Judge Advocate General's Corps

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FAQs

The PCA is a gratuitous payment statute enacted by Congress to partially compensate a member for personal property that is lost, damaged, or destroyed incident to service. It is not insurance, nor is it a substitute for insurance; its coverage is limited only to personal property, such as goods and clothing; and reimbursement is limited to the actual loss or irreparable damage incurred. Intangible property and consequential and incidental damages are not considered personal property and are not payable under the statute. Inconvenience claims are also not payable under the statute.

If an item of your personal property that had value but has been lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed, due to circumstances associated with Operation Epic Fury, you have suffered a loss.

A claim is an assertion/demand for something that the one making the claim believes is due and owed.

  • Active duty Navy or Marine Corps members, reservists on active duty, DON employees, or DODEA employees on a DON base, that are or were stationed in an affected region in the Middle East during Operation Epic Fury.
  • Authorized agents/legal representatives of a proper claimant may file on behalf of a proper claimant, with a POA.  
  • Army, Air Force, and USCG personnel should file with their own service.

If your personal property has been damaged, lost, stolen, or destroyed due to circumstances associated with Operation Epic Fury, you may file a Personnel Claims Act (PCA) claim if your personal property was lost/damaged incident to service and was located in your assigned quarters or located on base or at an embassy when it was damaged. Property that was left behind is not a payable claim until you have proof of destruction, it has been returned to you in damaged form, or you are notified that you will not be able to return to retrieve it.

  • Personal property that is not damaged incident to service and associated with Operation Epic Fury
  • Unserviceable or Worn-out Property
  • Loss or damage to property to the extent of any available insurance coverage
  • Consequential damages and claims for inconvenience or loss of use
  • Items of speculative value
  • Business property
  • Quantities of property not reasonable or useful under the circumstances
  • Intangible property
  • Losses caused by claimant’s negligence/intentional acts
  • You need to prove that you are a proper claimant.
  • You need to prove that you either don’t have personal insurance or that your claim has been denied.
  • You need to prove ownership of the item(s) and the cost/value of the item(s).
  • You need to prove that the item(s) was/were damaged.

There is no guarantee that you will be paid the full amount you claim, even if you meet all requirements for a cognizable claim, as there are maximum allowable amounts per item and per incident as well as depreciation to consider.

When a claim is submitted, it is transferred to the PCU (Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy’s Personnel Claims Unit) and is assigned to a claims examiner. The examiner will contact you for any missing information/proof of claim/proof of value. You will have 30 days to provide the missing information. Then the examiner will adjudicate your claim and determine how much, if anything, is payable. This process can take from several weeks to several months, depending upon the claim size, documentation, and your responsiveness. Depending on the value of the claim, it may also require higher level review before payment can be made.

No. You may file a claim at any time up to two years from the date the claim accrues. You gain nothing from rushing to file and the results of the investigation are needed to determine whether claims exist and with which funds compensation may be made available.

Stay informed. Follow the guidance of your command, not gossip or unreliable sources. If you have experienced damages or losses, and if at all possible, document them with pictures and receipts so that you will be prepared if you do end up filing a claim. Do not rush into incurring unnecessary expenses, planning to be compensated, as there is no guarantee that a claim will be covered or successful.

Yes. There are civil monetary penalties as well as criminal penalties for filing false claims with the Government.

For questions regarding Household Goods or POV shipments, please refer to US TRANSCOM's website for guidance: https://www.ustranscom.mil/dp3/index.cfm.

For guidance on incidental and inconvenience claims as well as other expenses under other allowances, please refer to:

https://www.cusnc.navy.mil/Documents/Travel-Documents/

https://www.travel.dod.mil/Policy-Regulations/Joint-Travel-Regulations/

If you have any questions, you may contact the PCU Claims Help Line from 0700-1630 EST at (757) 440-6315 or DSN 564-3310 or you may send an email to norfolkclaims@us.navy.mil.

For questions regarding reimbursement of incidental expenses, please contact your command leadership.

**For a printable version of these FAQs, please click here**