B-150749, MAY 16, 1963

B-150749, MAY 16, 1963

TO COMMANDER HUGH M. NELSON:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF JANUARY 25, 1963, IN EFFECT REQUESTING A REVIEW OF OUR SETTLEMENT OF JANUARY 15, 1963, WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM FOR ADDITIONAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, TO CORONADO, CALIFORNIA, INCIDENT TO ORDERS DATED MAY 26, 1961.

BUREAU OF NAVAL PERSONNEL ORDERS OF MAY 26, 1961, DIRECTED THAT UPON DETACHMENT FROM NAVAL AIR TEST CENTER, PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, IN JULY 1961, YOU WERE TO PROCEED TO NAVAL AIR STATION, NORTH ISLAND, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, FOR TEMPORARY DUTY IN A FLYING STATUS INVOLVING OPERATIONAL OR TRAINING FLIGHTS FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT THREE WEEKS, UPON COMPLETION OF WHICH YOU WERE TO PROCEED TO THE U.S.S. CURRITUCK (AV-7) FOR DUTY ON BOARD. INCIDENT TO SUCH ORDERS YOUR DEPENDENTS TRAVELED FROM PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, TO EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, ON JULY 31, 1961, AND YOU WERE PAID FOR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL ON A MILEAGE BASIS AND A DISLOCATION ALLOWANCE FOR SUCH TRAVEL. ON JULY 24, 1962, YOU PRESENTED A CLAIM FOR YOUR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM EDENTON, TO CORONADO, CALIFORNIA, PERFORMED FROM JUNE 27 TO JULY 3, 1962, INCIDENT TO THE ORDERS OF MAY 26, 1961. YOU STATED THAT EDENTON WAS YOUR DEPENDENTS' TEMPORARY RESIDENCE WHILE YOUR VESSEL WAS OVERSEAS AND UPON RETURN OF THE U.S.S. CURRITUCK TO THE UNITED STATES YOUR DEPENDENTS TRAVELED TO SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, THE HOME PORT OF THE VESSEL. YOU CLAIMED ENTITLEMENT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPHS 7057 AND 7061 OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS.

YOUR CLAIM WAS DISALLOWED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF JANUARY 15, 1963, FOR THE REASON THAT IN SUBMITTING A VOUCHER FOR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL TO EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, YOU CERTIFIED THAT THE TRAVEL WAS PERFORMED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A BONA FIDE RESIDENCE AT EDENTON AND THAT THE TRAVEL COVERED BY THAT CLAIM REPRESENTED THE ENTIRE TRAVEL OF YOUR DEPENDENTS ON THAT CHANGE OF STATION. SINCE YOU WERE PAID ON THAT BASIS, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS NO AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM EDENTON TO CORONADO ON THE SAME CHANGE OF STATION.

IN YOUR LETTER YOU STATE THAT EDENTON WAS BUT AN INTERIM ADDRESS FOR YOUR DEPENDENTS AND THAT YOU HAD INTENDED TO BRING THEM TO CORONADO UPON THE RETURN OF YOUR VESSEL TO SAN DIEGO. HOWEVER, YOUR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM EDENTON TO SAN DIEGO DURING THE PERIOD JUNE 27 TO JULY 3, 1962, WAS SUBSEQUENT TO BUPERS ORDER NO. 157761, JUNE 21, 1962, WHICH DIRECTED A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION IN AUGUST 1962 TO FLEET TRAINING GROUP, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. LATER, PURSUANT TO ORDERS OF JULY 25, 1962, WHICH CANCELED THE ORDERS OF JUNE 21, 1962, AND DIRECTED YOUR TRANSFER TO THE AUXILIARY LANDING STATION, BONHAM KAUAI, HAWAII, AS OFFICER IN CHARGE, YOUR DEPENDENTS TRAVELED FROM SAN DIEGO TO KAUAI, HAWAII. YOU FORWARDED A COPY OF THE ORDERS OF JULY 25, 1962, AND STATE THAT YOU WERE REIMBURSED FOR YOUR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, TO EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, AND FROM SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, TO NAVAL AIR STATION, BARBER'S POINT, OAHU, HAWAII, AND THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT UNDER EITHER OF THE TWO ORDERS REFERRED TO ABOVE YOU ARE ENTITLED TO REIMBURSEMENT ON A MILEAGE BASIS FOR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, TO CORONADO, CALIFORNIA.

PARAGRAPH 7057 OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS, PROMULGATED PURSUANT TO THE PERTINENT STATUTE, 37 U.S.C. 406, PROVIDES THAT UPON A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION, A MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES IS ENTITLED TO TRANSPORTATION OF DEPENDENTS AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE FROM THE OLD PERMANENT STATION TO A PLACE OTHER THAN THE NEW PERMANENT STATION, NOT TO EXCEED ENTITLEMENT FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW STATION. SIMILARLY, PARAGRAPH 7061 PROVIDES IN PERTINENT PART THAT UPON A MEMBER'S TRANSFER FROM A SHORE STATION TO A VESSEL, DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL IS AUTHORIZED FROM THE SHORE STATION TO A PLACE OTHER THAN THE HOME YARD OR HOME PORT OF THE VESSEL, NOT TO EXCEED ENTITLEMENT FROM THE OLD SHORE STATION TO THE HOME YARD OR THE HOME PORT OF THE VESSEL, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. UNDER THESE REGULATIONS THE MEMBER MAY BE PAID FOR DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL TO A PLACE OTHER THAN THE NEW PERMANENT STATION OR THE HOME YARD OR HOME PORT OF THE VESSEL TO WHICH THE MEMBER IS ASSIGNED, BUT UPON PAYMENT FOR SUCH TRAVEL HIS RIGHT IS EXHAUSTED AND NO FURTHER RIGHT TO DEPENDENT TRANSPORTATION AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE ACCRUES UNDER THAT CHANGE OF STATION. 38 COMP. GEN. 453. WHERE, UPON SUBSEQUENT CHANGE OF STATION, THE DEPENDENTS' TRAVEL FROM THAT PLACE TO THE MEMBER'S NEW DUTY STATION, HIS ENTITLEMENT TO DEPENDENTS' TRANSPORTATION AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE IS LIMITED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH 7058 OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS TO THE DISTANCE FROM THE OLD DUTY STATION TO THE NEW DUTY STATION.

INCIDENT TO YOUR ORDERS OF MAY 26, 1961, WHICH TRANSFERRED YOU FROM THE NAVAL AIR TEST CENTER, PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, TO THE U.S.S. CURRITUCK, WITH HOME PORT AT SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, YOUR DEPENDENTS TRAVELED FROM PATUXENT RIVER TO EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA. UPON YOUR CERTIFICATION THAT THE TRAVEL WAS PERFORMED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A BONA FIDE RESIDENCE AT THAT PLACE, YOU WERE PAID FOR SUCH TRAVEL. THEREFORE THERE WAS NO AUTHORITY FOR ANY FURTHER TRANSPORTATION OF DEPENDENTS AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE UNDER THOSE ORDERS. THE ORDERS OF JUNE 21, 1962, PROVIDED NO BASIS FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE TRAVEL OF YOUR DEPENDENTS DURING THE PERIOD JUNE 27 TO JULY 3, 1962, FROM EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, TO CORONADO, CALIFORNIA, SINCE SUCH ORDERS WERE CANCELED PRIOR TO THEIR EFFECTIVE DATE BY THE ORDERS OF JULY 25, 1962. SEE IN THAT REGARD PARAGRAPH 7050, JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS. ACCORDINGLY, SINCE YOU INDICATE THAT YOU WERE PAID FOR THE TRAVEL OF YOUR DEPENDENTS FROM SAN DIEGO TO HAWAII, INCIDENT TO THE ORDERS OF JULY 25, 1962, NO FURTHER REIMBURSEMENT IS AUTHORIZED IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR CLAIM, THE TRAVEL PRIOR TO JULY 25 NOT HAVING BEEN PERFORMED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE ORDERS. ACCORDINGLY, THE SETTLEMENT OF JANUARY 15, 1963, IS SUSTAINED.