Posted on Jul 12, 2023
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Looking for some advice - I assumed command in May and my previous unit's BA schedule had most of my UTAs used up prior to the last quarter of the FY. With the command out of RMA funding and my UTAs already at 48 for the year, no funding for PRAT, and other issues...are there any pay avenues that I'm missing? Fully understand that Reserve Commanders end up doing extra work that goes unpaid (points-only), but curious if there are other buckets of money I'm missing.
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COL Randall C.
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Edited >1 y ago
CPT (Join to see), the issue most new commanders run into is that many of the different pots of money can't mix and most don't even know what pots there are! In your case as a USAR commander, you're looking for "2070" funds that can be used for Military Pay and Allowances.

What you want to do is read AR 140-1* and USAR Pam 37-1* which will give you the Masters degree in USAR P&A that you never knew you needed (your unit readiness personnel usually take care of all this behind the scene).

One I didn't see mentioned is Additional Training Assemblies (ATAs) - you're authorized up to 12 a year. The use of ATAs is pretty much left to the Commander's authorization but are "intended for those tasks that must be accomplished to sustain unit operation and provide the means to accomplish additional required training as defined by the unit’s wartime mission."
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* https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/r140_1.pdf
* https://www.usar.army.mil/Portals/98/Documents/Publications/PAMS/USAR%20Pamphlet%2037-1%20(May%202018)%20Defense_Joint_Military_Pay_System_Manual.pdf
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SGM G3 Sergeant Major
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COL Randall C. - Right, RMA, ATAs all come from the same one MDEP that also funds drill: PRID. Not sure if it works the same way for USAR, but in the Guard, PRID and PRAT (AT) are funded based on an average of the last 5 FYs execution. And that average includes the last half of FY20 with the COVID shut down, and the first half of FY21 which was hardly better.
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COL Randall C.
COL Randall C.
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SGM (Join to see) - Ahh .. Didn't realize that NGB based their request on a five year execution average and assumed that they used projected manpower for IDT and ADT requests.

I was just comparing FY23 requests ($9.324B) for the entire ARNG MPA to what they received ($9.232B) according to the ASA FM&C's info*.
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* https://www.asafm.army.mil/Budget-Materials
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SGM G3 Sergeant Major
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COL Randall C. - Oh, it's not by request, it's what NGB does despite our requests.
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COL Randall C.
COL Randall C.
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SGM (Join to see) - *chuckle* - Yep. I meant that that is what NGB requests up to DoD. I can sort of see a tad bit of logic to that approach (if we've funding you X and you only executed 80% of what you asked for, we get beat up because you didn't spend it!), but you would think they would make allowances for FY20 and FY21.
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MSG Intermediate Care Technician
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No more BTA days? No more RMA days? There is always AT or ADT. But that's only if days and monies are still available.
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MSG (Join to see) definitely. I guess some of it has to do with changing units and having different BA schedules
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COL Randall C.
COL Randall C.
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MSG (Join to see) - Drilling "for points apparently violates Federal codes/laws" - this isn't the "FLSA applies to us" thing that I hear servicemembers bring up every now and then, is it?
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MSG Intermediate Care Technician
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COL Randall C. not sure. Honestly, I'd have to do more digging. One of my old BN CSMs said this to me, regarding 1380 for points.
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COL Randall C.
COL Randall C.
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MSG (Join to see) - Every now and then I would come across a Soldier saying something about "The FLSA doesn't let Soldiers work without getting paid!", but haven't heard anything else referenced (well, not completely true .. I did have one Soldier try the "it was in violation of State law" approach).

Two things: FLSA doesn't apply to uniformed personnel* and federal law (37 USC § 1002) specifically allows for reservists to drill without pay* (technically, they can't be forced to do so, but you know how that goes...).

If your old Bn CSM was referencing something else, I'm not familiar with it.
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* https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/5/551.103
* https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/37/1002
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CSM William Everroad
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ADOS (same bucket as PRAT higher up), but sometimes they can shove extra money in it in the final QTR to meet operational needs.

I would ask BDE about it before joining to points only.
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CPT Board Member
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good to know. Thx CSM William Everroad !
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