Action Line #81121 – DLA Published Feb. 17, 2009 By Anonymous 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- Complaint: I am emailing in regards to the denial of partial DLA for Officers and Senior NCO's who are being forced to move due to the upcoming renovation of the Herky housing area. According to the JFTR, para U5630: 15. Housing moves at a PDS for the Government's Convenience. A partial DLA of $617.33 (3.5% effective 1 January 2008) must be paid to a member who is ordered to occupy/vacate family type government quarters due to: a. Privatization, b. Renovation, or c. Any other reason for the Government's convenience other than PCS Although Herky residents are being forced to move into phantom housing (incurring roommates) due to renovation, we are being denied partial DLA on the basis that base housing office changed the status of those houses from family type government quarters to single/ unaccompanied- type government quarters. According to http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/dla.html, the purpose of DLA is to "partially reimburse a member, with or without dependents, for the expenses incurred in relocating the member's household on a PCS, housing moves ordered for the Government's convenience, or incident to an evacuation." According to this DoD definition, having (or not having) dependents present should not influence the entitlement of DLA or partial DLA when the move is ordered for the "Government's convenience". In terms of the housing, how does the status of the quarters change with the type of person who moves in? Is a 4 bedroom house on Incirlik AB a "family type government quarter" or not (It certainly shouldn't be both)? Do members with dependents somehow incur relocation expenses that members without dependents do not? In actuality, unaccompanied residents are more likely to incur additional expenses because they were not allowed to bring their household goods with them when they moved. These houses are obviously not dorms, and should not be classified as such just to avoid partial DLA entitlements. This decision does not pass the common sense test, or the "CNN test." I have spoken with the housing office and got the run-around because they sent me to finance saying that finance was responsible for this decision. Finance's response, which I think is the correct response, is that orders for partial DLA entitlements are generated though the housing office and that they(finance) can not just give out this entitlement without the appropriate paperwork and LOA from the housing office. Is there any way to get a legal review of housing's decision to change the classification of these government quarters? If not, I respectfully request further consideration by our ABW leadership(or higher) on this issue. Response: Thanks for taking the time to voice your concerns on this issue. Although I understand your concerns regarding the additional expense you may have incurred in your move, the regulations in this area specifically prohibit the payment of partial dislocation allowance for directed moves to and from unaccompanied housing. This is not a local policy, but DoD level. Contrary to what you seem to believe, yes, we can designate houses as unaccompanied housing. Air Force regulations permit changing family housing to unaccompanied housing when there are an insufficient number of facilities available. The Herky renovation project has impacted how many houses are available, and rather than relocate people to the Hodja Inn or the dormitories (which are in short supply), we have converted several family housing units to unaccompanied housing. You are also benefiting from the homes being declared unaccompanied housing...we provide all your lawn care, just like we do for dorms or any other unaccompanied housing. Additionally, you should have incurred no costs for moving phones or internet; that was covered by housing. So...your actual costs for moving should have been VERY low. We understand the Herky renovation projects are an inconvenience to you and your fellow residents, we have worked hard to try and inconvenience as few people as possible. However, please understand the Air Force is spending close to two million dollars to improve your housing. While a short term inconvenience, these renovations will greatly improve the quality of Herky housing for all residents. Thanks again for writing.