Military Pay Newsletter

Newsletter archives: Jan 2008 - Mar 2008 - Jun 2008

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.

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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