BOARD DATE: 8 December 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110010783
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, he be granted retroactive extensions of his expired retirement household goods (HHG) transportation entitlement.
2. The applicant states, through oversight, he failed to file annual extensions of his HHG transportation entitlement. He states he was not aware of the instructions at the bottom of his retirement order that permitted up to 1 year to choose a home of selection (HOS) and complete his retirement move. He states he is in the process of buying a home and needs to move his HHG.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* 4 pages of email disapproving his request for reinstatement of his expired transportation entitlement
* his 12 January 2011 request for reinstatement of his transportation entitlement
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is a retired sergeant major (SGM)/E-9. Orders 260-702, Departments of the Army and Air Force Land Component, Joint Forces Headquarters Kansas, Topeka, KS, dated 17 September 2007, show he was honorably released on 30 June 2008 and placed on the Retired List on 1 July 2008. These orders included additional instructions that stated "You are authorized up to 1 year to complete selection of a home and complete travel in connection with this action."
2. The same orders, and the applicant's DD Form 214, show he retired to N. Lawn Avenue, Kansas City, MO [orders erroneously stated Kansas City, KS].
3. The applicant's HHG transportation entitlement expired on 1 July 2009. The applicant never requested an extension of his entitlement prior to 1 July 2009. His first and only request was 12 January 2011.
4. The Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA), on 8 March 2011, denied the applicant's extension request.
5. The Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) contains the basic statutory regulations concerning a Uniformed Service members travel and transportation, station allowances, housing allowances, and cost of living allowances. It provides:
a. Paragraph U5365 states when a Soldier retires he/she is authorized HHG transportation from the last or any previous Permanent Duty Station, from a designated place in the Continental U.S. (CONUS), from storage, or any combination thereof, to his/her HOS).
b. Paragraph U5012J states Once a location is selected, that selection is irrevocable if transportation-in-kind is furnished and used, or travel and transportation allowances are received after the travel is completed. Once the government pays for any HOS entitlements (whether travel voucher, or HHG shipment), the HOS is set in stone and that location applies to any other HOS entitlement. To preserve the freedom to move where one desires, a Soldier can delay filing a travel settlement voucher until he/she moves to your HOS.
c. Ordinarily, HHG must be turned over for transportation within 1 year following retirement. Paragraph U5365 does allow for extensions of up to
6 years to a Soldier's shipping entitlement:
* for persons undergoing hospitalization or medical treatment, an extension can be granted for the period equal to the hospitalization or medical treatment
* for a retiree undergoing education or training to qualify for acceptable civilian employment, extension of this 1 year time limit can be granted, in 1 year increments, until 1 year after the education or training is completed
* for other deserving cases when an unexpected event beyond the retirees control occurs which prevents the retiree from moving to the HOS within the time limit; the specific reason must be given in the request for extension
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. When he retired in 2008, the applicant lived at N. Lawn Avenue, Kansas City, MO in a home he apparently owned. Since he already lived there, he did not use his HHG transportation entitlement, and that entitlement expired on 1 July 2009 when he did not request and receive an extension.
2. The applicant now has decided to buy a new home and would like to use his HHG transportation entitlement to move his belongings to his new residence. His request to the Fort Leavenworth (KS) Transportation Office was emailed on 12 January 2011. Since he had never requested an extension in a timely manner, the request was forwarded through channels to HQDA G-4, where it was denied.
3. The applicant is a retired SGM with more than 20 years of active Federal service. He should have known of the requirement to make annual requests for extension of his HHG transportation entitlement. Additionally, his justification for an extension does not fall under "medical" or "educational" or even other deserving cases." Certainly his decision to move is not an "unexpected event beyond [his] control."
4. The applicant simply waited too long to request an extension, then did not provide a valid reason for his delay.
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) AR20110010783
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110010783
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