Board of Contract Appeals

                 General Services Administration

                      Washington, D.C. 20405









                     _______________________



                          March 21, 2003

                     _______________________





                         GSBCA 15908-TRAV





                 In the Matter of JOE E. MASTERS





     Joe E. Masters, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Claimant.



     James Wallace, Chief, Financial Services, Department of the  Air Force, Pacific Air

Forces, APO Area Pacific, appearing for Department of the Air Force.



WILLIAMS, Board Judge.



     An employee stationed outside the continental United States (OCONUS) is entitled

to one trip home or to an alternate destination between tours of duty and is not entitled to a

second trip when the first trip was cut short due to a family emergency.



                            Background



     Claimant, Joe E. Masters, a school principal employed by the Department of Defense

in Guam, was authorized renewal agreement travel (RAT) for himself and three dependents

to Frederick, Maryland, or an alternate destination of Neuhoff, Germany, on April 11, 2001.



     Claimant departed from Guam and went to Honolulu on September 24, 2001, and

returned to Guam on October 6, 2001.  On February 25, 2002, claimant again traveled from

Guam to Hawaii and then, on February 28, from Hawaii to Neuhoff, Germany, and returned

to Hawaii on March 10, 2002.  Claimant's son departed Guam on May 26, 2001, and returned

to Guam on August 11, 2001.  Claimant's wife also departed Guam on May 26, 2001,

subsequently traveled to Hawaii and Germany and then returned to Hawaii on March 23,

2002.  Claimant was required to interrupt his intended RAT travel in October 2001 due to

a family emergency and was unable to recommence his intended travel prior to

February/March 2002.  The Government travel agent issued Mr. Masters airline tickets for

the September/October 2001 travel at no cost, but Mr. Masters personally procured airline

tickets for his February/March 2002 travel and is requesting reimbursement.



     Mr. Masters spent the majority of the second trip in Germany, but is a United States

resident.  The agency denied reimbursement for the February/March 2002 trip based upon

Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) C4162, which permits an employee to perform travel to an

alternate destination either in the United States or in the country of the employee's actual

residence.  In addition, the agency concluded that Mr. Masters completed his RAT in

September/October 2001 and that there was no entitlement to a second trip.



                            Discussion



     The governing statute, 5 U.S.C.   5728(a) (2000), authorizes tour renewal agreement

travel for employees stationed overseas as follows:



       5728.  Travel and transportation expenses; vacation leave



          (a)  Under regulations prescribed under section 5738 of this title, an

     agency shall pay from its appropriations the expenses of round-trip travel of

     an employee, and the transportation of his immediate family, but not household

     goods, from his post of duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, and

     Hawaii to the place of his actual residence at the time of appointment or

     transfer to the post of duty, after he has satisfactorily completed an agreed

     period of service outside the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii and

     is returning to his actual place of residence to take leave before serving another

     tour of duty at the same or another post of duty outside the continental

     United States, Alaska, and Hawaii under a new written agreement made before

     departing from the post of duty.



     The implementing regulations, the JTR, provide, in pertinent part:



     PART D:  RENEWAL AGREEMENT TRAVEL (RAT)



     C4150  GENERAL



     Employees may be eligible to receive travel/transportation expense allowances

     for returning home between OCONUS tours of duty to take leave.  The

     provisions of this Part apply to employees serving OCONUS tours of duty. . . .



     C4151  ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL OCONUS AREAS



     To be eligible for allowances described in par. C4150, prior to departure from

     the OCONUS PDS, an employee must have:



          1.   satisfactorily competed an agreed period of service or the

               prescribed tour of duty



          *2.  entered into a new written agreement for another period of

               service at the same or another OCONUS post or duty station;

               (the agreement covers costs incident to travel to the employee's

               actual residence or alternate location (See pars. C4162-A and

               C4162-B) and return and any additional cost paid by the

               Government as a result of the employee's transfer to another

               OCONUS PDS at the time of the tour renewal agreement travel)

               . . . .



     The clear import of the statute and regulations governing renewal agreement travel

is that employees stationed OCONUS are entitled to one trip home or to an alternate

destination to take leave between their tours of duty.  Claimant here took two trips within

approximately five months of each other and is not entitled to be reimbursed for the second

trip.  As we recognized in a similar case, George E. Lingle, GSBCA 13946-TRAV,

98-1 BCA   29,439, a claimant is entitled to compensation for one trip "by operation of law

between his tours of duty."  There, however, the Board ruled "pursuant to applicable statute

and regulation, claimant would not be entitled to receive compensation for two trips within

eleven months of each other."



                             Decision



     The claim is denied.







                                   ________________________________

                                   MARY ELLEN COSTER WILLIAMS

                                   Board Judge