Does my soldier bite the bullet and pay out of pocket for this BAH situation?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 21:15:02 -0400

I have a soldier who is married. Her husband decided to also join the Army and is at basic training now. Since they are now considered dual military, her BAH is now the single rate and not the with-dependent rate. Since the husband is being housed and fed, he does not receive BAH. She resides in on-post housing and they're taking the BAH with-dependent rate from her. The difference in pay is about $200 a month. Does she bite the bullet and pay out of pocket? Finance says because there are no children, they both get the single rate. Housing says they will continue to draw the with-dependent rate. Since her husband will be away for over 5 months (Basic and AIT), does this mean she has to make up the cost of living on her own? Seems like the Army is operating in bad faith. Does anyone know of a way so she doesn't have to pay out of pocket here.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2015 9:17 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 21:17:58 -0400

Wow, Sarge, sounds like a tough one, I'll have t defer to someone on active duty.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2015 11:46 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 23:46:16 -0400

The short answer is she should technically be living in the barracks not housing. The long and "right" answer is that housing can figure it out and charge the correct amount until her husband arrives there.

Response by MAJ Javier Rivera made Aug 22 at 2015 12:46 AM

MAJ Javier Rivera — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 00:46:56 -0400

That is an issue for your command team ( CO and 1SG). A visit to the JAG office and a nice talk with housing folks with copies of borh soldiers LESs should do.

Response by Maj William Gambrell made Aug 22 at 2015 1:14 AM

Maj William Gambrell — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 01:14:47 -0400

They know they are married...the easy way is to get a legal divorce knowing they still love each other. Marriage is not about a piece of paper. They can both protect the children through Tricare.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Aug 22 at 2015 2:31 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 02:31:52 -0400

This is an "administrative" issue more than anything else, however it is a convoluted mess of one that should have been addressed before he went to boot camp.

Get the Command Team involved ASAP. What they charge you for housing and what you make for BAH are "independent" but "linked."

As an example, if you are a SGT linking on base, you pay $1500/month (made up number) for a house. You get promoted to SSG and now get $1650/month but live in the same house, they STILL take it all. If you get promoted to SFC and it jumps to $1800, still living in the SAME house, they STILL take it all. Yes, you rate a larger house, but because of factors like moving, space available, children, etc, it may not be beneficial for you or the service to move.

The same "concept" holds true in reverse, though it is significantly rarer, as demotions just don't happen as often. It comes into play when you have Dual BAH recipients (geobachelors).

Getting the command team involved allows you to escalate it to "Base" who in turn can get the "Housing Authority" to waive the difference.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Aug 22 at 2015 3:10 AM

TSgt Kenneth Ellis — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 03:10:53 -0400

I read a letter in Stars and Strips. The man was complaining because his wife was in a short tour to Korea, and he lost her Basic Housing Allowance. So nuts to him, they should have never entered into a contract for a house or Apartment they could not afford.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 22 at 2015 11:58 AM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 11:58:05 -0400

Should one qualify for family separation pay?