PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            9 April 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002068422

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Joseph A. Adriance 		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A -  Application for correction of military 
                             records
	Exhibit B -  Military Personnel Records (including
	                  advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that Basic Allowance for Housing 
(BAH)-I be authorized, effective from the first date of active duty performed in support of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Olympics.   

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that BAH-I should be paid for the entire period served on active duty in support of the JTF Olympics, as was the original intent of the JTF manning planners.  A Memorandum, dated 9 January 2002, from the Commander in Chief (CINC), Joint Forces Command (JFC), Norfolk, Virginia, Subject: Request for Retroactive Payment of BAH-I for Joint Task Force Olympics Reserve Component (RC) Personnel, was provided to the Board in support of this application.  

4.  The applicant’s military records show that Orders Number 219-033, issued by the Office of the Adjutant General (OTAG), Utah Army National Guard, ordered the applicant to Active Duty Special Work (ADSW) status, in support of the JTF Olympics, effective 6 August 2001.  Orders Number A-08-001231, dated 
24 August 2001, issued by the Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM), 
St. Louis, Missouri, ordered the applicant to active duty, for a period of 139 days, effective 25 August 2001, to serve with the JTF Olympics.  

5.  The CINC, JFC, recommends that the active duty orders of RC personnel, listed in the matrix enclosed with his memorandum to the Board, who were ordered to active duty in support of the JTF Olympics be corrected.  The orders should be amended to reflect a tour length in excess of 139 days.  This would allow the RC personnel in question to be retroactively paid the difference between BAH-II and BAH-I.  The net result of this action would be that the 
RC personnel receive BAH-I for the entire duration of their orders, as was always the intent of the JTF planners, and is comparable to what their active duty counterparts received.  

6.  The issue paper included with the CINC, JFC, memorandum confirms that it was the intent from the beginning to populate the JTF manning document with individuals who would remain in position for the duration of the mission (end of mission is March 2002).  While the service procedures employed in publishing orders were not technically incorrect, they were clearly not in the best interest of the RC personnel involved.  Issuing initial orders that authorized an active duty period of 139 days or less created an inequity between RC soldiers and their active component (AC) counterparts working in the same positions.  The financial impact on RC personnel was further exacerbated because their homes of record were local, making them ineligible for temporary duty (TDY) payments.

7.  The Department of Defense (DOD) Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7, provides military pay policy for active duty and reserve pay.  Chapter 26 contains the policy for the payment of BAH and it states, in pertinent part, that RC personnel ordered to active duty for periods of 139 days or less are entitled to BAH-II and those ordered to active duty for a period of 140 days or more are authorized BAH-I.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms that, while the active duty orders provided to the applicant were not technically incorrect, they did not comply with the intent of the JTF Olympics document planners.  More important, they did not comply with the intent of the CINC, JFC, who clearly intended that the RC soldiers ordered to active duty would remain in position for the duration of the mission, which was scheduled to end in March 2002.  

2.  In the opinion of the Board, the active duty orders issued to the RC personnel who entered active duty to support the JTF Olympics should have authorized a period in accordance with the intent of the CINC, JFC.  Therefore, in the interest of equity, the Board concludes it would be appropriate at this time to amend the applicant’s orders to authorize an active duty period of 140 days, and to provide the applicant the difference between BAH-II and BAH-I pay for the entire period served on active duty in support of the JTF Olympics.  

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by revoking Orders Number 219-033, issued by the Office of the Adjutant General (OTAG), Utah Army National Guard; amending Orders Number 
A-08-001231 to read “Reporting Date:  6 August 2001” and “Period of Active Duty 140 days (End of Mission Date March 2002)”; and by providing the individual concerned the difference between BAH-II and BAH-I pay for the entire duration of active duty served in support of the JTF Olympics.   

BOARD VOTE:  

__RVO__  __RJW__  __DPH__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.___
		              CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002068422	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2002/04/09	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	N/A	
DISCHARGE REASON	N/A	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  1021	100.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.