Denial of Claim

A former Army reservist appealed the denial of his claim for pay in connection with inactive and active duty training. The record showed that after requesting and being assigned to active duty in April 1974, the reservist was told not to attend any future drill periods since the Army was conducting an investigation concerning his eligibility to remain in the Army Reserve. Thus, from May to December of 1974, the reservist was not authorized nor did he attend any drill periods or the 2-week period of active duty for training. During this time, the Army concluded that the reservist would have to be discharged; however, since the reservist was scheduled for discharge in March 1975, the Army allowed the reservist's enlistment to expire. The reservist received a general discharge on March 31, 1975, which was subsequently upgraded to an honorable discharge. On the basis of the upgrading of his discharge, the reservist filed a claim for the pay he would have received for the drill periods and the period of active duty for training which the Army told him not to attend. GAO held that a military member's entitlement to pay is based on statutes which require a Reserve member to attend meetings or perform other equivalent duty for training in order to be paid. Thus, there exists no authority upon which payment could be authorized. Accordingly, the settlement of the Claims Division denying the reservist's claim was sustained.