Claim for Temporary Duty Per Diem

An Army finance and accounting officer requested an opinion as to whether an Army member ordered to attend training courses was on temporary duty and, therefore, entitled to per diem, or whether he was transferred on a permanent change of station. The member was ordered on a permanent change of station, with temporary duty consisting of training classes scheduled enroute. The classes were conducted at several locations and, due to illness, leave, and a holiday period, the member completed them in about 31 weeks. The member was paid per diem during most of his training period, but his entitlement to temporary duty allowances while at one of the training sites was questioned; if the site must be considered as his permanent station, he would not be entitled to per diem. Although a transfer for training in excess of 20 weeks at the same station is usually considered a permanent change of station, GAO found that, in this case, it may be considered temporary because: (1) the member's orders characterized the duty as temporary; (2) the training took place at three different locations; and (3) the member was treated as though on temporary duty. Accordingly, the member's travel allowance should be computed on a per diem basis.