Amendment to Joint Travel Regulations

The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs requested an advance decision concerning a proposed amendment to travel regulations relating to the dislocation allowance entitlement of military members with dependents. The Assistant Secretary asked whether the regulations might be amended to permit a military member with dependents, who are authorized to relocate with him, to receive a dislocation allowance when his dependents do not relocate incident to his change in permanent duty station. Under the law, a member who has no dependents, or whose dependents are not authorized to move, is entitled to a dislocation allowance equal to the monthly basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) for a member without dependents. Similarly, a member with dependents, who are authorized to and in fact do move with him, is entitled to a dislocation allowance payment equal to his BAQ. In the past, GAO has held that a member with dependents who do not relocate with him was not entitled to receive any dislocation since he did not fall into either category. In reconsidering the whole matter, GAO believes that Congress did not intend to preclude payment of a dislocation allowance to such members. Accordingly, it was held that an amendment permitting treatment of a member with dependents, who are authorized to travel with him but who in fact do not, as a member without dependents for purposes of receiving dislocation allowance was not prohibited.