BOARD DATE: 17 December 2014 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140001689 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests, in effect, that he be granted a basic allowance for housing (BAH) waiver as an exception to policy. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that he moved his family from Fort Polk, Louisiana to Miami, Florida prior to going to his temporary duty (TDY) station based on information given to him by finance personnel at Fort Polk. They told him he would be reimbursed the difference in BAH when he filed his travel voucher after his TDY and reporting to his new duty station. His son was due to start school while he was at his TDY station and he wanted to get his family settled. He sold his house in July 2013 and took his family to Miami on 13 August 2013. The difference between BAH at Fort Polk and Miami was almost double and he paid the difference out of his own pocket the 10 weeks he was at his TDY station attending school, which was the only time in his 20-year career that he had been TDY en-route. He filed his travel voucher as he had been informed and his claim was denied because he had not filed for a BAH waiver in advance of his move. His request does not involve financial gain as he paid for the time period in question out of his own pocket and simply wants what the government would have paid had he been properly advised at the time he planned his family’s move. 3. The applicant provides copies of his permanent change of station (PCS) orders, Request for BAH Waiver, and Lease Agreement. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant was commissioned as a U.S. Army Reserve second lieutenant on 11 May 1994 and entered active duty on 11 June 1994. He was appointed as a Regular Army second lieutenant on 16 August 1994 and has remained on continuous active duty. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on 1 February 2011. 2. On 26 February 2013, while the applicant was assigned to Fort Polk, PCS orders were published transferring the applicant to the “USA ELM HQ USSOUTHCOM, MIAMI, FLORIDA” effective 7 January 2014 with TDY en-route to the 10-week Joint and Combined War-Fighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. 3. On 13 August 2013, he moved his family to Miami and signed a lease for a rental property on 26 August 2013. 4. On 6 December 2013, the applicant submitted a request for a BAH waiver by e-mail to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-1 and that office denied his request because there was no supporting documentation to show he had received erroneous information from finance. Additionally, he was advised that BAH waivers are not retroactive nor are they based on financial hardship. 5. In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-1 which opines that the applicant’s PCS orders do not address his dependents and that requests for waivers of advance travel of dependents are consistently disapproved when submitted after the report date for the sole purpose of financial gain. 6. The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for response and he responded to the effect that as an officer of 20 years he is frustrated by being constantly misdirected on how to resolve what should be a simple claim to be paid the proper amount he was due for moving his family from his old duty station to his new duty station. His request is not based on any financial gain. He is simply requesting to be paid what he would have been paid had he been properly advised to begin with. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant’s contention that he should be paid the BAH rate for Miami effective the date he moved there (13 August 2013) as an exception policy due to being misinformed at his losing duty station as to the proper procedures has been noted and appears to have merit. 2. Notwithstanding the opinion from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-1, that the applicant did not provide specifics as to who in finance misinformed him as to the proper procedures for moving his family, it is not reasonable to presume that a Soldier would make such a move at the risk of having to pay such a large amount of money out of his personal finances without the prospect of being reimbursed. 3. It is also noted that had he been properly advised, he could have submitted his request for advance movement of his dependents before he departed Fort Polk and given the circumstances, would have had a better chance of approval. In any event, he would have been informed at the time that he would not be reimbursed if he moved his family without authorization and he would have been able to make a more informed decision. 4. There does not appear to be any financial gain associated with the applicant’s request as he has already spent the monies involved out of his own pocket and he is simply requesting that he be paid the BAH that he would have been paid if he had been properly advised beforehand. 5. Therefore, as a matter of equity, his records should be corrected to show that on 1 August 2013 he was granted approval for advance travel of his dependents to Miami, Florida and payment of BAH entitlements for that location. BOARD VOTE: ___x_____ ___x_____ __x___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing that on 1 August 2013 he was granted approval for advance travel of his dependents to Miami, Florida and payment of BAH entitlements for that location. _______ _ x_______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140001689 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140001689 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1