B-130826, JUL. 9, 1957

B-130826, JUL. 9, 1957

TO MR. HERBERT A. JONES:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF JUNE 25, 1957, AND PRIOR CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE MATTER OF YOUR INDEBTEDNESS TO THE GOVERNMENT ARISING OUT OF PAYMENTS OF BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR QUARTERS AND STATION PER DIEM ALLOWANCE WHICH WERE MADE TO YOU WHILE YOU WERE SERVING AS STAFF SERGEANT, U.S. AIR FORCE, IN FRENCH MOROCCO, DURING THE PERIOD JANUARY 3 TO APRIL 9, 1952.

IN OUR LETTER OF MARCH 19, 1957, YOU WERE INFORMED THAT ORDERS OF FEBRUARY 15, 1952, WHICH RELIEVED YOU FROM THE ADVANCE ECHELON, 3296TH AIR BASE SQUADRON AT BEN GUERIR AIR BASE, FRENCH MOROCCO, AND REASSIGNED YOU TO APO 117 (SIDI SLIMANE AIR BASE, FRENCH MOROCCO), APPEARED TO CONFLICT WITH THE STATEMENT THAT YOU PERFORMED TEMPORARY DUTY AT MARRAKECH, FRENCH MOROCCO, DURING THE PERIOD FEBRUARY 20 TO APRIL 9, 1952, AND YOU WERE ASKED TO FURNISH ANY INFORMATION YOU HAD WHICH MIGHT CLARIFY THIS APPARENT DISCREPANCY. IN YOUR LETTER OF JUNE 25, 1957, TO THE HONORABLE ERRETT P. SCRIVNER, MEMBER OF CONGRESS, A COPY OF WHICH WAS FORWARDED HERE, YOU STATED THAT AFTER ORDERS RETURNING YOU TO SIDI SLIMANE AIR BASE WERE ISSUED, SUCH ORDERS WERE CHANGED TO SEND YOU TO MARRAKECH FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF TEMPORARY DUTY. SINCE AN ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT DATED NOVEMBER 22, 1954, LENDS SOME SUPPORT TO YOUR STATEMENT AND IT APPEARS DOUBTFUL THAT A COPY OF THE CHANGED ORDERS TO WHICH YOU REFER CAN NOW BE OBTAINED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, THE PRESENT RECORD WILL BE ACCEPTED AN ESTABLISHING THAT YOU WERE IN A TEMPORARY DUTY TRAVEL STATUS AND WERE ENTITLED TO PER DIEM AT THE TRAVEL RATE OF $9 PER DAY FOR THE PERIOD FEBRUARY 20 TO APRIL 9, 1952.

YOU HAVE NOT YET ADVISED US AS TO THE QUARTERS YOU OCCUPIED WHILE ON DUTY AT BEN GUERIR AIR BASE. HOWEVER, IN YOUR LETTER TO CONGRESSMAN SCRIVNER YOU STATED THAT QUARTERS WERE RENTED FROM THE ATLAS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, A GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR, AT A COST YOU THOUGHT TO BE $1.25 PER DAY BUT AS TO WHICH YOU EXPRESSED NO CERTAINTY. SINCE COLONEL CHESTER A. COX, USAF, THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE ADVANCE ECHELON, 3926TH AIR BASE SQUADRON, AT BEN GUERIR AIR BASE, HAS STATED THAT HE WAS FURNISHED QUARTERS BY THE ATLAS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AT A COST OF $10 PER MONTH, IT MUST BE CONCLUDED THAT YOU WERE FURNISHED GOVERNMENT QUARTERS AT A COST NOT IN EXCESS OF $1 PER DAY AND, HENCE, THAT YOU WERE FURNISHED GOVERNMENT QUARTERS WITHIN THE MEANING OF PARAGRAPH 1150-5 OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS.

ON THE BASIS OF THE FOREGOING, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE AMOUNT OF YOUR INDEBTEDNESS TO THE GOVERNMENT COMPUTED IN OUR LETTER TO CONGRESSMAN SCRIVNER, DATED DECEMBER 5, 1956, AT $841.60, SHOULD BE REDUCED BY $450 ($9 FOR EACH OF THE 50 DAYS' TEMPORARY DUTY PERFORMED AT MARRAKECH), LEAVING A NET AMOUNT OF $391.60 DUE THE GOVERNMENT.