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Military Pay Newsletter |
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September 2008 |
Marine
Corps Pay Office
The mission of the DFAS Military Pay Operations (MPO) offices
is to provide support to the pay offices of the four armed
services under the Department of Defense (Army, Marine Corps,
Navy, and Air Force). Functions of the Marine Corps MPO have
been migrating to DFAS-Cleveland over the several months. The
migration of the work was initiated under the Base Realignment
and Closure (BRAC) Act of 2005. The move was finalized with
the movement of the Record Services Division on July 25, 2008.
DFAS-Cleveland now provides support to the Marine Corps
finance offices that maintain over 216,400 active duty and
30,600 Reserve Marine accounts as well as 356,202 active duty
and 108,469 Reserve Navy accounts.
Navy Capt Todd Friedlander (SC), who has been the Director of
the Navy MPO office since November 2006, and Lt. Col. Shane
Nicklaus (FC) have assumed the positions of the director and
deputy director respectively for the joint service Military
Pay Operations office which will now be known as Military Pay
Operations-Cleveland. Lt. Col. Nicklaus is a finance officer
(MOS 3404) who relocated from Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan
where he was the III MEF disbursing officer for the past four
years. Both officers would like to assure all customers they
will receive the same professional quality services previously
extended by the MCMPO in Kansas City. |
Air
Force Wounded Warrior Program
The Air Force's goal is to keep highly skilled men and women
on active duty. When this is not feasible, the Air Force will
ensure wounded warriors receive assistance through the AFW2
Program. There is no difference in care provided for any Total
Force Member- Active, Guard, or Reserve. Strong emphasis is
placed on ensuring wounded Airmen receive professional,
individualized guidance and support to help them successfully
navigate their way through the complex process of
transitioning out of the Air Force and returning to civilian.
The AFW2 Program is located at HQ Air Force Personnel Center
on Randolph AFB in San Antonio, Texas and works hand-in-hand
with Air Force installation Airman & Family Readiness Centers
(A&FRC) worldwide to ensure face-to-face, personalized
services to wounded warriors. A&FRCs provide hands-on
professional services such as transition assistance,
employment assistance, moving assistance, financial
counseling, information and referral, and emergency financial
assistance, to name a few.
The AFW2 Program advocates for services on an Airman's behalf
and ensures Airmen have professional support and follow-up for
no less than five years after separation of retirement. There
are currently 300 members enrolled in the AFW2 Program.
For more information about the AFW2 Program, call their toll
free number 800-581-9437 or send an email to
afwounded.warrior@randolph.af.mil |
REAP
The Reserve Component Educational Assistance Program (REAP)
was established as part of the Ronald W. Reagan Fiscal Year
2005 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but the
program was expanded by the Fiscal Year 2008 NDAA to include a
"buy-up provision", an "accelerated payment provision," and "a
10 year delimiting date." The accelerated payment provision is
set to begin on October 1, 2008 and guidance will be provided
by the Department of Veteran's Affairs.
Also, a directive-type memorandum will be issued by the Office
of the Under Secretary of Defense and service-specific
guidance will be issued. The REAP buy-up has an effective date
of January 28, 2008. The 10-year delimiting date allows a
reserve component member who is otherwise eligible for REAP to
continue the entitlement for 10 years upon separation from the
selected reserve with the beginning date being the date of
separation. This provision is retroactive to September 11,
2001, from the date of separation from the selected reserve-
forward 10 years with the beginning date being the date of
separation from the Selected Reserve. All delimiting dates
would have to be at least 90 days after September 11, 2001.
Buy-ups can be made for less than the total amount of $600,
but made in no less than $20 increments. Procedures for making
payments are being developed and will be provided to pay
offices when finalized. |
Foreclosure
An armed forces member who relocates from, or whose
dependent(s) relocate from leased or rented private housing by
reason of a foreclosure action against the landlord, is
authorized a short distance move (this provision does not
apply if a member and/or dependent(s) are the homeowner).
The household goods move is to another dwelling from which the
member is to commute daily to the permanent duty station (or
at a location at which the dependent(s) reside).
Before using this authority, a member is encouraged to exhaust
remedies available under the Service Members Civil Relief Act
(50 USC, Appendix 531) and state law. The Service Members
Civil Relief Act limits evictions of service members or their
dependents to court orders during periods of military service.
It also empowers the courts to stay proceedings for a period
of 90 days (may be shorter or longer if the judge determines
it is needed) or adjust the obligation under the lease.
Consult your legal office for specific situations. |
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Military Leave Update
The 2008
NDAA, Section 551 revised leave provisions. These revisions
included:
(1) Improved Carry Over. A member may now carry over 75 days
of leave from September 30, 2008 to October 1, 2008. This law
is effective for fiscal year leave carry over until December
31, 2010, unless there are further changes to the law.
(2) Improved Special Leave Accrual (SLA) Retention.
A member who serves for a continuous period of at least 120
days in an area where the member is entitled to Hostile
Fire/Imminent Danger Pay (HF/IDP), is assigned to a deployable
ship or mobile unit or other duty designated by uniform
regulations, or duty designated as qualifying by the Secretary
of Defense, can retain leave in excess of the normal
carryover, up to 120 days, until the end of the fourth fiscal
year after the fiscal year in which the continuous period of
qualifying service is terminated, if that leave is accumulated
during the period October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. The
law previously allowed the retention only until the end of the
third fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the
continuous period of qualifying service ended.
A member who serves in support of a contingency operation
during a fiscal year, who accumulates SLA beginning January
28, 2008, can now retain 120 days of leave until the end of
the second fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the
qualifying duty terminated. The law previously allowed 90 days
retention until the end of the first fiscal year after the
fiscal year in which the qualifying duty terminated.
(3) One-time payment. An enlisted member of the armed forces
who would lose accumulated leave in excess of 120 days under
SLA may elect to be paid up to 30 days of the amount of leave
in excess of 120 days. For example, if a member has 135 days
SLA, he or she may sell back 15 days leave. This only applies
to members with SLA status for a continuous period of at least
120 days in an area in which the member is entitled to HF/IDP,
is assigned to a deployable ship or mobile unit or other duty
designated under uniform regulations, or performs duty
designated by the Secretary of Defense as qualifying duty.
This sell back can be made while performing the qualifying
duty or during the time afterwards when the member continues
SLA status. A member may make an election to receive this
payment only once. The election can be made at any time, not
just at discharge or the end of the fiscal year. The sell back
counts towards the service member’s sell back cap of 60 days
over a career. This sell back is not available to officers. |
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(Source:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Military News Network
is not affiliated with the United States Department of
Defense) |
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Military Pay Newsletter September 2008
