Claim for Backpay

A former Marine appealed the denial of his claim for backpay incident to his military service. In 1943, the claimant was court-martialed and sentenced to confinement for 3 years, forfeiture of pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge. The sentence was held in abeyance and the member returned to duty in a probationary status. He violated the probation and was confined until he received his dishonorable discharge. In 1975, at his request, the claimant's discharge was reviewed and changed to a general discharge. He was sent payment of accrued leave, mustering-out pay, and travel allowances which had been previously withheld. The claimant then claimed entitlement to pay and allowances for the period of his confinement. GAO held that the change in the nature of his discharge without altering any other aspects of the court-martial sentence created no entitlement to the pay and allowances. Payment of the claim for pay from the date of discharge to the filing of his claim was precluded because the discharge terminated his entitlement. His claim for educational benefits could not be adjudicated by GAO as the Veterans Administration has exclusive jurisdiction over that matter. In his appeal, the claimant contended that his claim arose from defects in his 1943 court-martial which should render it null and void. GAO held that since the change in his record did not remove the fact of his court-martial or his discharge, there was no basis for authorization of the payments on that basis. GAO could not independently assess those allegations to determine the legality of the court-martial. Accordingly, the claim was denied.