IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  30 April 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120016802 


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 the payment of 30 days of Post-Deployment/
Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA) leave.

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  He served on active duty for 2 years as a Retiree Recall.  When he was released from active duty (REFRAD) he was informed he was entitled to 30 days of PDMRA leave and, as he was returned to a retired status, he could request the 30 days in the form of pay.  He submitted a request once to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and twice to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) for payment of his PDMRA leave.  All three requests went unanswered although regulations required the Army reviewing officer to approve the request or issue a denial letter.

	b.  After the Army failed to respond to his requests he submitted a request through his Member of Congress.  The Army responded that the packet was submitted late.  However, the 10-day delay was due to the requirement to enclose a Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) reflecting combat pay.  Once he returned to a retired status he could not access MyPay and he could not obtain his LES.  However, DFAS had access to his LESs from his 12 months in Iraq.  He was also told he failed to get a signature from a colonel (COL)/O-6.  This was not a requirement as he was retired and did not have a chain of command.

	c.  As a retired Regular Army (RA) officer, he volunteered for recall 10 years after he retired and he requested deployment to Iraq.  After a year in Iraq, he volunteered for a second year and served with the Airborne Test Board, Fort Bragg, NC.  During his demobilization process, no mention was ever made as to his possible entitlement for PDMRA.  He was REFRAD in April 2008 and in September 2010 he received an email from a lieutenant colonel at HRC asking if he ever received his PDMRA.  He initiated a packet at that time but it was delayed as he had to wait for the required LESs from DFAS.  The packet was sent to DFAS, then submitted two more times to HRC.  The letter from the Army to his Congressman indicated he could surface the issue to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).

3.  The applicant provides:

* two DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 31 October 1996 and 22 April 2008
* a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) for the period ending 31 October 1996, dated 31 August 2004
* a DD Form 214 WS (DD Form 214 Worksheet) for the period ending
22 April 2008
* Orders M-04-601100, issued by HRC, St. Louis, MO, dated 13 April 2006
* Orders 124-85, issued by Headquarters, U.S. Army Training Center, Fort Jackson, SC, dated 4 May 2006
* an unsigned DD Form 827 (Application for Arrears in Pay), dated 7 December 2010
* a DD Form 827, dated 7 December 2010
* an unsigned/undated DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action)
* a sample DA Form 4187
* a DA Form 4187, signed by the applicant, dated 8 December 2010
* 13 pages of email
* four printed pages titled HRC PDMRA Questions
* a copy of his blank deposit slip

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant served as a commissioned officer in the RA from 31 October 1976 until he was retired in the rank of major (MAJ) by reason of sufficient service for retirement.  He completed 20 years of creditable active service.

2.  He was ordered to active duty as a Retiree Recall in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and he entered active duty on 23 April 2006.  He served in Iraq 
from 17 May 2006 to 1 April 2007 (10 months and 16 days) while assigned to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force.


3.  He was honorably REFRAD on 22 April 2008 in the rank of MAJ and he was 
assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Retired).  The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time shows he completed 2 years of net active service during this period.

4.  The applicant provides:

* a DD Form 827, dated 7 December 2010, wherein he was requesting payment for PDMRA authorized after a year of service in Iraq from 2006 to 2007
* a DA Form 4187, dated 8 December 2010, addressed to HRC, wherein he requested cash entitlement for PDMRA

5.  On 19 January 2007, the Secretary of Defense established a new category of administrative absence.  PDMRA was established to recognize members who are required to mobilize or deploy with a frequency beyond established Department of Defense rotation policy goals.

	a.  PDMRA applied to creditable deployments (in Afghanistan, Iraq, or with certain theater units) and mobilization underway on, or commencing after, 19 January 2007.  Soldiers who had been mobilized or deployed more than the Army plan called for would accrue PDMRA days after the 13th month on active duty orders.  PDMRA was initially earned at a rate of 1 day per month and the number of days increased as the Soldier remained in an active duty status.  To qualify for PDMRA under a Retiree Recall mobilization the Soldier must have documentation showing their Iraq/Afghanistan duty under Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE) on their LES showing payment of HF/IDP to verify the period of Boots on the Ground (BOG).

	b.  For a Retiree Recall to qualify for any PDMRA, more that 50 percent of the entire mobilization time must occur BOG in Iraq/Afghanistan.  For example, 1 month of CZTE can be authorized/earned for 1 day in theater.  Technically, a Retiree Recall Soldier traveling to Iraq/Afghanistan 1 day per month for 6 months would qualify for 6 months of CZTE and have an LES that indicated 6 months CZTE.  However, that does not qualify a Retiree Recall Soldier for any PDMRA since 50 percent of his mobilization was not performed in theater.

	c.  Reserve Component and Retiree Recall Soldiers could use accrued PDMRA during any authorized rest and relaxation (R&R) leave period or during the current mobilization.  Soldiers unable to utilize accrued PDMRA days could be voluntarily retained on active duty to utilize accrued PDMRA.  There was no option to cash in administrative absence days already earned.  

6.  PDMRA policy as outlined in the Department of the Army, G-1, Personnel Policy Guidance (PPG), prohibits carryover or monetary compensation for unused PDMRA days other than special provisions outlined in the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorized monetary compensation for unused PDMRA for members separated during the period between PDMRA authorization on 19 January 2007, and publication of the Army’s PDMRA  implementation guidance on 18  August 2007.  The special statutory authority to compensate these members expired on 28 October 2010.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was mobilized as a Retiree Recall and he served on active duty for 2 years from 23 April 2006 to 22 April 2008.  He served in Iraq and received HF/IDP pay for this service from 17 May 2006 to 1 April 2007, a period of 10 months and 16 days.  As he did not have BOG in Iraq for more than 50 percent of his mobilization time, he did not qualify for PDMRA.

2.  In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief. 

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 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)                                         AR20120016802



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120016802



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