B-143967, OCT. 21, 1960

B-143967, OCT. 21, 1960

TO MR. JAMES E. WAGNER:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF AUGUST 27, 1960, REQUESTING REVIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT DATED JULY 28, 1960, WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM FOR PER DIEM FOR TEMPORARY DUTY FOR THE PERIOD FEBRUARY 4 TO JUNE 23, 1958, WHILE SERVING AS AN ENLISTED MAN, UNITED STATES NAVY.

BY ORDERS DATED DECEMBER 5, 1957, YOU AND OTHER MEMBERS OF DETACHMENT ALFA, U.S. MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION ELEVEN WERE PLACED ON TEMPORARY ADDITIONAL DUTY FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS WHILE THE DETACHMENT WAS DEPLOYED AT SUBIC BAY, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. THE ORDERS STATED THAT UPON COMPLETION OF SUCH DUTY YOU WOULD RETURN TO YOUR PERMANENT STATION AND THAT THE ESTIMATED COST OF TRAVEL AND PER DIEM FOR EACH MAN WAS $76.95. FIRST ENDORSEMENT TO THE ORDERS, DATED FEBRUARY 4, 1958, SHOWS THAT THE TEMPORARY ADDITIONAL DUTY WAS COMPLETED ON FEBRUARY 4, 1958, AND THAT YOU WERE TRANSFERRED ON THAT DATE TO U.S. NAVAL MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION ELEVEN FOR DUTY. A NOTATION ON YOUR ORDERS SHOWS THAT ON FEBRUARY 20, 1958, YOU WERE PAID $81 AS PER DIEM FOR THE PERIOD DECEMBER 6, 1957, TO FEBRUARY 3, 1958. ON MAY 18, 1960, YOU EXECUTED A CLAIM FOR $189 AS PER DIEM FOR TEMPORARY DUTY FOR THE PERIOD FEBRUARY 4, 1958, TO JUNE 23, 1958, WHILE DEPLOYED AT SUBIC BAY, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. YOU STATED THAT YOUR ORIGINAL ORDERS (PERTAINING TO THE PERIOD COVERED BY YOUR CLAIM) HAD BEEN LOST OR DESTROYED. IN LIEU OF ORDERS YOU SUBMITTED COPIES OF PAGES 6 AND 7 OF YOUR SERVICE RECORD CONTAINING ADMINISTRATIVE REMARKS THAT ON JUNE 24, 1958, YOU WERE TRANSFERRED TO DETACHMENT ALFA, U.S. NAVAL MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION ELEVEN FOR DUTY. THUS, THE BASIS OF YOUR CLAIM FOR PER DIEM IS THAT YOU WERE ON TEMPORARY DUTY FROM FEBRUARY 4, 1958, THROUGH JUNE 23, 1958.

YOUR CLAIM WAS DISALLOWED BY THE SETTLEMENT FOR THE REASON THAT THE ENDORSEMENT OF FEBRUARY 4, 1958, SHOWS THAT THE TEMPORARY DUTY TO WHICH YOU WERE ORDERED TERMINATED ON FEBRUARY 4, 1958; THAT YOU WERE ASSIGNED TO PERMANENT DUTY THE SAME DATE; THAT NO FURTHER ASSIGNMENT TO ANOTHER STATION WAS INDICATED, AND THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE REMARKS MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED AS ORDERS TO TEMPORARY DUTY FOR THE PERIOD FEBRUARY 4, 1958, TO JUNE 23, 1958.

IN YOUR PRESENT LETTER YOU ACKNOWLEDGED THAT YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO PER DIEM FOR TEMPORARY DUTY FOR THE PERIOD CLAIMED. HOWEVER, YOU EXPRESS THE BELIEF THAT YOUR CLAIM HAS NOT BEEN UNDERSTOOD. YOU SAY THAT YOU AND OTHER MEMBERS OF MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION ELEVEN WERE ENTITLED TO BE PAID $189 FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR MONTHS WHILE DEPLOYED IN THE PHILIPPINES ISLANDS AT SUBIC BAY; THAT ALL MEMBERS OF THE BATTALION RECEIVED THE PAYMENT EXCEPT YOU, AND THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THE PAYMENT WAS PER DIEM OR SOME OTHER ALLOWANCE.

PARAGRAPH 3003.2 OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS, PROMULGATED PURSUANT TO SECTION 303 (A) OF THE CAREER COMPENSATION ACT OF 1949, AS AMENDED, 37 U.S.C. 253 (A), PROVIDES THAT THE TERM ,TEMPORARY DUTY" MEANS DUTY AT A LOCATION OTHER THAN A PERMANENT STATION TO WHICH A MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES IS ORDERED TO TEMPORARY DUTY UNDER ORDERS WHICH PROVIDE FOR FURTHER ASSIGNMENT TO A NEW PERMANENT STATION OR FOR RETURN TO THE OLD PERMANENT STATION. SINCE THE RECORD CLEARLY SHOWS THAT TEMPORARY DUTY IN YOUR CASE TERMINATED ON FEBRUARY 4, 1958, AND NO ORDERS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED WHICH ASSIGNED YOU TO FURTHER TEMPORARY DUTY THEREAFTER, THERE IS NO BASIS FOR THE PAYMENT OF PER DIEM AFTER THAT DATE AND THEREFORE, THE SETTLEMENT DISALLOWING YOUR CLAIM WAS CORRECT AND IS SUSTAINED.

THE RECORD PERTAINING TO YOUR CLAIM FOR PER DIEM CONTAINS NOTHING TO INDICATE THAT YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO THE AMOUNT CLAIMED AS SOME OTHER TYPE OF ALLOWANCE, NOR THE BASIS ON WHICH OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR DETACHMENT MAY HAVE BEEN PAID $189. HOWEVER, IF THEY WERE PAID THAT AMOUNT AS PER DIEM UNDER THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AS ARE INVOLVED IN YOUR CLAIM, THAT IS A MATTER WHICH WILL BE CONSIDERED IN THE AUDIT OF THE ACCOUNTS OF THE DISBURSING OFFICER INVOLVED. YOUR ORDERS OF DECEMBER 5, 1957, AND THE ENDORSEMENT OF FEBRUARY 4, 1958, ARE RETURNED HEREWITH.