B-242195, Jun 14, 1991
Highlights
MILITARY PERSONNEL - Pay - Waiver - Unauthorized charges DIGEST: Air Force members who were erroneously directed by their unit commander to charge Foreign Military Sales accounts to purchase prescription sunglasses for themselves and their dependents are not eligible for waiver under 10 U.S.C. Settlement and Adjudication Headquarters Air Force Accounting and Finance Center: This action is in response to your letter dated November 14. Sec. 2774 claims of the United States against 38 Air Force members (24 officers and 14 enlisted members) who were erroneously directed by their unit commander to charge Foreign Military Sales accounts a total of $11. Are Air Force members ranging in rank from Sergeant to Colonel.
B-242195, Jun 14, 1991
MILITARY PERSONNEL - Pay - Waiver - Unauthorized charges DIGEST: Air Force members who were erroneously directed by their unit commander to charge Foreign Military Sales accounts to purchase prescription sunglasses for themselves and their dependents are not eligible for waiver under 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2774 since claims did not result from erroneous payment of pay or allowances.
Lieutenant Colonel S.C. Shoemake
Deputy Director, Settlement and Adjudication
Headquarters Air Force Accounting and Finance Center:
This action is in response to your letter dated November 14, 1990, requesting waiver under 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2774 claims of the United States against 38 Air Force members (24 officers and 14 enlisted members) who were erroneously directed by their unit commander to charge Foreign Military Sales accounts a total of $11,070.36 to purchase prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses for themselves and their dependents.
E. Jayme, and the 37 others involved in this case, are Air Force members ranging in rank from Sergeant to Colonel, who were assigned to a security assistance organization in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The unit commander directed these members and their dependents to charge the cost of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses to Foreign Military Sales accounts, available for certain security assistance services provided by the United States in foreign countries. An audit by the Air Force Audit Agency in July 1990 revealed that the expenditures under consideration here were not authorized by regulations setting specific criteria for the use of Foreign Military Sales funds to purchase prescription eye-wear for U.S. Military personnel and their dependents from civilian sources in Saudi Arabia. See USMTM Regulation 168-1, at 3c (5 August 1984). Subsequent investigation by the Air Force found "no indication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault or lack of good faith" on the part of the members. The Air Force Accounting and Finance Center has recommended waiver of all claims.
Our authority to waive claims of the United States against members of the uniformed services extends only to claims arising out of erroneous payments of pay or allowances and travel and transportation allowances. 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2774. Any claims the United States may have against the individuals here involved may not be considered for waiver because they did not result from erroneous payments of pay or allowances.