IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 12 FEBRUARY 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080011809
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests, in effect, that he be reimbursed for an expense incurred in the storage of his household goods (HHG) and privately owned vehicle (POV) while deployed to Iraq for 15 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that at the time he was briefed by personnel at the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office - Colorado Springs (JPPSO-COS), he was told he was entitled, as a single officer, to have his HHGs and POV stored at government expense while he was deployed to Iraq. He goes on to state that at no time did anyone ever tell him that he needed weight tickets for his HHGs and it was not until he returned from deployment and took his HHGs out of storage that he discovered he would not be reimbursed for the costs he incurred to store his HHGs without weight receipts.
3. The applicant provides a letter explaining his application, a copy of an electronic mail (e-mail) indicating that reimbursement was not authorized without weight tickets, a copy of his DD Form 1351-2 (Travel Voucher or Subvoucher), a memorandum from the JPPSO-COS indicating that the applicant is authorized actual reimbursement of $2,029.00, a copy of a Nontemporary Storage (NTS) Estimate Calculator, two memoranda for record from the applicant's commander, a copy of his deployment orders, a copy of his rental agreement and transaction register for a storage unit, and a copy of his weight estimate.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant, a single chief warrant officer two aviator, while serving at Fort Carson, Colorado, received orders deploying his unit to a temporary change of station in Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on or about 22 August 2006.
2. On 1 July 2006, the applicant entered into a rental agreement with a self-storage facility in Fountain, Colorado, to store his personal property on a month to month basis. He paid the rental payments on the unit from July 2006 to 29Â November 2007.
3. In January 2008, the applicant submitted his DD Form 1351-2 for reimbursement of the NTS costs and his request was denied because he did not provide weight tickets for his HHGs.
4. The memoranda provided by the commander indicate the applicant was authorized storage of his HHGs at government expense during his deployment. They also indicate the Soldiers of his unit were given a JPPSO-COS briefing in July 2006 and they were informed to have a contract from the storage facility and invoices of monies paid through the deployment period. No instructions were given to produce weight tickets for the goods stored.
5. On 17 March 2008, an official (Air Force Lieutenant Colonel) of the JPPSO-COS authored a memorandum to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) indicating that the applicant was authorized actual reimbursement for $2,029.00.
6. On 20 May 2008, officials at the Transportation Branch Installation Management Command, West Region, Rock Island, Illinois, dispatched an e-mail indicating there were no provisions for reimbursement without weight receipts and advised the applicant to apply to this Board.
7. In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G1, which recommends that the Board direct payment for the applicant's estimated weight of 8,215 pounds of HHGs. Officials at that agency opined that in their opinion, if properly briefed, a reasonably prudent person would have provided the required weight tickets for reimbursement. The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment and he concurred with the opinion as written.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. While it appears that there was some confusion as to what was required to be reimbursed for NTS of HHG for single Soldiers deploying, it serves no useful purpose at this time to expend any further effort to determine who said what to whom or when.
2. The bottom line in this case is that the Soldier was entitled to storage of his HHGs at government expense while he was deployed and he paid the costs of the storage from his own personal funds during the time he was deployed.
3. Accordingly, he is entitled, at the very least, to be reimbursed for the amount of funds he actually expended for the costs of storing his HHGs, which appears to be $2,029.00.
4. Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to grant the applicant an exception to policy and allow payment of his actual storage costs without regard to weight tickets or to accept his weight estimate of 8,215 pounds, if that is necessary for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to pay his claim.
BOARD VOTE:
___X_____ ___X_____ ___X_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing that he was granted an exception to policy to allow his claim for reimbursement of HHG storage without regard to actual weight receipts and by
paying him the actual amount of funds expended for the costs of HHG storage in the amount of $2,029.00, based on an estimated weight of 8,215 pounds.
_______ _ XXX _______ ___
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080011809
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080011809
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