Fiscal Management Embeds

Professional Military Education (PME): When a member goes to a school for 12 or fewer months and doesn’t relocate their family. High/low for Low/no cost PCS: A low-high-low PCS is defined as transferring from a PDS that has a lower BAH rate based on the Marine’s pay grade and dependency status, to a PDS within proximity where the BAH rate is high and then subsequently reassigned back to the duty station in the lower BAH payable MHA.

Headquarters, MMIB-3 does not approve BAH rate protection. BAH rate protection is defined in the JFTR (paragraph U10004) as: “The monthly BAH actually paid a member must not be reduced as a result of changes in housing costs in the Military Housing Area (MHA), changes in the national monthly housing cost, or members promotion.” This rate protection is automatic and does not need HQMC approval.

Three separate circumstances may lead to a change in your status that “interrupts your eligibility” for the allowance, and then, only if the published allowance for your grade and location is less than what you are getting now.

First, and most common, a decrease occurs when you PCS to a location at which the housing cost are less than at your current duty station. At the new duty station you get a lower housing allowance, but you should be no worse off, because the allowance is driven by the housing costs there.

Second, if you are demoted, your housing allowance reverts to the then-current published table of allowances for your lower grade. Promotions do not lower your housing allowance.

Third, if your dependency status changes (from with-dependent to without-dependent, or vice versa), your housing allowance is determined by your new dependency status and the then-current pu

No. If you are promoted, your BAH rate is the then-current published BAH for your new (higher) grade, with the following exception. If you get promoted, and are in a location where the current published BAH for your new grade is lower than the BAH amount you were receiving before, you continue to receive.

The policy decision to use duty location as a basis for BAH is based on the desire to compensate members for the typical housing cost near the member’s duty location. Once the duty station is known, the BAH compensation is fixed, regardless of where the member lives. Were the member’s residence location to be used as a basis for the allowance, there is the concern that this would cause a member to choose the residence location based on BAH. In some cases, this may lead to a member choosing to live further from the duty station, simply to receive higher BAH. In other cases, when a member commutes from/to a lower cost area, the members would find the BAH to be lower, even though the commuting expenses are higher. The Services decided to base the allowance on the duty location with the full knowledge that members would still be free to live where they choose, but that this decision would not affect the BAH amount.

Geographically separated families (geographic bachelors) are normally eligible for BAH based on the member’s duty station. Each Service budgets for support of a certain number of members and families at each location. If a growing number of people decide to leave their families in Washington, or Tampa while the member PCSs to Mt Home or Ft. Hood that could skew the budget and service support planning for these locations. Also, a fundamental philosophy of military service is that members, with their families, create a better work environment and esprit de corps when they can be active participants in the local base and community. In certain circumstances, with specific approval of the Secretary of the Service concerned, a member may be granted an exception to receive BAH based on the dependent’s location. For example if a member has a sick child that requires medical attention only available in a certain location (say Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC), and the member receives a PCS order, the member might leave the family in Washington and request BAH eligibility for that location. Such exceptions do not ordinarily apply to spousal employment or other personal choices.

BAH-DIFF is the housing allowance amount for a member who is assigned to single-type quarters and who is authorized a BAH solely by reason of the member’s payment of child support. A member is not authorized BAH-DIFF if the monthly rate of that child support is less than the BAH-DIFF amount. The BAH-DIFF amounts, originally calculated in 1997, are updated annually based on changes in the Basic Pay tables. For more information contact your servicing finance office or consult JFTR, par. U10008.

It depends on whether or not you have legal and physical custody of your children, pay child support, and/or live in single-type government quarters. If you have legal and physical custody of your children, then you are authorized BAH at the with-dependent rate if not assigned adequate family-type government quarters. If your former spouse has custody and you are paying adequate child support (at least in an amount of your BAH-DIFF rate) you are authorized BAH at the with-dependent rate if not in government quarters or BAH-DIFF if assigned single-type government quarters.

Per MCO 7220.56, a low-high-low PCS is defined as transferring from a PDS that has a lower BAH rate based on the Marine’s pay grade and dependency status, to a PDS within proximity where the BAH rate is high and then subsequently reassigned back to the duty station in the lower BAH payable MHA. A Marine, who is issued a proximity order between duty stations within proximity of each other, is subject to the low-high-low situation.

Example: A Marine receives a PCS order to an original PDS of MCB Quantico, in the Quantico MHA, then three years later is reassigned by a proximity order (relocation of household goods is not authorized) to the Pentagon which is in the Washington, DC MHA.

ERD- Marine is not in receipt of orders that meets the criteria in the JFTR U5900.

ARD- Marine in receipt of PCS orders that desires to establish a new household in the vicinity of the new PDS and receive station allowances for that PDS. ARD are will NOT approved for separatees and retirees.

No, ARD can only be approved for family to be sent to the next PDS.

Typically, no FSA is awarded ICW an ERD, there are guidelines in the DODFMR Volume 7A for granting waivers that may pertain to special situations. CMC Military Personnel Policy (MPO) is the approval authority for determination of eligibility for special circumstances.

The BAH will start once your family arrives to the new PDS. If your family does not go to the new PDS no entitlement will be started. Note: If your family returns to the CONUS and members moves back in to government quarters (member forfeits their OHA) the member will not start BAH until members family arrives to next PDS. If members family does not go to new PDS and member no longer has lease agreement member will have NO entitlement (i.e. BAH, OHA, FSA).

The PUREX cycle runs on the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month. Once the entry is run, the data will post by Tuesday. We do not cut lines of accounting for this program the Marine will have to adjust this requested Terminal leave dates, if needed.

HQMC is required to disapprove circuitous travel requests when AMC flights are available. Utilizing AMC has very little to do with cost savings. The Marine Corps pays $900 for each Patriot Express seat even if it is not used it. So add $900 when trying to figure out total cost. The Marine’s leave plans and any inconveniences that using PE may cause because of leave plans are also not a factor. Also, what you did in 2002 is not a factor. The below are the references we use for Circuitous Travel:

–MARADMIN 294/10 is the general reference for Circuitous Travel
–MARADMIN 196/11 has Amplifying Guidance to MARADMIN 294/10
–JFTR DOD 4500.9-R, which is the Defense Travel Regulations (DTR).
(Reference B in 294/10 and Reference D in 196/11)

Specifically, According to MARADMIN 294/10 Paragraph 5:

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT OFFICES MUST ROUTE ALL OFFICIAL PASSENGER TRAVELERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PART I, CHAPTER 103 A.2 OF REFERENCE B.

Reference B is DOD4500.9-R which states:

IAW DOD policy (DODI 4500.57, Transportation and Traffic Management), the following priorities, in order of precedence, will be used for passenger airlift:

a. AMC-procured channel airlift (Patriot Express) must be used for OCONUS travel unless there is a documented negative critical mission impact.

(1) Even if service can be provided at less cost by a commercial air carrier.
(2) Even if commercial air service is preferred by, or is more convenient for the traveler.
(3) Defense Travel System generated OCONUS travel requests must be routed through the TO prior to commercial carrier consideration to ensure AMC seats are fully utilized.

b. Scheduled commercial air service contracted through the GSA Airline City Pair Program Contract.

c. Other US CRAF carriers.

d. DOD-approved, non-CRAF US flag carriers.

e. Scheduled service on US air carriers that are neither DOD-approved nor disapproved (for individual travel only).

f. DOD-approved foreign flag carriers.

g. Scheduled service on foreign air carriers that are neither DOD-approved nor disapproved (for individual travel only).

HQMC (MMIB-3) needs documented AMC non-availability for a block of dates (that includes an AMC travel date) the Marine is requesting to travel. Note DTR Chapter 103 Paragraph a, which states AMC must be used unless there is a documented negative critical mission impact. For example, a Marine cannot choose to request a date of travel on a weekday knowing that AMC flights only go on Saturday, unless there is documented negative critical mission impact that requires the Marine to arrive on a certain date (an official letter from the joining unit stating the critical mission impact would be required).

A system update allows for the creation of a D860 remark for deceased Marines upon the reporting of TTC 378 000 with a 1-byte separation document type ‘8’.