RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        27 March 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060016739


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Gerard W. Schwartz            |     |Acting Director      |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Kenneth Wright                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Chester A. Damian             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Ernestine Fields              |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, reconsideration of her earlier
appeal to correct her military records by having the remaining debt in the
amount of $7,666.35 cancelled.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the debt has created an unforeseen
financial hardship on her.

3.  The applicant provides those documents that were submitted and
considered in her earlier application to the Board and a copy of a DA
Form 3508-R, Application for Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness,
she submitted to the Special Actions Branch, US Army Human Resources
Command (AHRC), for the cancellation of her debt.  The applicant also
submitted an updated addendum to her DD Form 149, Application for
Correction of Military Record, which had as its base the addendum she
submitted with her original application to the Board.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR20060003524 on 27 April 2006.

2.  The applicant submitted a copy of the DA Form 3508-R, she submitted to
the AHRC for consideration by this Board; however, in the addendum she
appended to her DD Form 149, which is an updated version of the same
addendum she submitted with her original request to the Board for the
cancellation of her debt in full, she continues to argue the debt has
created and continues to create an unforeseen financial hardship on her and
her family.  Her argument extends to and includes issues that were not
addressed previously by the Board.

3.  The information provided by the applicant in those sections of her
addendum to her application identified as, "Purpose, The Issue, Initiative,
and Action" are identical to those in the addendum she submitted in her
original application to the Board.

4.  That section of the addendum identified as, "Current Request," has been
updated.  In the updated version, she points out her enlisted military
occupational specialty was 74C, Telecommunications Center Operator, and was
not finance.

5.  The applicant takes exception to a comment made on page 4, paragraph 4,
of the original Record of Proceedings wherein it states, "Although the debt
was incurred through no fault of her own, it was an overpayment and
therefore the establishment of the debt was not unjust."  If, she asks, in
effect, the debt was not her fault, why is she still obligated to repay
this unforeseen debt?  In effect she is being told that because personnel
in the finance section did not do their jobs accurately, and it has been
identified that they did not do their job, she is being penalized.

6.  The applicant states, "Yes, this is an unforeseen hardship because now
she has to pay back money she cannot afford to pay and it is a direct
result of someone not doing their job."

7.  When she received her monthly pay between August 2002 and October 2003
she used what she thought was her income to pay bills, debt, and take care
of her dependents.  Presently, she needs all her pay to do the same.  She
states, she still has bills, pays debt, and takes care of her dependents.

8.  The applicant's original indebtedness to the Government was over
$22,000.00. This debt was incurred as a result of an overpayment of BAH
while she was in Korea.  The applicant stated her servicing finance office
accepted responsibility for her indebtedness and told her it was based on
an error on their part and not on the part of the applicant.  The
applicant provided no documentary evidence to support this statement.

9.  At the time the indebtedness was incurred, the applicant was serving
in the rank of staff sergeant.  She is currently a chief warrant officer
two serving at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

10.  On 26 October 2004, the Special Actions Branch, AHRC, approved
partial remission or cancellation of her debt, in the amount
of $10,477.29.  In the AHRC's response to the request for the remission or
cancellation of indebtedness, the Chief, Special Actions Branch,
determined there were no grounds to remit or cancel the remaining portion
of the debt on the basis of injustice.  A residual debt of $7,666.35 still
remains charged to the applicant.

11.  Payment of the applicant's debt has been pro-rated.  Under an
agreement to pro-rate payment of her debt, she is responsible for paying
approximately $262.00 per month towards the indebtedness.
12.  In that section of her addendum to the DD Form 149 titled, "Current
Request," the applicant provides a summary of what she states are her daily
and monthly living expenses, which include:  food, clothing, shelter
(rent), cable/internet/phone combo, water, school meals, her children's
recreational expenses, household necessities (laundry detergent, hygiene
items, cleaning supplies, etc.), weekly gasoline expenditures, and a
mortgage on a house, located not at her duty station, which was at the time
of her application, vacant.  The applicant also states she has a car note,
car insurance, renter's insurance, fire insurance on her house, payment on
a loan she took prior to her tour in Korea.  She summarizes by stating she
is having a hard time in meeting all her obligations without receiving late
or cutoff notices.  By the time she pays all her household expenses, debts,
and other obligations at the beginning of the month, there is no money left
over for emergencies or unexpected expenses that may affect her household.
She needs to use her entire monthly paycheck to pay for all of her
household bills.

13.  The applicant provided what appears to be an estimated amount she pays
toward her daily and monthly expenditures; however, no documentary evidence
(invoices, check stubs, etc.) was provided to support the amounts she now
claims to spend on each item related to her living expenses and those of
her family.

14.  A review of financial outlays listed on the applicant's DA Form 3508-R
was conducted and it revealed that $735.00 is being paid out to cover
purchases charged to at least four credit cards and for the repayment of a
loan taken to apparently consolidate her debt at an earlier time, and
another $903.00 which is being paid out for payment of a mortgage on a
house, which at the time of the applicant's application to this Board was
vacant, at a location away from her duty station.

15.  The applicant has served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and is preparing
for deployment to Iraq again.  Her pending deployment back to Iraq has put
her in an additional financial strain because she had to activate her long-
term family care plan and relocate her provider.

16.  Army Community Services (ACS) focuses a lot of its attention on
providing training and assistance in improving a Soldiers’ and Family
Members’ personal financial status and their ability to perform as informed
and responsible consumers.  The ACS provides wworkshops, seminars, and
training in other
formats, and in a variety of topics to help consumers (Soldiers and family
members) plan for the future and possibly prevent financial difficulties.
Some of the topics covered are:  checkbook writing, budgeting and spending,
identity theft, financial planning, estate planning, debt liquidation,
insurance, money management, using credit wisely, savings, and investing.

17.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-4 gives instructions for submitting and
processing applications for remission or cancellation of indebtedness to
the United States Army.  Applications must be based on injustice, hardship,
or both.  This includes debts caused by errors in pay to or on behalf of a
Soldier.

18.  AR 600-4 specifically states that Soldiers must make sure that their
financial accounts are correct.  They must review their monthly leave and
earnings statement (LES) and report errors or discrepancies to the
commander and the DAO/FAO.

19.  AR 600-4, paragraph 1-14, states that, "expenses caused by living
standards that are too high or by mishandling of funds are not a basis for
a hardship case."

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  At the time the debt was incurred, the applicant was a noncommissioned
officer in the rank of staff sergeant, with over 14 years service, assigned
for duty in the Republic of Korea.  As a staff sergeant, she was in a
position where she would have been in the normal course of her daily
activities required to counsel subordinate Soldiers on pay and other
related issues, to include allowances for quarters.  It is therefore
concluded that she knew or should have known the amount of BAH that she was
entitled to, especially in her overseas assignment situation.

2.  The applicant was overpaid BAH in the amount of over $22,000.00.  The
applicant stated her servicing finance office accepted responsibility for
her indebtedness and told her it was based on an error on their part
and not on the part of the applicant.  The applicant provided no
documentary evidence to support this statement.

3.  The applicant applied for a remission or cancellation of her debt and
AHRC approved a partial remission or cancellation of $10,477.29, of the
debt.  In the AHRC's response to the request for the remission or
cancellation of indebtedness,
the Chief, Special Actions Branch, AHRC, determined there were no grounds
to remit or cancel the remaining portion of the debt on the basis of
injustice.  A residual debt of $7,666.35 still remains charged to the
applicant.  The applicant is requesting remission or cancellation of the
remaining balance due of $7,666.35 based on hardship reasons.

4.  A review of financial obligations and outlays listed on the applicant's
DA Form 3508-R was conducted and it revealed that $735.00 is being paid out
to cover purchases charged to at least four credit cards and for the
repayment of a loan taken to apparently consolidate her debt at an earlier
time, and another $903.00 which is being paid out for payment of a mortgage
on a house, which at the time of the applicant's application to this Board
was vacant, at a location away from her duty station.  These payments
amount to over $1,600.00 on a monthly basis.

5.  AR 600-4 states that, "expenses caused by living standards that are too
high or by mishandling of funds are not a basis for a hardship case."

6.  The applicant is advised to avail herself of training programs and
other assistance available through the ACS at her post or duty station.
The training and other assistance she receives can help her in overcoming
present financial difficulties, help her to improve her personal financial
status, help her in her ability to perform as an informed and responsible
consumer, and help her to plan for the future and possibly prevent future
financial difficulties.

7.  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.

8.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the
applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__KLW__  __E.F.___  ___CD_ _  DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20060003524 dated 27 April 2006.




                                  _____Kenneth Wright _____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060016739                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070327                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.0000                                |
|2.                      |128.1000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |

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