B-130490, MAR. 12, 1957

B-130490, MAR. 12, 1957

TO CAPTAIN NICHOLAS CAPPELETTO, USMC:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF NOVEMBER 28, 1956, FORWARDED HERE BY HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS, WITH LETTER DATED DECEMBER 5, 1956, RELATIVE TO YOUR CLAIM FOR PER DIEM INCIDENT TO TEMPORARY DUTY PERFORMED AT CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, DURING THE PERIOD AUGUST 6 TO OCTOBER 16, 1951. YOU REQUEST REVIEW OF OUR SETTLEMENT OF OCTOBER 22, 1956, WHICH CONSIDERED THAT CLAIM.

UNDER ORDERS OF HEADQUARTERS, MARINE CORPS SCHOOLS, QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, DATED JUNE 3, 1951, YOU WERE TRANSFERRED FROM THAT STATION TO THE MARINE BARRACKS AT CAMP PENDLETON FOR DUTY WITH THE TRAINING AND REPLACEMENT COMMAND. YOU REPORTED AT CAMP PENDLETON ON AUGUST 5, 1951, AND BY ENDORSEMENT DATED AUGUST 6 ON YOUR ORDERS YOU WERE DIRECTED TO REPORT TO THE TRAINING AND REPLACEMENT COMMAND AT THE MARINE BARRACKS FOR DUTY. FURTHER ENDORSEMENT OF THE SAME DATE YOU WERE DIRECTED TO REPORT TO THE SUPPORTING ARMS TRAINING BATTALION OF THAT COMMAND FOR DUTY AWAITING ASSIGNMENT TO THE 14TH REPLACEMENT DRAFT. BY ENDORSEMENT OF THE COMMANDING OFFICER, SUPPORTING ARMS TRAINING BATTALION, ALSO DATED AUGUST 6, YOU WERE ASSIGNED TO THE TRACKED VEHICLE CREWMEN TRAINING COMPANY FOR TRAINING. YOU STATED THAT YOUR DUTY ASSIGNMENT THERE WAS THAT OF A STUDENT OFFICER. BY ORDERS OF HEADQUARTERS, TRAINING AND REPLACEMENT COMMAND, DATED SEPTEMBER 14, 1951, YOU WERE ASSIGNED TO THE 14TH REPLACEMENT DRAFT FOR FOREIGN DUTY EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 17, 1951, AND DIRECTED TO REPORT TO THAT ACTIVITY. IT APPEARS THAT YOU WERE DETACHED UNDER THOSE ORDERS ON SEPTEMBER 17 AND REPORTED TO THE 14THREPLACEMENT DRAFT ON SEPTEMBER 18. IN A COMMUNICATION DATED OCTOBER 6, 1955, THE HEAD OF THE RECORDS SERVICE SECTION, RECORDS BRANCH, HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS, CERTIFIED THAT THE RECORDS SHOWED THAT YOU COMPLETED TEMPORARY DUTY WITH THE 14TH REPLACEMENT DRAFT, STAGING REGIMENT, ON OCTOBER 16, 1951, AND SAILED FROM SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, THE SAME DAY FOR AN OVERSEAS DUTY ASSIGNMENT.

WHILE THE BASIC ORDERS OF JUNE 3, 1951, EXPRESSLY STATED THAT YOUR ASSIGNMENT AT CAMP PENDLETON WAS FOR DUTY, SUBSEQUENT ENDORSEMENTS AND THE NATURE OF THE DUTIES PERFORMED THERE LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SUCH ORDERS IN FACT DIRECTED TEMPORARY DUTY AWAITING FURTHER ASSIGNMENT TO DUTY OVERSEAS. ACCORDINGLY, IN OUR SETTLEMENT OF OCTOBER 22, 1956,YOU WERE ALLOWED PER DIEM FOR THE PERIOD AUGUST 6 TO OCTOBER 16, 1951, LESS THE PERIOD AUGUST 27 TO SEPTEMBER 5, WHEN YOU WERE ON EMERGENCY LEAVE, AND LESS EIGHT DAYS OF FIELD DUTY WHILE UNDERGOING COLD WEATHER TRAINING FOR WHICH THE PAYMENT OF PER DIEM IS NOT AUTHORIZED. PER DIEM FOR THE DUTY PERFORMED DURING THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 6 TO SEPTEMBER 17 WAS ALLOWED AT THE RATE OF $1 PER DAY ON THE BASIS THAT YOU WERE UNDERGOING A COURSE OF INSTRUCTION UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE GOVERNMENT QUARTERS AND MESS WERE AVAILABLE, A SITUATION UNDER WHICH PARAGRAPH4205-5E OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS AUTHORIZED A PER DIEM OF BUT $1. FOR THE DUTY PERFORMED DURING THE REMAINING PERIOD, FROM SEPTEMBER 18 TO OCTOBER 16, YOU WERE ALLOWED PER DIEM AT THE RATE OF $5. IT APPEARS, HOWEVER, THAT THROUGH INADVERTENCE IN THE COMPUTATION YOU WERE ALLOWED PER DIEM FOR TWO EXTRA DAYS FOR THE LATTER PERIOD.

UPON A RECONSIDERATION OF THE MATTER IT APPEARS THAT THE BASIS FOR ALLOWANCE IN THE SETTLEMENT OF OCTOBER 22, 1956, WAS CORRECT, THE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE INDICATING THAT YOUR DUTIES DURING THE PERIOD AUGUST 6 TO SEPTEMBER 17 WERE THOSE OF AN OFFICER UNDERGOING INSTRUCTION WITHIN THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE CITED REGULATIONS. HOWEVER, SINCE YOU WERE ALLOWED AN ADDITIONAL $10 DUE TO THE ERROR IN COMPUTATION, THE CHECK ISSUED PURSUANT TO THAT SETTLEMENT, WHICH YOU RETURNED, WILL BE CANCELLED AND SETTLEMENT OF YOUR CLAIM IN THE PROPER AMOUNT WILL BE MADE IN DUE COURSE. THE OTHER ENCLOSURES RECEIVED WITH YOUR LETTER, AND THE ORIGINAL ENDORSEMENTS TO THE ORDERS INVOLVED, PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED, ARE RETURNED HEREWITH.