B-142080, MAR. 28, 1960

B-142080, MAR. 28, 1960

TO COLONEL JACK R. LOONEY:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF FEBRUARY 6, 1960, REQUESTING REVIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT OF JANUARY 29, 1960, WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM FOR THE DIFFERENCE IN COST BETWEEN SPACE AVAILABLE AND SPACE REQUIRED FOR TRANSPORTATION FOR YOUR DEPENDENTS FROM MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, TO HONOLULU, HAWAII.

BY PARAGRAPH 1, SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 47, DATED MARCH 4, 1959, YOU WERE TRANSFERRED FROM TAIPEI, TAIWAN, TO FORT BENNING, GEORGIA, FOR DUTY. THE ORDERS DIRECTED YOU TO PROCEED ON OR ABOUT MAY 25, 1959, BY AIR WHEN AVAILABLE TO MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, FOR 20 DAYS' LEAVE, UPON COMPLETION OF WHICH YOU WERE TO PROCEED BY SURFACE TRANSPORTATION WHEN AVAILABLE FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE UNITED STATES. CONCURRENT TRAVEL OF YOUR DEPENDENTS WAS AUTHORIZED. ON THE BASIS OF THOSE ORDERS YOU REQUESTED SPACE FOR YOURSELF AND DEPENDENTS ON THE USNS BARRETT, AN MSTS VESSEL WHICH WAS SCHEDULED TO DEPART MANILA ON JUNE 9, 1959, FOR HONOLULU, AND SAN FRANCISCO. ON APRIL 22, 1959, YOU WERE ADVISED BY HEADQUARTERS, U.S. ARMY TRANSPORTATION TERMINAL DETACHMENT, MANILA, THAT SINCE YOUR PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION WAS TO BE OVER AN INDIRECT OR CIRCUITOUS ROUTE, YOU WERE NOT ENTITLED TO SPACE REQUIRED TRAVEL BUT TO SPACE AVAILABLE TRAVEL ONLY AND THAT, SINCE TRAVEL IN THAT CATEGORY WAS "QUITE TIGHT," YOU HAD BEEN BOOKED ONLY AS FAR AS HONOLULU. YOUR ORDERS WERE AMENDED BY PARAGRAPH 1, SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 109, DATED MAY 16, 1959, TO DIRECT TWO DAYS' TEMPORARY DUTY AT HONOLULU. THE PORT CALL DATED MAY 27, 1959, FOR MSTS TRAVEL FROM MANILA TO HONOLULU REQUIRED YOU TO PAY THE SPACE AVAILABLE FEE.

YOU AND YOUR DEPENDENTS TRAVELED FROM TAIPEI TO MANILA BY MATS, THENCE TO HONOLULU BY MSTS, AND FROM THE LATTER PLACE TO TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, BY MATS. YOUR CLAIM FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FEE CHARGED YOU FOR SPACE AVAILABLE TRAVEL BY YOUR DEPENDENTS AND THAT WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED YOU FOR SPACE REQUIRED TRAVEL WAS DISALLOWED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF JANUARY 29, 1960. YOU NOW CONTEND, IN SUBSTANCE, THAT SINCE YOUR DEPENDENTS WERE ACCOMPANYING YOU BY WAY OF YOUR TEMPORARY DUTY STATION UNDER ORDERS WHICH AUTHORIZED CONCURRENT TRAVEL BY EITHER AIR OR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION, NO CIRCUITOUS TRAVEL WAS PERFORMED. ALSO, YOU STATE THAT THE DELAY EN ROUTE IN THE PHILIPPINES DOES NOT ALTER THE FACT THAT YOU WERE TRAVELING FROM ONE STATION TO ANOTHER UNDER ORDERS ENTITLING YOU TO TRANSPORTATION OF DEPENDENTS AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE.

WHERE THE NEW ASSIGNMENT IS TO OTHER THAN A RESTRICTED AREA, APPLICABLE LAW AND REGULATIONS CONTEMPLATE THAT A MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES ORDERED TO MAKE A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SHALL BE ENTITLED TO TRANSPORTATION OF HIS DEPENDENTS AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE AT NOT TO EXCEED THE COST OF SUCH TRANSPORTATION OVER THE DIRECT USUALLY TRAVELED ROUTE BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW STATION. THE USUALLY TRAVELED ROUTE BETWEEN TAIWAN AND THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES IS FROM TAIPEI DIRECT TO SAN FRANCISCO OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FROM TAIPEI TO SAN FRANCISCO BY WAY OF YOKANAMA, JAPAN. SCHEDULES ON FILE HERE SHOW MSTS SAILINGS FROM TAIPEI TO SAN FRANCISCO DURING THE PERIOD HERE INVOLVED. NEITHER THE AUTHORIZATION FOR CONCURRENT TRAVEL OF DEPENDENTS, WHICH THE REGULATIONS INDICATE CONTEMPLATES TRAVEL AT OR ABOUT THE SAME TIME, WHETHER PERFORMED WITH THE MEMBER OR SEPARATELY, NOR THE ASSIGNMENT TO A BRIEF PERIOD OF TEMPORARY DUTY AT A POINT ON THE ROUTE TRAVELED BY THE MEMBER AND HIS DEPENDENTS, CAN SERVE TO INCREASE HIS ENTITLEMENT TO TRANSPORTATION OF DEPENDENTS INCIDENT TO HIS PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION. THUS THE CONCLUSION APPEARS REQUIRED THAT THE DETERMINATION BY HEADQUARTERS, U.S. ARMY TRANSPORTATION TERMINAL DETACHMENT, MANILA, THAT THE TRAVEL AS PERFORMED BY YOUR DEPENDENTS BY WAY OF MANILA AND HONOLULU WAS BY A CIRCUITOUS ROUTE, AND THAT ON THE BASIS YOU WERE CHARGEABLE WITH THE FEES FIXED BY MSTS TARIFFS FOR TRAVEL ON A SPACE AVAILABLE BASIS, WAS CORRECT.