[Transferred Army Employee's Entitlement to Reimbursement for Private Transportation of Household Goods]

The Army requested a decision regarding a transferred employee's entitlement to reimbursement for costs he incurred in temporarily storing and transporting his household goods to Alaska. The Army erroneously amended the claimant's travel order to authorize reimbursement under the commuted rate system when he requested permission to move his household goods by privately owned vehicle. GAO held that the applicable regulations required that the: (1) commuted rate system apply only to transfers where both the old and new stations were within the continental United States; and (2) government bill of lading (GBL) rate apply to transportation of goods outside the continental United States. Accordingly, the Army should reimburse the claimant for the transportation and storage costs he incurred up to the amount that it would have paid under the GBL method.