BNUMBER:  B-261774
DATE:  November 27, 1995
TITLE:  Lieutenant Commander John C. Veselenak, USN (Retired)

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Matter of:Lieutenant Commander John C. Veselenak, USN (Retired)

File:     B-261774

Date:     November 27, 1995

DIGEST

Retired member who listed mother's address in Ohio as home of 
selection but intended to retire to Florida is only entitled to moving 
expenses to Ohio, where he resided for more than one year because 
shipment may not be made for the convenience of the member to some 
other place for reshipment later to ultimate destination.

DECISION

Lieutenant Commander John C. Veselenak, USN (Retired) has appealed the 
settlement of our Claims Group which denied his claim of $1,294.23 for 
household goods (HHG) moving expenses incident to his retirement.

Lieutenant Commander Veselenak retired from the Navy effective July 1, 
1992, while stationed in San Diego, California, where he resided with 
his mother who was undergoing medical treatment.  He states that it 
was his intention to retire to the Gulf coast of Florida after 
accompanying his mother to her home in Pleasant City, Ohio, and 
conducting a job search in Florida.

On the DD Form 1299, Application for Shipment and/or Storage of 
Personal Property, dated July 8, 1992, he listed Pleasant City, Ohio, 
as the destination of his HHG.  Lieutenant Commander Veselenak states 
that he intended the HHGs to remain in storage there until later 
shipment to Florida and that personnel in the personal property office 
in San Diego had approved the plan.  The HHGs were placed in storage 
in nearby Columbus, Ohio, at government expense for 1 year after which 
the officer paid for the additional storage expense until they were 
shipped to Bradenton, Florida, in late October 1993 and were delivered 
on November 2, 1993, at a cost of $1,889.73.

The Navy reimbursed only $595.70 of the claim, the cost of delivering 
the HHGs from storage to a Columbus, Ohio, address.  Lieutenant 
Commander Veselenak appealed the remaining $1,294.23 to our Claims 
Group which denied the claim based on the provisions of the Joint 
Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) and decisions of our Office which 
limit the time for reimbursement of expenses to 1 year after 
retirement and only to the ultimate destination selected by the 
member.

A member at retirement is entitled to have his HHG moved at government 
expense to the home selected by the member and the HHG must be turned 
over for shipment within 1 year following retirement.  1 JFTR U5365-A.  
The authority for shipment of HHG extends only to the through shipment 
to the authorized ultimate destination.  1 JFTR U5318.  Shipment may 
not be made for the convenience of the member to some other place for 
reshipment later to the authorized ultimate destination.  44 Comp. 
Gen. 826 (1965).

Lieutenant Commander Veselenak, in his appeal, argues that the 
settlement of the Claims Group ignored an extension to the 1 year time 
period until November 30, 1993, he was granted by the Navy for the 
shipment of his HHG to his home of selection.

Our review of the record shows that Lieutenant Commander Veselenak was 
granted the above noted extension, but such extension does not change 
the result of the settlement.  The extension allowed further storage 
of the HHG at the member's expense and then, as noted above, shipment 
to his home of selection.  It did not affect his listing of Pleasant 
City on DD Form 1299 as his home of selection.  Without the extension, 
the $595.70 shipping costs would not have been payable because the 1 
year time limitation would have expired.

While Lieutenant Commander Veselenak contends that government 
transportation personnel at San Diego assured him that his plan was 
acceptable before he commenced the move, the government is not bound 
by the erroneous advice of its officers or employees, when such advice 
contravenes existing regulations.  58 Comp. Gen. 539 (1979).

We affirm the settlement of the Claims Group.

/s/Seymour Efros
for Robert P. Murphy
General Counsel