LV SETTLEMENT |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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