Claim for Per Diem and Travel Expenses

An advance decision was requested as to whether a Navy member was entitled to payment of per diem while awaiting transportation at San Francisco, California, and to reimbursement for taxicab fares, baggage handling and tips incident to his travel to his home of selection, Pago Pago, American Samoa. Statutes provide that under regulations prescribed by the Secretaries concerned, a member of a uniformed service is entitled to travel and transportation allowances for travel performed under orders. Accordingly, Joint Travel Regulations provide that members are entitled to travel and transportation allowances while actually in a travel status, and that they shall be deemed to be in a travel status while performing travel away from their permanent duty station upon business, pursuant to competent travel orders. Joint Travel Regulations also provide that a member on active duty who is separated from the service or relieved from active duty will be entitled to transportation for his dependents not to exceed the distance from his last permanent duty station or the place to which the member elects to receive travel allowances for his travel. With regard to reimbursement for taxicab fare from Oakland to San Francisco International Airport, it appeared that since the member was entitled to receive a mileage allowance for travel of his dependents from Maryland to San Francisco International Airport and that transportation at that latter location via taxicab was not necessitated by unavoidable transportation delays beyond the control of his dependents as required by regulations, the expense was not allowed. However, since it appeared that the member obtained travel on a common carrier at his own expense from the Taflina Airport to Pago Pago, he may be reimbursed for the taxicab fare between those two points, and in accordance with regulations reimbursement may be made for baggage handling expenses incurred in San Francisco and Pago Pago.