RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         2 March 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050016109


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Jerome L. Pionk               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Peguine M. Taylor             |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, authorization for OCONUS COLA for
Hawaii for the period 16 September 2005 through 18 February 2006.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, she submitted her request for OCONUS
COLA for Hawaii in plenty of time for it to be processed before the
authority expired on 1 October 2005.  She claims that through no fault of
her own, her request was not processed in a timely manner by the Department
of the Army (DA) action officer.  She believes that because there were
administrative errors made in the processing of her request, she should
receive the authorization for OCONUS COLA as originally requested.

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of her
application:  Self-Authored Memorandum, dated 30 October 2005; Request for
OCONUS COLA Exception, dated 30 August 2005; Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1
Chief, Compensation and Entitlements Division Memorandum, dated 7 September
2005; G-1 Action Officer Electronic Mail (e-mail) Messages; and Permanent
Change of Station (PCS) Orders.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's record contains United States Army Garrison, Hawaii
Order Number (#) C243-02, dated 31 August 2005, which directed her
assignment to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Army Logistics
Management College, Fort Lee, Virginia with a reporting date of 18
September 2005.

2.  On 30 August 2005, the applicant submitted a request for an exception
to policy to retain OCONUS COLA for her family member living in Hawaii for
the period 16 September 2005 through 18 February 2006.  She indicated that
she was departing Hawaii on 16 September 2005 in compliance with her PCS
orders, which assigned her to Fort Lee to attend the Captains Career
Course.  She also indicated that upon completion of the course she would be
returning to Hawaii.

3.  On 7 September 2005, the G-1 Chief, Compensation and Entitlements
Division, approved the applicant's request for a policy waiver to receive
basic allowance for housing (BAH) based on her previous duty location
(Schofield Barracks, Hawaii).

4.  On 30 October 2005, the applicant submitted a request asking that her
original 30 August 2005 request for a COLA waiver be approved.  She
indicated that upon receiving PSC orders to Fort Lee to attend the Captains
Career Course, she submitted two requests.  The first was a request for a
professional military education BAH waiver, which was approved on 7
September 2005.  The second was an OCONUS COLA exception to retain COLA for
her family member living in Hawaii from 16 September 2005 through 18
February 2006, which the
G-1 action officer confirmed was received in a 7 September 2005 e-mail
message.  She further indicated that the G-1 action officer informed her on
2 October 2005, that he had made a mistake in processing her request and as
a result it was not completed by the cut-off date for approval, which was 1
October 2005.  She concluded by stating that because her request was
submitted in a timely manner and was not processed through no fault of her
own, she was requesting assistance in rectifying the situation.

5.  In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was
obtained from the G-1 Chief, Compensation and Entitlements Division.  This
Department of the Army (DA) official states that based on a careful review
of the facts surrounding the applicant's case, the Board should authorize
payment of OCONUS COLA at the Schofield Barracks, Hawaii with dependent
rate from
16 September 2005 through 18 February 2006, at which time the applicant is
scheduled to graduate from the Combined Logistics Captains Career Course at
Fort Lee, Virginia.  He further confirms that once the applicant completes
the course, she is scheduled to be reassigned back to Hawaii.

6.  The G-1 official also states that prior to 1 October 2005, the Joint
Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) provided for Secretarial authorization to
allow a Soldier to continue drawing OCONUS COLA for the previous OCONUS
permanent duty station when the Soldier complies with follow-on CONUS PCS
orders while his/her dependents remain behind at the previous OCONUS
permanent duty station.  He states that Per Diem Committee legal
authorities opined that effective 1 October 2005, Service Secretaries no
longer had this authority because Department of Defense had implemented a
significant number of legislative changes that impacted many housing
allowance rules.

7.  The G-1 official further states that subsequently, the Per Diem
Committee requested language be added to the National Defense Authorization
Act 2006 to restore the Secretarial authority in question.  However, even
if this language is accepted, it will not allow the Secretary concerned to
authorize retroactive payment.

8.  The G-1 official concludes by indicating that the applicant submitted
her request for extending Hawaii COLA well before the Secretarial authority
expired on 1 October 2001.  However, due to an administrative error, the
applicant's request was not processed in a timely manner, which resulted in
her request not being approved prior to the 1 October 2005 cut-off date.
He further states that the applicant should not suffer financially because
of this administrative error, which was through no fault of her own, when
Soldiers facing similar circumstances had their requests approved.

9.  On 9 December 2005, the applicant was provided a copy of the G-1
advisory opinion in order to have an opportunity to reply.  To date, she
has failed to respond.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant submitted her OCONUS COLA
exception request in sufficient time for it to be processed and approved by
the appropriate DA officials using Secretarial authority well before this
authority expired on 1 October 2005.  It further shows that administrative
processing errors made by the DA action officer, through no fault of the
applicant, resulted in her request not being acted on in a timely manner
prior to the Secretarial authority cut-off date.  Therefore, in the
interest of equity, it would be appropriate to grant the requested relief.


2.  In view of the facts of this case, it would be appropriate to correct
the applicant's record to show that her request for an exception to policy
to retain OCONUS COLA for her family member living in Hawaii for the period

16 September 2005 through 18 February 2006 was approved by the appropriate
designated DA officials under Secretarial authority on 7 September 2005.

3.  Further, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) pay records on
the applicant should be corrected to show she was authorized payment of
OCONUS COLA at the Schofield Barracks, Hawaii 96857 with dependent rate
from
16 September 2005 through 18 February 2006, and she should be provided any
pay due as a result of this correction.

BOARD VOTE:

___WDP_  __JLP __  __PMT  _  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 her request for an exception to policy to retain
OCONUS COLA for her family member living in Hawaii for the period 16
September 2005 through
18 February 2006 was approved by the appropriately designated DA officials
under Secretarial authority on 7 September 2005.

2.  Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) pay records on the
individual concerned should be corrected to show she was authorized payment
of OCONUS COLA at the Schofield Barracks, Hawaii 96857 with dependent rate
from 16 September 2005 through 18 February 2006, and she should be provided
any pay due as a result of this correction.





                                  _____William D. Powers___
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050016109                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/03/02                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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