IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	 28 April 2011 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110006773 


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.  Through a Member of Congress, the applicant requests to collect 60 days of pay and benefits for Post Deployment Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA).  

2.  The applicant states he has been trying to negotiate with the Department of Defense (DOD) bureaucracy for six months to collect 60 days pay and benefits owed under the Army’s PDMRA program.  He claims the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) informed him in March that payment of PDMRA had been stopped and his only recourse was to be called to active duty to be eligible to recoup this benefit.  

3.  The applicant provides a Congressional Inquiry packet in support of his request.  

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The record shows this Board recommended 60 days of PDMRA be authorized the applicant in Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Docket number AR20100027698 on 14 December 2010.  The intent of the Board action was to authorize the applicant the use of the earned PDMRA during his next qualifying deployment/mobilization.  

2.  Information received from DFAS in January 2011, in regard to PDMRA decisions of the Board and specifically in this case, confirmed that based on Board recommendations in PDMRA cases, DFAS was providing monetary compensation as a result of recommendations from State Military Departments of the Army National Guard (ARNG). 

3.  The intent of the Board in the original recommendation in this case, as well as in all PDMRA cases, was to provide affected members the opportunity to use authorized PDMRA days upon their next qualifying deployment/mobilization, not to provide monetary compensation.  

4.  The ABCMR, upon discovery that monetary compensation was being provided contrary to the governing law and regulation, directed DFAS to cease payment on any pending PDMRA cases.  Those pending cases are being identified and the Board will issue Supplemental proceedings authorizing the use of the PDMRA during the next qualifying deployment/mobilization and that prohibits monetary compensation.  In the case of those that had already been completed and final action taken, the ABCMR determined the rules of administrative finality applied to the Board decisions already completed.  

5.  The following are the governing authority documents for PDMRA:

a.  Secretary of Defense Memorandum. Utilization of the Total Force, dated 
19 January 2007, directed a program be established to recognize members who are required to mobilize or deploy with a frequency beyond policy established rotation goals;

	b.  Under Secretary of Defense Memorandum, Programs to Support Utilization of the Total Force, dated 18 April 2007, established the PDMRA program in response to the Secretary of Defense directive in his 19 January 2007 memorandum; and 

	c.  ALARACT Message 173/2007, dated August 2007, contained the Army’s PDMRA implementation guidance. 

6.  The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), section 604 provided special authority to monetarily compensate Soldiers who were REFRAD and not able to use PDMRA during the period between PDMRA authorization by the Secretary of Defense on 19 January 2007, and publication of the Army’s PDMRA implementation guidance on 18 August 2007.  This authority expired on
28 October 2010.  

7.  Department of the Army Personnel Policy Guidance (PPG) contains guidance on the PDMRA program in paragraph 8-10i.  It states PDMRA is designed to give extra time off to Reservists and members of the National Guard to compensate them for too little dwell time at home between deployments.  PDMRA days are also available to Active Component (AC) Soldiers who have deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, or with certain theater units and other areas as determined by the Secretary of the Army or his designated representative.  

8.  The PPG also contains guidance on Reserve Component (RC) creditable mobilizations/deployments.  These include involuntary mobilization/deployment under Title 10, USC, sections 12301(a), 12302, or 12304; or voluntary qualifying mobilizations under 12301(d).  To qualify a 12301(d) period of duty for PDMRA, the Soldier must provide a leave and earnings statement showing Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger pay to verify period of boots-on-the- ground (BOG) in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Kuwait.   

9.  PPG guidance on PDMRA usage states RC Soldiers may use accrued PDMRA during any authorized R&R leave period, or during current mobilization order/authorized extension of current mobilization order.  Soldiers unable to utilize accrued PDMRA days during their current mobilization order may be voluntarily retained on active duty under the provisions of Title 10 USC section 12301(d), Contingency Operations-Active Duty for Operational Support orders (CO-ADOS), to utilize accrued PDMRA days.  No tax benefits accrue or are attached to days of PDMRA regardless of where they were earned or awarded. PDMRA cannot be sold back at discharge, REFRAD, or retirement. There are no provisions allowing for carry over or monetary compensation for PDMRA days not used during the mobilization/deployment in which they were earned.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1. The applicant’s request for monetary compensation for PDMRA days has been carefully considered.  However, by law and regulation, other than the special authority to monetarily compensate Soldiers who were REFRAD and not able to use PDMRA during the period between PDMRA authorization by the Secretary of Defense on 19 January 2007, and publication of the Army’s PDMRA implementation guidance on 18 August 2007, which expired on 28 October 2010, monetary compensation for unused PDMRA is not authorized. 

2.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant earned 60 days of PDMRA and was improperly denied all or a portion of this earned PDMRA.  Therefore, he was authorized to use the denied PDMRA during the next deployment/mobilization under 10 USC, section 12301(a), 12302, or 12304; or voluntary mobilizations under 12301(d) if the duty is performed in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Kuwait, which was authorized by the Board in ABCMR Docket Number AR20100027698 on 
14 December 2010.  

3.  Contrary to the applicant’s assertion, monetary compensation has never been authorized and this fact will be clarified by a supplemental action that will be completed on the original Board decision in the near future.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____X___  ____X___  ____X___  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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20110006773



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110006773



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