B-130011, FEB. 8, 1957

B-130011, FEB. 8, 1957

TO MR. GEORGE V. THOMPSON:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF NOVEMBER 16, 1956, REQUESTING REVIEW OF OUR SETTLEMENT DATED FEBRUARY 15, 1956, WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAM FOR TRAVEL PAY (MILEAGE) FOR THE DISTANCE FROM TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND, LESS THE AMOUNT ALLOWED FOR THE DISTANCE FROM BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND, INCIDENT TO TRAVEL PERFORMED AS AN OFFICER, ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, SERVICE NO. 0922530.

YOUR CLAIM IS BASED ON AUTHORITY CONTAINED IN PARAGRAPH 6, SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 124, HEADQUARTERS, MARIANAS-BONINS COMMAND, APO 246, DATED JUNE 22, 1951, AND DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY RADIO ORDERS OF JULY 12, 1951, AS MODIFIED AND REVOKED, RESPECTIVELY, BY DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY LETTER ORDERS OF APRIL 7, 1953, PURPORTEDLY CONFIRMING VERBAL ORDERS OF JUNE 22, 1951, DIRECTING A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION ON THAT DATE FROM ASSIGNMENT AND DUTY IN THE MARIANAS-BONINS COMMAND, 8150TH AU, APO 246, AND ASSIGNING YOU TO 2053RD ASU, RECEPTION CENTER, FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND.

PARAGRAPH 6, SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 124, JUNE 22, 1951, MERELY GRANTED YOU THIRTY DAYS' EMERGENCY LEAVE, WITH AUTHORITY TO VISIT THE UNITED STATES, AND UPON COMPLETION OF THAT LEAVE YOU WERE TO RETURN TO YOUR PROPER STATION. UNDER THESE ORDERS YOU WERE FURNISHED GOVERNMENT TRANSPORTATION FROM GUAM TO TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA. YOU TRAVELED AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE FROM TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE TO BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN. THE RECORD SHOWS THAT, WHILE YOU WERE ON LEAVE AT BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, YOU RECEIVED THE ORDERS OF JULY 12, 1951, RELEASING YOU FROM ASSIGNMENT AND DUTY AT APO 246, AND ASSIGNING YOU TO DUTY AT FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, AS A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION.

BY VOUCHER NO. 4298, IN THE AUGUST 1951 ACCOUNTS OF E. C. ROGERS, DISBURSING OFFICER, YOU WERE PAID $180.78, ERRONEOUSLY, AS MILEAGE AT $0.06 A MILE FOR 3,013 MILES FROM TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE. IN OUR AUDIT OF THAT VOUCHER, WE ISSUED NOTICE OF EXCEPTION DATED JULY 2, 1952, TO THE DISBURSING OFFICER WITHHOLDING CREDIT FOR $133.74 COVERING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AMOUNT PAID AND THE ALLOWABLE MILEAGE FROM BATTLE CREEK--- WHERE THE ORDERS OF JULY 12, 1951, WERE RECEIVED--- AND FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, $47.04 FOR 784 MILES AT $0.06 A MILE. WHEN THIS EXCEPTION WAS BROUGHT TO YOUR ATTENTION, YOU OBJECTED BY YOUR LETTER OF AUGUST 28, 1952,ON THE BASIS THAT YOU HAD PRESUMED THE ACTION IN ASSIGNING YOU TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU HAD ALREADY SERVED 11 MONTHS BEYOND THE NORMAL TOUR OF DUTY AND THAT, UNDER THE PREVAILING LOCAL REGULATIONS AT APO 246, YOU WERE NOT TO BE RETURNED TO THE FAR EAST AS WAS INDICATED BY YOUR ORDERS OF JUNE 22, 1951. SINCE THE ORDERS OF JUNE 22, 1951, DID NOT DIRECT A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION, YOU INITIATED A REQUEST THAT YOUR ORDERS BE AMENDED TO SHOW THAT A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION WAS CONTEMPLATED ON JUNE 22, 1951, AND THE ORDERS OF APRIL 7, 1953--- NEARLY TWO YEARS LATER--- WERE THE RESULT.

MANY OF OUR DECISIONS HAVE BEEN TO THE EFFECT THAT, EXCEPT TO CORRECT OR COMPLETE ORDERS TO SHOW THE ORIGINAL INTENT, TRAVEL ORDERS MAY NOT BE REVOKED OR MODIFIED RETROACTIVELY SO AS TO INCREASE OR DECREASE THE RIGHTS WHICH HAVE ACCRUED AND BECOME FIXED UNDER THE APPLICABLE STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND ORDERS FOR TRAVEL ALREADY PERFORMED. SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, 23 COMP. GEN. 713 AND 24 ID. 439. THE ORDERS OF APRIL 7, 1953, PURPORTING TO CONFIRM VERBAL ORDERS OF JUNE 22, 1951, STATED THAT THE EXIGENCIES OF THE SERVICE PREVENTED ISSUANCE OF WRITTEN ORDERS IN ADVANCE. IT WOULD SEEM THAT IF, AS CONTENDED, THERE WAS A PRESENT INTENTION TO ORDER YOU ON A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND, WORDS TO THAT EFFECT COULD READILY HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN YOUR WRITTEN ORDERS OF JUNE 22, 1951, GRANTING YOU EMERGENCY LEAVE. YOU WERE RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES UNDER URGENT EMERGENCY LEAVE ORDERS AND, HAVING RECEIVED THE BENEFITS ATTENDANT UPON SUCH ORDERS, THEIR ATTEMPTED MODIFICATION MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED TO INCREASE YOUR MILEAGE PAYMENT.

PARAGRAPH 4155, CASE 14, JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS, IN EFFECT IN JULY 1951 WHEN YOUR TRAVEL WAS PERFORMED, WAS PROMULGATED PURSUANT TO SECTION 303 (A) OF THE CAREER COMPENSATION ACT OF 1949, 63 STAT. 813, AND STIPULATED THAT WHEN THE STATION OF A MEMBER--- AS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE STATION OF HIS ORGANIZATION--- IS CHANGED WHILE HE IS ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE, HE WILL, ON JOINING THE NEW STATION, BE ENTITLED TO ALLOWANCES FROM THE PLACE WHERE HE RECEIVED THE ORDERS DIRECTING THE CHANGE, NOT TO EXCEED THE DISTANCE FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW STATION.

SINCE YOU RECEIVED YOUR ORDERS OF JULY 12, 1951, CHANGING YOUR PERMANENT STATION TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND, WHILE YOU WERE ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE AT BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, YOU WERE ENTITLED ONLY TO TRAVEL ALLOWANCE FROM BATTLE CREEK, TO FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, FOR WHICH -- THE RECORD SHOWS--- YOU HAVE BEEN PAID.

ACCORDINGLY, INASMUCH AS THE SETTLEMENT OF FEBRUARY 15, 1956, DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM ON THAT BASIS, IT WAS CORRECT AND IS SUSTAINED.