IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  29 December 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100011849 


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 that he be granted an extension on the time he was authorized to make his final move upon retirement.

2.  The applicant states that he retired from active duty under the umbrella of the Wounded Warrior project in October 2008 while still under the care of physicians and on many medications.  He goes on to state that while transferring out of the service he requested an extension of travel by writing his request on the back of his orders and turned it in during out-processing and he could very well have been told what the process was but he does not remember.  He continues by stating that in October 2009 he requested an extension and it was denied and he was told to apply to the Board.  He also states that he is still within the 5 years of extensions that are allowed and it is his intent to sell his home and move to the Mid-West.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and a copy of his retirement orders.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 21 October 2002 the applicant, who was a United States Army Reserve  Special Forces Noncommissioned Officer, was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He was promoted to the pay grade of E-8 on 1 November 2003.

2.  On 30 October 2008, he was retired and was transferred to the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) with a 60% disability rating effective 31 October 2008. 

3.  The applicant’s retirement orders specified in additional instructions that he was authorized up to 1 year to complete selection of a home and complete travel.

4.  On 23 December 2009, the applicant submitted a request for an extension of his transportation entitlements to the installation transportation office (ITO) which forwarded the request to the Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G4 who disapproved his request due to the fact that his entitlement had expired before he applied.

5.  In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the G4 which opines, in effect, that the applicant’s orders were clear as to his entitlements and that he was afforded the opportunity to ask questions during his separation briefing if he did not understand.  Additionally, that office did not have the authority to retroactively reinstate an expired entitlement and essentially recommended that the applicant apply to the Board.  The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment and to date no response has been received by the staff of the Board.

6.  Volume 1 (Uniformed Service Personnel) of the Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) contains basic statutory regulations concerning official travel and transportation of members of the Uniformed Services.  Paragraphs U5130, U5230, and U5365-F contain the policy and procedure pertaining to the shipment of household goods (HHG) to a home of selection (HOS) by uniformed service personnel upon retirement.  In effect, these paragraphs authorize a member travel and transportation allowances to an HOS by the member from his last permanent duty station (PDS) upon retirement.  They state, in pertinent part, that a member on active duty is entitled to travel and transportation allowances to a home selected by the member from the last PDS upon retirement.  They also establish time limitations for shipment of HHG and state, in pertinent part, that travel must be completed within 1 year from the active service termination date.

7.  Extension provisions to the 1-year time limit are also provided for deserving cases under the Secretarial Process.  This process allows for extensions based on an unexpected event beyond the member's control that prevents movement to an HOS within the specified time limit.  An extension of the time limit may be authorized by the Secretarial Process if it is in the best interest of the service or substantially to the benefit of the member and not costly or otherwise adverse to the service.  These extensions are approved for the specific period of time that the member anticipates is needed to complete the move, and if additional time is required, the member may request a further extension.  Paragraph U5012-I of Volume 1 of the JFTR provides the policy on restrictions to time limit extensions and states, in pertinent part, that a written time limit extension that includes an explanation of the circumstances justifying the extension may be approved for a specific additional time period using the Secretarial Process.  However, extensions under this process will not be authorized if it extends travel and transportation allowances for more than 6 years from the separation/retirement date.  These JFTR provisions and time limitations for the shipment of HHG were also in effect at the time of the applicant’s retirement.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for reinstatement and an extension of his retirement transportation entitlements was carefully considered.

2.  The JFTR does indicate that retirement transportation and travel entitlements will be used within 1 year of retirement; however, it also provides for extensions of this entitlement in 1-year increments up to 5 additional years, or a total of 6 years.  While it is clear that the applicant failed to submit a request for extension in a timely manner, it is presumed that had the applicant filed his extension request on time, it would have been granted.

3.  It is clear that the only reason for denying the applicant's extension request was his failure to submit the request in a timely manner.  Although the applicant failed to timely file a request for extension of his travel and transportation entitlements, it would be appropriate and serve the interest of justice to correct his record to show he was granted the necessary 1-year extensions of his earned and authorized retirement travel and transportation entitlement through 30 October 2011 in order to allow his move to a designated retirement location at Government expense.

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 he was granted the necessary 1-year extensions through 30 October 2011 of his earned and authorized retirement travel and transportation entitlement in order to allow his move to a designated retirement location at Government expense and by reimbursing him the authorized amount if his move has already been accomplished at his own expense.  If the move has not been accomplished, the applicant is cautioned that he must submit future extension requests (i.e., another 1-year extension for the period ending             30 October 2011 and separate requests for the periods ending in 2012 through 2015 through normal transportation office channels and are subject to government approval.   It is recommended that he submit future extension requests not later than 60 days before his entitlement is to expire (i.e., not later than 30 August 2011, and the same for any subsequent years).




      __________X______________
                 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)                                         AR20100011849





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100011849



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