Posted on Jan 16, 2020
What will my BAH rate be when stationed at Fort Drum, while having our main apartment in Queens, NY?
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My wife and I will be stationed at Fort Drum, NY soon. Our family and friends live in Queens, NY. Our main apartment will be in Queens, NY, where we stay during weekends and holidays. We'll be getting a small studio near Fort Drum for duty days. My question is, will our BAH be the rate of Fort Drum, NY, or Queens, NY?
Housing
BAH
Benefits
Fort Drum
New York City
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 11
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Plenty of folks have answered your question and I would like to focus on the distance. I am seeing over three hundred miles you are planning to travel every weekend. Will you really be home to Queens that often to warrant the cost? This is likely a mileage pass from Drum to NY and as a jr enlisted, you are going to have duty outside of M-F quite regularly and staying in a hotel in Queens might be more affordable for the times you will go back verses two apartments.
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PO1 Kevin Dougherty
I will second this. I have lived much of my life in Saranac Lake, not far from Fort Drum, and my kids still live in the Adirondacks though I have moved to Vermont. There are several things to consider here. First, the weather, especially the winter weather can be severe. You will see snow. often and a lot. The Fort Drum area averages 80" of snow a year. Ice storms are not uncommon, nor are lake effect snow squalls that can dump over a foot of snow in an hour.
Second, that trip is not a short one. I have made the trip south to NJ or LI more times than I care to count. At best, we are talking 5-6 hours one way depending on the weather and how fast you drive. If the weather turns, and it can do that very quickly, it can take twice that long, assuming they do not close the Thruway and leave y ou stranded for a day or two.
Last but not least, there are a lot of things for you to check out in the area. Toronto is not far, and a fun city. The beautiful Thousand Islands are virtually on your doorstep. The Tug Hill plateau offers some of the best snowmobiling in the nation. Pulaski just to the south is home to some of the best salmon fishing in the east. Ontario holds some monster Brown and lake trout. The Saranac Lake Winter carnival is always worth a check out, and just a little further brings you to Lake Placid with many world class sports facilities. I could go on and on, there are tons of attractions of every kind close by. Enjoy them while you can.
Second, that trip is not a short one. I have made the trip south to NJ or LI more times than I care to count. At best, we are talking 5-6 hours one way depending on the weather and how fast you drive. If the weather turns, and it can do that very quickly, it can take twice that long, assuming they do not close the Thruway and leave y ou stranded for a day or two.
Last but not least, there are a lot of things for you to check out in the area. Toronto is not far, and a fun city. The beautiful Thousand Islands are virtually on your doorstep. The Tug Hill plateau offers some of the best snowmobiling in the nation. Pulaski just to the south is home to some of the best salmon fishing in the east. Ontario holds some monster Brown and lake trout. The Saranac Lake Winter carnival is always worth a check out, and just a little further brings you to Lake Placid with many world class sports facilities. I could go on and on, there are tons of attractions of every kind close by. Enjoy them while you can.
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You will receive BAH based on where you are stationed. Makes no difference whatsoever where your family resides. You and your family could live in Trump Tower, and you will still get BAH for Ft Drum, if that is where you are assigned.
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It appears that you are new to the Army so I would like to offer some advice. It is very unlikely that your Commander and 1SG will allow you to drive from Fort Drum to Queens every weekend. For one, that is a 644 mile round trip every weekend which is a huge expense in terms of gas, not to mention the miles that you will put on your vehicle. Second, the pass mileage varies by post and by Battalion so it’s likely you will have to put in for a pass to drive to Queens every weekend, which is unlikely to get approved since again you are new to the Army, even Senior Enlisted and Officers have to put in a pass if they go outside of a certain radius, so that in the even something happens they can get you back to post and they can keep accountability of their Soldiers. Finally, I don’t know how much you know about Fort Drum but it snows A LOT there, and the likelihood that you will be able to make it to Queens or back to Fort Drum if they get lake effect snow is very unlikely. I had a truck and I wouldn’t drive when we got lake effect snow since they don’t plow and salt if they get 3-4 feet until it has stopped snowing.
Also you don’t only have duties during the week. There will be additional duties that you have to pull, such as Staff Duty, which means you might not be able to go home for a weekend. Plus field time, which to be honest I don’t know how much you’ll have, being a 68X, but you never know. Personally I think it will be more trouble than it is worth and will put more stress on you than you think it will.
Bottom line, I doubt your Commander and 1SG will allow you to drive to Queens every weekend. I know that I wouldn’t let a new Soldier do it, because ultimately, they are responsible for your health and safety and there is too high a risk that something could happen.
Also you don’t only have duties during the week. There will be additional duties that you have to pull, such as Staff Duty, which means you might not be able to go home for a weekend. Plus field time, which to be honest I don’t know how much you’ll have, being a 68X, but you never know. Personally I think it will be more trouble than it is worth and will put more stress on you than you think it will.
Bottom line, I doubt your Commander and 1SG will allow you to drive to Queens every weekend. I know that I wouldn’t let a new Soldier do it, because ultimately, they are responsible for your health and safety and there is too high a risk that something could happen.
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LTC (Join to see)
my first thought was "damn, they must be paying E4s a lot better these days than when I was a SPC." my second thought was "any E4 that thinks his CoC is going to allow him to travel over 300 miles every weekend needs to be drug tested"
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