ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 20 March 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190002756 APPLICANT REQUESTS: payment for 21 days of unused leave accrued while serving on active duty for operational support orders. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Order# R-11-692893 * Order# HR-5239-00012 * Order# HR-5239-00012A02 * Order# NG14-259-178 * Order# NG14-259-178A01 * Order# NG14-24-001 * Leave Verification Sheet * USARC Form 24-R (Individual Claim for Active Duty Pay, Allowances and Adjustments) * DD Form 827 (Application for Arrears in Pay) * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) x 2 * Leave and Earnings Statements x9 * DA Form 5960 (Authorization to Start, Stop or Change Basic Allowance for Quarters and or Variable Housing Allowance) * Debt and Claims Management communication (letters/emails) * Case Management System Document * Email from the Defense Finance and Accounting System (DFAS) FACTS: 1. The applicant states that he was serving on Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS) orders from 14 February 2014 to 30 September 2016. He submitted paperwork on 7 September 2016 to have his 21 days of unused leave paid out at Fort Belvoir. Despite multiple attempts over the past 2 years with DFAS, Fort Belvoir finance, Red Stone Arsenal finance and his unit, he has been unable to resolve this matter. 2. The applicant provides the following documents: a. Order# R-11-692893 dated 2 November 2016 – ordering him to active duty within the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) for 3 years effective 14 November 2016. b. Order# HR-5239-00012A02 dated 7 September 2016 – amending his previous order ending on 7 September 2016 to 30 September 2016. c. Order# HR-5239-00012 – placed on ADOS orders for 366 days “including accumulated leave.” d. Order# NG14-259-178A01 dated 14 August 2015 – amending his previous orders ending on 30 September 2015 to 7 September 2015. e. Order# NG14-259-178 dated 16 September 2014 - placed on ADOS orders for from 1 October 2014 through 30 September 2015. f. Order# NG14-24-001 dated 24 January 2014 - - placed on ADOS orders for from 10 ebruary 2014 through 30 September 2014. g. Leave Verification Sheet dated 22 August 2016 – reflective of him declining transitional leave and electing to sell 21 days of accrued leave; 12 days of unprocessed leave is also reflected USARC Form 24-R (Individual Claim for Active Duty Pay, Allowances and Adjustments) – reflective of his claim to sell 21 days of accrued leave. h. DD Form 827 (Application for Arrears in Pay) dated 30 July 2018 – reflective of his submission for leave back payment for 21 days as opposed to transferring these leave days due to the possibility of losing them at the end of the fiscal year. i. DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 30 September 2016 – reflective of him completing 2 years, 7 months and 21 days of active duty j. DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 7 September 2016 – reflective of him completing 2 years, 6 months and 28 days of active duty k. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 30 September 2016 - reflective of 44.5 days of accrued leave; same amount of days are also reflected as use of lose leave. l. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 31 December 2016 – reflective of 4 days of accrued leave; same amount of days are also reflected as use or lose leave. m. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 20 January 2017 – reflective of 44.5 days of accrued leave n. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 1 September 2016 – reflective of 42 days of accrued leave; 43 days of use or lose leave. o. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 15 September 2016 – reflective of 43.5 days of accrued leave; 44.5 days of use or lose leave. p. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 15 November 2016 – reflective of 44.5 days of accrued leave; 44.5 days of use or lose leave. q. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 18 November 2016 – reflective of 44.5 days of accrued leave; 44.5 days of use or lose leave. r. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 23 November 2016 – reflective of 44.5 days of accrued leave; 44.5 days of use or lose. s. Leave and Earnings Statement dated 7 December 2016 – reflective of 44.5 days of accrued leave; 44.5 days of use or lose. t. DA Form 5960 (Authorization to Start, Stop or Change Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ) and or Variable Housing Allowance) dated 8 September 2016 – reflective of his request to start BAQ entitlements 3. Debt and Claims Management communication (letters/emails) covering the period from 4 September 2018 to 7 February 2019 are reflective of the applicant having 2 open tickets with DFAS concerning his entitlements. a. On 4 September 2018 –advised that his claim was being handled as an out of service claim for an arrears payment incurred while he was serving on active duty as a Reserve Component (RC) Soldier. Further stated is that he separated from the RC in 2016 and the 21 days of accrued leave payment should have been made upon his release from active duty (REFRAD). Despite the Soldier being on active duty, payment could not be made until his account was transferred from the RC to the Active Component (AC). b. On 14 September 2018 – advised that his case was added to the debt tracking system and would be addressed on a “first in – first out” method. c. On 27 December 2018 – advised that pay claims normally take 90-120 business days to be processed. He was also informed that the 23 days of accrued leave could be added to his active duty account and he could request to sell those days through them. d. On 7 February 2019 – advised that DFAS is not a decision making entity and further directed him to submit his application to the ABCMR. 4. Case Management System document reflective of his case history and their request to have his 21 days of leave paid. 5. On 4 September 2018 (Email from DFAS) advising that he needed to apply for payment in arrears. His leave balance of 21 days would have been paid out prior to transferring from RC to AC and falling off the RC pay system leaving him with 23 days of accrued leave on the AC side. 6. A review of the applicant’s available service records indicates the following on: * 31 January 2001 – he enlisted in the Army National Guard (ARNG) * 9 February 2008 – he was commissioned in the ARNG * 14 November 2016 – he was assessed into the AGR program and placed on active duty 7. United States Army Reserve (USAR) Pamphlet 37-1 (Finance Guide) paragraph 5-4 (Disposition of Unused Leave) states that when a Soldier is released from active duty, they may elect payment for unused leave or request to carry all or a portion of the leave forward to their next active duty period of 30 or more days. Soldiers with unused leave balances from mobilization or Contingency Operations (CO) - ADOS orders will normally use the leave as transitional leave prior to release from active duty. Soldiers accruing leave on Active Duty for Training (ADT) or ADOS-Reserve Component orders are not authorized transitional leave. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents and evidence in the records. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, his record of service, his leave balances, accession into the AGR program, the correspondence from DFAS and entries in Case Management System, and an email from DFAS advising him to request payment in arrears. The Board considered that his transfer contributed to an omission in payments. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the absence of payment for 21 days of accrued leave was in error and that correction was required. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :XXX :XXX :XXX GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is 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: - Paying the applicant for 21 days of leave as shown on the Leave Verification Sheet dated 22 August 2016. 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. REFERENCES: 1. United States Army Reserve (USAR) Pamphlet 37-1 (Finance Guide) paragraph 5-4 (Disposition of Unused Leave) states that when a Soldier is released from active duty, they may elect payment for unused leave or request to carry all or a portion of the leave forward to their next active duty period of 30 or more days. Soldiers with unused leave balances from mobilization or Contingency Operations (CO) - ADOS orders will normally use the leave as transitional leave prior to release from active duty. Soldiers accruing leave on Active Duty for Training (ADT) or ADOS-Reserve Component orders are not authorized transitional leave. 2. Title 10 U.S. Code 501 states that a member of the Army, who has accrued leave to his credit at the time of his discharge, is entitled to be paid in cash or by a check on the Treasurer of the United States for such leave on the basis of the basic pay to which he was entitled on the date of discharge. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190002756 5 1