Entitlement to Station Allowances at With-Dependent Rate

The Department of Defense asked GAO to reconsider a decision in which a member of the uniformed services, a resident of Hawaii who entered on active duty there and was assigned to duty on the Island of Oahu, but whose dependent wife remained on the Island of Maui, was denied station allowances at the with-dependent rate. This conclusion was based on the ground that the dependent's presence in the vicinity of the duty station was not related to the member's assignment. Reliance on that rule was not correct since the member, who was stationed in Hawaii, was called to extended active duty when a resident of Hawaii. In such circumstances, the cost-of-living allowance at the with-dependent rate may be paid if the member's dependents live in the vicinity of the duty station. The original decision in this case was overruled.