[Claim for Per Diem]

In response to a request for a decision from a Marine Corps disbursing officer, GAO reviewed the entitlement of a Marine Corps retiree to receive per diem for the period during which he was assigned to a base for retirement processing. The service member was transferred from overseas to a U.S. base for the sole purpose of retirement processing. The processing took 3 months longer than allotted by departmental regulations; however, since additional time in this case was needed to resolve the member's physical fitness for retirement and no other duty was contemplated, GAO held that the delay did not change the nature of his assignment from temporary to permanent. In addition, since the location was his permanent home of selection, GAO held that he was not entitled to per diem after his arrival there. Accordingly, payment of per diem to the individual was not authorized for the period of temporary duty for retirement processing.