IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 13 December 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110008085
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 his debt to the Army be cancelled or remitted and that he be refunded all monies collected.
2. The applicant states the Army built new barracks in the spring of 2006 but the new barracks did not have the same capacity as the old ones resulting in the need to move a number of Soldiers to off-post apartments. He was issued a Certificate of Non-Availability (CNA) and authorized payment of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). He contends that his battalion later deployed and used his apartment as a storage unit so they would not have to pay for extra storage. Upon returning from deployment his platoon removed their belongings and he stayed in the apartment for one and a half months before leaving the Army.
3. The applicant states that about 6 months after his separation, he received a bill from the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) that stated he owed about $5,000 for unauthorized BAH payments. He contacted DFAS and he was told he owed the money because his CNA expired after 1 year (which was in the middle of his deployment) and the BAH collected after the expiration was forfeited. DFAS also informed him that he had to obtain an updated CNA, and he could then continue to collect BAH without problems. He concludes that after having paid almost the total amount of the debt, he feels his case deserves another look.
4. The applicant provides two third-party statements.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 September 2003 and was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Infantryman) upon completion of initial entry training. He served in Afghanistan and in Iraq and was honorably released from active duty on 19 January 2008.
2. In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Compensation and Entitlements Division. The opinion states that based on information provided by the applicant and DFAS and in view of the facts surrounding the applicant's debt collection, the recommendation is that the Army Board for Correction of Military Records support the applicant's request and stop collection for overpayment of BAH while deployed and to reimburse him for payments already made.
3. The opinion pointed out that a DFAS review of the case file indicated there was no documentation in the file to support establishing the debt. Their opinion, supported by the DFAS reviewer, is that it was an erroneous debt/collection. The applicant was authorized to move off-post or the CNA would not have been issued. Whether or not the initial CNA expired is immaterial because it supposedly expired on 8 July 2007 while he was deployed to Iraq and it was unrealistic to expect him to get a CNA renewal while deployed. Additionally, upon redeployment, he was only back at the home station 43 days before departing on transition leave and separating from the Army. Had he been made aware of the expired CNA during his finance out-processing he could have obtained his leadership support to have it extended since he had just returned from deployment.
4. The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comments. No response was received.
5. The BAH is a U.S. based allowance prescribed by geographic duty location, pay grade, and dependency status. It provides Uniformed Service members equitable housing compensation based on housing costs in local civilian housing markets within the U.S. when government quarters are not provided.
6. Army Regulation 600-4 (Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness) provides the instructions for submitting and processing applications for remission or cancellation of indebtedness. Applications must be based on injustice, hardship, or both. The objectives of remission or cancellation of debt are to remit or cancel debts to the Army that are considered to be unjust or to end hardship or undue suffering.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention that his debt to the Army due to overpayment of BAH should be remitted has been carefully considered.
2. Based on the information contained in the advisory opinion, it appears that an error occurred in the applicant's case. As stated in the advisory opinion, there is no documentation supporting the established debt. Even if there was evidence showing the applicant's CNA had expired, the expiration of this document occurred while he was deployed to Iraq. It is not clear why the applicant was not made aware of this debt during his out-processing from the Army, allowing him to take corrective action with the support of his chain of command.
3. Based on the foregoing, his records should be corrected to show he was authorized BAH up to the date of his release from active duty.
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 authorized to receive BAH up to the date of his release from active duty and that he be refunded any monies collected as a result of the erroneous debt.
_______ _ _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) AR20110008085
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110008085
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