IN THE CASE OF:	 

		BOARD DATE:	  23 June 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140017971 


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 of debt in the amount of $367.18 due to excess leave taken in conjunction with permissive temporary duty (PTDY) and transitional leave.

2.  The applicant states:

* the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) sent him a statement of debt claiming he owes 3 days of leave, which is not correct as he served all days of his service obligation
* he signed out on leave at noon on 3 November 2013 as required of him
* his 30 days of PTDY and 87.5 days of accrued leave would have taken him to the last day of February 2014 and his retirement date of 1 March 2014
* his leave dates, date eligible for return from overseas, and final out-processing date were determined by the Army, not him
* he was told what leave to take and when to take it in order to avoid either owing money or being owed money by the Army
* in the paperwork sent by DFAS, it states he could not have 87.5 days of leave because he was only able to carry 75 days from the previous calendar year, then in their own paperwork they show 87.5 days due to 75 days plus 12.5 days accrued from 1 October 2013 to his retirement date
* DFAS has not shown him how they arrived at 3 days of excess leave
* DFAS is not able to forgive a debt without approval of the Board

3.  The applicant provides:

* Statement of Military Leave Account
* DFAS letter to applicant
* DFAS Account Statement, dated 22 September 2014
* DA Form 31 (Request and Authority for Leave), dated 3 April 2013

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 9 August 1988.  He was promoted to the rank/grade of master sergeant/E-8 effective 1 May 2005.

2.  His records show he was deployed to Panama from 20 December 1989 to 7 January 1990 and to Afghanistan from 11 October 2007 to 22 March 2008.

3.  He submitted a DA Form 2339 (Application for Voluntary Retirement) on 3 April 2013.  With his retirement packet, the applicant requested leave dates as reflected on the various forms required for submission with the packet.

	a.  The remarks section of his DA Form 2339 shows he requested 87 days of transition leave to commence on 4 December 2013 and end on 28 February 2014.  No PTDY is listed.

	b.  The DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) he submitted shows he requested PTDY for 30 days from 3 November 2014 through 3 December 2014 (the year 2014 is presumably a typographical error intended to read 2013) and transition leave from 4 December through 28 February 2014.

	c.  His approved DA Form 31, dated 3 April 2013, reflects (a projected) leave accrual of 87 days leave, 117 days of requested leave, with 30 days of advanced leave from 3 November 2013 through 28 February 2014.  The remarks section lists transition leave from 4 December 2013 through 28 February 2014 and PTDY from 3 November through 3 December 2013.  The applicant signed out on leave at noon on 3 November 2013.  No leave and earnings statement accompanies the DA Form 31 to show the actual accrued leave days for the applicant on the date of his request.

4.  On 22 May 2013, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command approved his request for retirement with an effective date of 1 March 2014.  He subsequently retired on 28 February 2014 and was placed on the Retired List on 1 March 2014 in the rank/grade of master sergeant/E-8.  He completed 25 years, 6 months, and 22 days of net active service.

5.  His records are void of any evidence and the applicant has not provided any showing he requested and was authorized special leave accrual (SLA).

6.  The DFAS Statement of Military Leave Account pertaining to the applicant covering the inclusive dates of 1 October 2013 through 28 February 2014 shows he brought forward 75 days of earned leave from the prior fiscal year (FY).  It also shows the applicant took PTDY from 3 November 2013 through 2 December 2013, transition leave from 3 December 2013 through 28 February 2014, and he earned 12.5 days of leave between the dates of 1 October 2013 and 28 February 2014.  This document shows a total of 87.5 days of leave earned in the period and a total of 88 days used.  This left a negative leave balance of 0.5 days and non-leave accrual of 0.5 days, resulting in total negative leave balance of 1 day.

7.  In a letter from DFAS to the applicant, he is informed of a debt in the amount of $367.18 determined to be valid during an audit of his account, due to 3 days of excess leave taken from 3 December 2013 through 28 February 2014, including 0.5 days of non-accrual of leave.

8.  Army Regulation 600-4 (Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness for Enlisted Members) states indebtedness to the U.S. Army may be remitted or cancelled if the debt is considered unjust, a hardship, or causes undue suffering.  Further, it may be remitted or cancelled if the debt is the result of payments made in error, made in excess of authorized allowances, and the debt is acknowledged as valid.  An injustice or hardship determination takes into consideration the Soldier's awareness of policy and procedures, past and present specialty, rank, years in service, prior experience, and the Soldier's contribution to the indebtedness by not having the situation corrected.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-10 (Leave and Passes) prescribes the policies and mandated operating tasks for the leave and pass function of the Military Personnel System.

	a.  Paragraph 2-3 (Leave Accrual) states Soldiers on active duty earn 30 days of leave a year with pay and allowances at the rate of 2.5 days per month.  Except when authorized SLA, Soldiers may accrue and carry forward up to 60 days leave at the end of each FY.  Accrued leave that exceeds 60 days at the end of the FY is lost except as authorized in chapter 3 (Special Leave Accrual).

	b.  Paragraph 2-5 (Subtracting Leave Credit) states leave is subtracted for lost time, excess leave, or other non-pay status.  Subtract 2 1?2 days of leave for each full month of absence.  For part-month absence, table 2-1 shows that for 1 to 6 days of non-accrual, 0.5 days of leave are to be subtracted.

	c.  Chapter 3 (SLA) states SLA is authorized to Soldiers who served in an area in which they were entitled to hostile fire or imminent danger pay for at least 120 continuous days.  SLA authorizes Soldiers to carry forward up to 120 days of leave at the end of an FY (60 days of normal leave carry-over plus 60 days SLA).  A Soldier may continue to qualify for the 120-day requirement when the Soldier remains entitled to receive hostile fire and imminent danger pay.  Leave accrual in excess of 60 days is credited only for use, not for payment.  Leave in excess of 60 days accumulated under this provision is lost if not used by the Soldier before the end of the third FY after the FY in which the continuous period of service terminated.

	d.  Paragraph 4-21 (Rules Used to Request Transition Leave) states transition leave (formerly called terminal leave) is a chargeable leave granted together with transition from the Service, including retirement.  The unit commander or designee is the approval authority for transition leave requests.

	e.  Paragraph 5-35 (Rules to Notify, Counsel, and Request PTDY or Excess Leave Together with Separation) states the purpose of PTDY is to facilitate transition into civilian life for house and job hunting for Soldiers being involuntarily separated, retiring from active duty, or separating under the Voluntary Separation Incentive program.  PTDY is a nonchargeable absence and is an option for eligible Soldiers being released from active duty.  Eligible Soldiers are authorized 10 days transition PTDY if approved.  Additionally, officers and enlisted Soldiers who have an approved voluntary retirement or disability retirement are eligible for PTDY in excess of 10 days, if approved.  Additional transition PTDY may be authorized.  Soldiers based outside the continental United States (OCONUS) being released from active duty who will transition and reside in CONUS or another OCONUS area are authorized 10 days of transition PTDY and may be authorized an additional 20 days up to a total of 30 days of transition PTDY.

10.  The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY08 announced the authorization for Soldiers to carry forward 75 days of annual accrued leave (15 days more than the normally authorized 60 days) through 30 September 2013.  The NDAA for FY13 announced the extension of this 75-day leave carry-over through 30  September 2015.  Leave balances exceeding 60 days on 1 October 2015 and not coded as SLA will be lost.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s request for remission of debt in the amount of $367.18 due to 3 days of excess leave taken in conjunction with PTDY and transition leave was carefully considered.

2.  The DA Form 31 the applicant provided, dated 3 April 2013, shows he requested and was approved PTDY from 3 November 2013 through 3 December 2013 and transition leave from 4 December 2013 through 28 February 2014.

3.  DFAS records reflect the applicant carried forward the maximum allowable carry-over amount of 75 days leave from the prior FY.  Between 1 October 2013 and 28 February 2014 he earned 12.5 days of leave, amounting to a total of 87.5 days of accrued leave.

4.  Regulatory guidance allows for up to 30 days of nonchargeable PTDY for OCONUS Soldiers with approved voluntary retirements.  Although the intent was to take 30 days of PTDY, which is authorized and was approved by the appropriate authority, the applicant's PTDY dates 3 November 2013 to 3 December 2013 actually amount to 31 days, which is 1 day more than authorized.

5.  It appears that upon submission of the leave dates into the DFAS pay system, the erroneous PTDY dates were rectified to read 3 November 2013 to 2 December 2013 (now amounting to the authorized 30 days), as reflected on the applicant's Statement of Military Leave Account provided by DFAS.

6.  Altering the PTDY ending date to 2 December 2013 had the cascade effect of also moving the transition leave date up by 1 day from 4 December to 3 December 2013.  His Statement of Military Leave Account shows he took transition leave from 3 December 2013 to 28 February 2014, amounting to 88 days instead of the requested and approved dates of 4 December 2013 to 28 February 2014, which would have amounted to 87 days and would have been covered by his accrued leave balance.

7.  The rectification of these dates appears to have been done by DFAS within the pay system itself, after the fact, and without the applicant's knowledge or ability to rectify the 1 day computational error already reviewed and approved by multiple entities prior to the beginning of his PTDY, transitional leave, and ultimate retirement.

8.  The end result is 0.5 days of excess leave which then necessitated 0.5 days of non-accrual of leave (as leave cannot be earned in an excess leave status), amounting to a 1-day negative leave balance, which is borne out by the Statement of Military Leave Account provided by DFAS which shows 87.5 days earned, 88 days used, and a total negative leave balance of 1 day.  How DFAS arrived at the computation of 3 days excess leave referenced in their letter to the applicant is not readily available as the documentation appears to corroborate a 1-day negative leave balance.

9.  The applicant was a master sergeant/E-8 with over 25 years of service and should have known it is incumbent upon him to properly manage his leave balance.  Nonetheless, the applicant claims he was advised by Army officials as to which leave dates to take and did as advised.  A minor mathematical error resulted in taking a mere half day leave not authorized and this error went unnoticed by multiple individuals reviewing his retirement and leave packet, to include those in his local finance office who are subject matter experts in this field.

10.  The applicant should not be penalized for an error that may have been committed by another.  Therefore, as a matter of equity, the applicant's records should be corrected to show he submitted a timely request for waiver of this debt and his waiver was approved.

BOARD VOTE:

____X____  ____X____  ____X____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is 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 the applicant submitted a request for waiver of this debt and his request was approved by the appropriate official
* paying the applicant the amount that was collected as a result of this excess leave debt, if payment was made



      ______________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)                                         AR20140017971



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140017971



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