Fraud, Waste, Abuse? Unit to spend more money on TDY to not pay soldier Per Diem.

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 11:08:28 -0400

I have a SPC that is going to BLC. The army unit that is in charge of his administration does not want to send him to a base within 3 hours of driving because they do not have a dinning facility and he would have to receive additional per diem. In stead they want to send him halfway across the county which now involves flights that cost way more than the additional per diem required at the other base. Would you consider this under Fraud , Waste, or Abuse?

Response by SFC Wade W. made Oct 30 at 2015 11:12 AM

SFC Wade W. — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 11:12:08 -0400

Hard to say. Money for these things come from different pots and therefore the unit may be saving unit funds because the flight is being paid from somewhere else. These funding things can be a nightmare depending on who is doing the oversight.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 30 at 2015 11:20 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 11:20:38 -0400

I would.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 30 at 2015 11:34 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 11:34:00 -0400

It may sound like fraud, waste and abuse depending on where the funds are coming from and how they determined which is advantageous to the unit.

Response by SSG Thomas Gallegos made Oct 30 at 2015 12:44 PM

SSG Thomas Gallegos — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 12:44:03 -0400

When it comes to funding, that's a whole other monster.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Oct 30 at 2015 12:55 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 12:55:02 -0400

Sounds like regulations with unintended consequences coupled with a fear of challenging standing orders with the responsible command. Surely, whoever wrote that regulation would grant exceptions if the facts were brought to his/her attention.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Oct 30 at 2015 12:59 PM

Capt Mark Strobl — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 12:59:34 -0400

When it comes to funding, especially for training, in the DoD, Common Sense in an Uncommon Virtue!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Oct 30 at 2015 1:32 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 13:32:52 -0400

This is what we refer to a "colors of money" issue.

It's counter-intuitive because we think it all spends the same. It doesn't, because there are rules regarding how it is allocated and spent.

Using your example, they may have a surplus of Travel money, but no per diem money. Likewise many units won't send people places because they don't have adequate travel budgets. We're just seeing the reverse of this.

Response by Maj Matt Hylton made Oct 30 at 2015 1:50 PM

Maj Matt Hylton — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 13:50:15 -0400

Can he not submit an constructive travel worksheet to show which option is advantageous to the government and traveler? (is he doing this in DTS or are orders being made for him?)

That's what I do on most of my TDY's because I prefer to drive if it can be done in a day. Most of the time it is cheaper to just compare driving mileage costs vs. the airfare to show that it's better for the government.
You have to take ALL costs into account however to show which one is better.
Option 1 - within 3 hours of driving
- Include the daily per diem costs
- Include the daily lodging costs
- Include the Mileage costs for driving his POV (I'm assuming that would be the travel method within 300 miles)
Option 2 - fly to another location
- Include cost of flights (including taxes, baggage & booking fees)
- Include the daily lodging costs
- Include rental car and rental car expenses (gas, taxes) if he would be authorized a rental car
- if not authorized a rental car, include expenses incurred to travel from airport to the place of duty (taxi, shuttle, public transit, etc.)

If you want option 1, you must show ALL costs that are not identical for each trip. Then, you must show costs for option 2 that at least show that it is more expensive. It's better to show everything, but like I said above many of mine will just show the cost of the airfare if that is higher than all other costs on option 1.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 30 at 2015 2:41 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 14:41:09 -0400

Have you calculated both COA?

Response by CPO Andy Carrillo, MS made Oct 30 at 2015 6:07 PM

CPO Andy Carrillo, MS — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 18:07:30 -0400

Nah, just bureaucratic inefficiency. Tell him to enjoy the flights.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 30 at 2015 6:29 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 18:29:05 -0400

He will need a rental car living on the economy.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 31 at 2015 4:30 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 04:30:03 -0400

Army logic at it's finest.

Response by SFC Donald Neal made Oct 31 at 2015 3:01 PM

SFC Donald Neal — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 15:01:43 -0400

Everyone has already covered the funding sources, and variety of policies and regulations so I will leave that alone. I thought it was a live in course and all students are placed on a meal card? That would mean eating in the DFAC for the majority if not all of your meals.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 3 at 2015 5:56 AM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 05:56:33 -0500

I would recommend following MAJ Matt Hylton's guidance and do do the cost analysis to submit to the unit command to make the call.

Response by MSG Alfred Aguilar made Nov 4 at 2015 12:36 AM

MSG Alfred Aguilar — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 00:36:39 -0500

Sounds like military logic is alive and well...