Stipend

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zrxkuma

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Nov 2, 2012
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Still no stipend or book money. DS had been told 1 DEC but that has come and gone. First semester ends in two weeks, seems rather ridiculous at this point. Planned on covering everything anyway so the book money is a payback, but would like to see DS get his money as an AS-200.


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How far behind are they with the Stipend payments? Hope it's not like the Army where they don't make retroactive Stipend payments.
 
They payed retroactive last year first semester so we should be good in the end


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Has he talked to his NCOs? They handle all the payment and sometimes they can't tell that there's an issue unless a cadet tells them.
 
It's apparently the whole detachment, not just DS. This surprises me as the detachment is excellent in all other areas.


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zrxkuma...Hearing the same story from DS. So far only AS400's have been paid. The rumor is that the guy processing the payments at AF retired and now there is a backlog. Seems too far fetched.
 
Not surprised to hear it's not detachment specific. More reason to ensure you're not solely dependent on scholarship money if you can make that happen. Sometimes it's not exactly timely


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Still no stipend. I'm going to guess they will not hire someone to take over the position until the holidays are over so expect as soon as the middle of January. It's really disappointing that stipend is taking so long but you gotta make do with what you got.
 
JMPO,

I think this is a DFAS issue. AROTC cadets are having the same issues.

AlphaAlphaSigma,

I chuckled a little with your post about hiring in January.

not trying to be antaganostic, but that is not how it works regarding hiring GSs ....it is all budget and that starts Oct.1. Paychecks for the 1st of December were tied to back in November. Pay for the military is in arrears. The 1st pay period probably closed Nov 22.
~ People assume that sequestration was just last year, but it is going to be nine more years. There is a hiring freeze. That means those left in the office will be pulling double duty. It also can mean a trickle down effect.

IE AF GS leaves, thus slowing down the process, meanwhile the DFAS department that deals with every branch also has vacancies. Thus, you have two stop gaps before it hits your bank account

Between the AFROTC and AROTC posters I tend to believe IMPO that this is not an AF issue, but more of a DFAS issue.
 
Don't think this stuff ends when you get on AD either. DD is AD AF, she works in the ER and had goofy hours, as such she cannot get to the dining facility when it is open so she is authorized BAS ( I believe that is what it is called). She has been paying for her own food and not getting the BAS for 6 months now. That equals about $1800! England is an expensive place to buy food! Big Blue or Dept of Defense needs to get their S*#t together and fix this SNAFU for all AD and cadets!
 
I loved Robert Gates comment when he was SECDEF, speaking about the possibility of military pay being delayed during the budget debate.

"It's always a good idea to pay the people with the Guns first"
 
Is she enlisted or officer?

It actually different when it comes to BAS. It is really pennies when it comes to their overall pay...can't remember,but maybe $200 bucks a month? At least that is what Bullet use to get. ~ If I recall correctly, or maybe it was just fliers, but the dining hall was only free to enlisted members that live in the dorm or if TDY as an officer....not permanent duty officers.
~~ She might want to check into seeing if the flight line is open when she gets off shift.

BAS stands for Basic allowance for Subsidies. Most use it for uniforms..
~ We lived in the UK you might be confusing it with what is called COLA.

COLA =Cost of Living Allowance. They will use their formula/algorithm regarding what the rate is going for regarding conversion rate. It is an additional part of her pay. It is suppose to equalize purchasing on the economy....it never does. I am guessing that is what they have yet to process. We always laughed at COLA it would take them forever to get the money at the new rate if it was bad, but if it was strong they fixed it by the next pay period.

That being said, I agree get use to it.

Just wait for your 1st PCS. It will probably be all over the place. You will get TLA, DLA at different times, than add in a new BAH and you will be running a spread sheet to figure out what has and has not been paid.
~ Also if you take the career starter loan and invest it gets crazier.

My story....
Bullet and I got married between two schools with TDY in between. Plus, a PCS. This was back when you got paper LESs.
We get to our first base and he looks and says this has to be wrong. He walked into accounting and finance and said, sir, you're right we overpaid you by giving you BAH and you live in base housing....

Our next paycheck for two weeks was $50 bucks. Meanwhile, we thought between the moves, TDY,etc that we were fine, and spent the money. We didn't know it was wrong for over a month. Luckily we had savings, but it was a lesson we took to heart as an O2.

Another friend changed his residency to Alaska, but it was inputted as AL, not AK. He spent a year fighting to get it changed to AK, and lost the chance of the permanent fund from AK because the AF said he was a resident of Alabama.

Watch your pay like you watch your credit rating. It is harder to correct later on.
 
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The way pay has gone really burns me. When I was a young sailor, I had a pay problem that was in no way my fault. A very crusty Master Chief tore into a JO who, moments later, handed me cash. Years later when my sailor came to me with a similar problem, I had to refer him to Navy/Marine Corps relief society so he could get money to pay his bills because there was no longer a format to cover the Navy's failure to put money in the sailor's bank account. We were deployed at the time to make it worse.
 
BAS is Basic Allowance for Subsistence. It is designed to defray the cost of meals for service members who do not have access to military dining. The current rate for officers is $246.24/month and enlisted is $357.55/month. My son gets it because he is on a Reserve base that doesn't have a full-time dining facility. I think most officers get the BAS regardless of where they are stationed. Because my son gets the BAS every month, he has to pay cash at other bases' dining halls when he is TDY. Since the BAS is designed to feed just the service member and not the whole family, I think it's really quite a fair amount. My son can buy a lot of groceries in a month for $246.

More info on it HERE.

Stealth_81
 
Stealth_81 said:
BAS is Basic Allowance for Subsistence. It is designed to defray the cost of meals for service members who do not have access to military dining. The current rate for officers is $246.24/month and enlisted is $357.55/month. My son gets it because he is on a Reserve base that doesn't have a full-time dining facility. I think most officers get the BAS regardless of where they are stationed. Because my son gets the BAS every month, he has to pay cash at other bases' dining halls when he is TDY. Since the BAS is designed to feed just the service member and not the whole family, I think it's really quite a fair amount. My son can buy a lot of groceries in a month for $246.

More info on it HERE.

Stealth_81
Click to expand...

Yep, this is what DD is still waiting for. She currently gets a portion of COLA since she lives on base in the dorms.
PIMA, DD is enlisted. She applied to WP and didn't get a nomination... their loss:biggrin:
 
On the BAS subject. In the Navy, officers have to pay for their food while aboard ship. It is one of the crazy traditions that never changed. It typically runs $250-$350/month. Not bad to feed yourself, but still seems ludicrous that you have to pay for food while deployed.
OS
 
Learn something new everyday. I knew it was in the 200 range, but I don't think in the 20 years Bullet was ADAF he ever ate in the dining hall unless he was TDY. Hence I always though most people used it more for uniforms....I.e. Drycleaning, boots, etc.
~ We know what the word assume means....hence why I assumed base pay was for food. Just like with BAH they try to have it competitive so their rent, utilities , cable etc. are covered.

Usually he would brown bag it or hit the food court, golf course or bowling alley. Gone are the days where the OClub was open for daily lunches.

Sheriff,

You are right without a doubt it is the AFs gain! She chose wisely (Indiana Jones). If she is at Lakenheath or Mildenhall, she might be able to use the flight line dining...worst case scenario the bowling alley might be open late.

I do agree it stinks, because overall the UK is expensive when you are young. I remember when we went to Mc Donalds with our two little ones. The Happy Meal price was just talking the dollar sign and switching it with the pound sign. It was $1.88 for a Pound. They than charged 5p for a ketchup packet!

If you visit her again...make sure you go to Bath and also try to go in January or July and take a trip to Stoke on Trent. Harrods also do their big sale than. I can't remember if Cadburys is near there it was about 90 minutes from Heyford. Heyford was clos to Oxford. However, if it can be done as a day trip, it is a fun tour.
~~~ Did you know they run the Cadbury egg line 24/7year round, but still can't make enough for the demand? Learned that one from them.

If your Golfers, it is very popular to rent houses in Scotland. Call St.Andrews prior so you can get a reservatiom, if not you will have to enter the daily drawing. We did it one year with friends....hit the Commissary before going so it turned out really cheap.
 
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NROTC seems to have no problems with stipend, funds for book or the reimbursement for initial travel to school. DD has gotten them all like clock work. I feel bad for those kids who really rely on these funds for room and board and basic living expenses.
 
Everyone at my AFROTC Det is getting stipends and book money. I hope your issue gets figured out soon. We were having an issue at the very beginning of the semester with the 300s but that got solved quickly.
 
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