IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 October 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140009551
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 remission/cancellation of her debt in the amount of $1,594.77.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that upon her return from deployment she completed the Reverse Soldier Readiness Process (RSRP) on 23 July 2013 to include finance in order to stop her combat pay entitlements. She goes on to state that the finance clerk just signed her RSRP checklist and returned it to her and stated that her August end of month leave and earnings statement would reflect her combat zone entitlements had been stopped. On 1 October 2013, she received a notice from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) indicating that she had incurred a debt in the amount of $1,594.77 and that she also owed $1,175.05 in back State and Federal taxes, which was deducted all at once because the transaction to stop her combat zone entitlements was never submitted. She continues by stating that she submitted a request for remission/cancellation of debt on 2 October 2013 and a determination was made that she had to repay half of the debt.
3. The applicant provides copies of her debt notification from the DFAS and her request for remission of the debt.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was serving as an instructor at Fort Lee, Virginia, in the pay grade of E-6, when she received deployment orders to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 16 June 2012 to 16 July 2013. The applicant departed the UAE on 20 July 2013 and returned to Fort Lee.
2. On 16 September 2013, DFAS notified the applicant that she had incurred a debt in the amount of $1,500.27 due to overpayments of combat zone entitlements during the period 21 July 31 August 2013.
3. On 30 September 2013, the applicant submitted a request for remission/cancellation of her debt. She does not provide and the records do not contain the results of that request.
4. In the processing of this request a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G1 which opines that the applicants request should not be favorably considered because she knew she was being overpaid and should have put that money aside.
5. The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment and on 1 July 2014 she responded to the effect that repaying the combat entitlements did not cause her hardship; however, having to pay the $1,175.08 in taxes in one lump caused her hardship. She also states that the finance clerks negligence caused her an injustice and as a result her debt should be forgiven.
6. Army Regulation 600-4 (Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness) serves as the authority for the remission or cancellation of indebtedness. It provides that the objective of remission or cancellation is to remit or cancel debts that are considered unjust.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicants contention that her debt should be forgiven because paying taxes that she owed in one payment caused her a financial hardship has been noted and found to lack merit.
2. By the applicants admission, she was aware that she was receiving entitlements which she was not authorized to receive and had begun setting the entitlements aside once she discovered the entitlements had not been stopped. In doing so she did what any prudent person would do.
3. While it is unfortunate that this error occurred and she had to pay the taxes in one lump sum, she was not entitled to receive those entitlements and should not be allowed to keep them. The government has the same right to recoup overpayments just as the Soldier has the right to be paid when underpayments are made. The expectations are the same for the government as they are for the individual Soldier and to allow the applicant to keep the funds that she was not entitled to receive would afford her a benefit not afforded to others in similar circumstances.
4. Accordingly, there appears to be no basis to grant the applicants request to remit or cancel the remainder of her debt.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
____X___ ____X___ ___X___ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
1. 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.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by her in service to the United States during the Global War on Terrorism. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of her service in arms.
_______ _ 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) AR20140009551
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140009551
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