Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don’t think people are getting my point, so let me give specific examples.
I am a contractor in a deployed environment. So I interact with airmen stationed all over the world. One younger guy I know, he is stationed at Kirtland, and we’ve talked about this long before I ever posted this topic.
He pays 1200 for a one bedroom apartment, which according to him, is his BAH, and he lives closer to Santa Fe than he does Kirtland. His commute home every evening is usually longer than 1 hour. He could find a place that is lower than 1200 and much closer to Kirtland. The problem is that the area around Kirtland is dangerous, gunfire can be heard most nights. It’s a war zone, and they even call it a war zone.
So he made a decision, safety over money and convenience.
Another guy I know is stationed at Malmstrom. They don’t have the crime there, but his apartment cost exceeds his BAH by about $200 per month.
Another guy is at Langley AFB. Housing is a problem there, too.
I get it, these are all anecdotal, but if I keep hearing housing is a problem, there must be some truth to it.
I was in the army in the late 80s and early 90s. Our housing allowance never covered our monthly rent. It was an allowance to help with the cost. Just like separate rations were to help out with food, not cover it. I guess I don't think that these extra payments were ever meant to cover all expenses.
I don’t think people are getting my point, so let me give specific examples.
I am a contractor in a deployed environment. So I interact with airmen stationed all over the world. One younger guy I know, he is stationed at Kirtland, and we’ve talked about this long before I ever posted this topic.
He pays 1200 for a one bedroom apartment, which according to him, is his BAH, and he lives closer to Santa Fe than he does Kirtland. His commute home every evening is usually longer than 1 hour. He could find a place that is lower than 1200 and much closer to Kirtland. The problem is that the area around Kirtland is dangerous, gunfire can be heard most nights. It’s a war zone, and they even call it a war zone.
So he made a decision, safety over money and convenience.
Another guy I know is stationed at Malmstrom. They don’t have the crime there, but his apartment cost exceeds his BAH by about $200 per month.
Another guy is at Langley AFB. Housing is a problem there, too.
I get it, these are all anecdotal, but if I keep hearing housing is a problem, there must be some truth to it.
It's very true. I served 80s-2000s, the pay was really low and we were considered low income. We lived in base housing, and we were on WIC. WIC was on our base, a full office for parental training and benefits. I was confused by this, because the government acknowledged my low pay but then authorized this support and did not raise my pay. At the same time, I could have been better financially.
To the specific problem about BAH. I've heard many stories about owners raising the rent to the match BAH ceiling (sadly some owners were retired military too!). Still pay and BAH is ALOT better today. Also, regarding the above examples, though true, people should be smarter on their chosen living arrangements. It appears somebody ignored base in-processing briefings...those briefings clearly explain the off-limit areas and other dangerous areas. Everyone knows the community immediately around the base is not always safe (ie NAS Jax, Kirtland, Lackland, Homestead, Andrews, etc).
It's very true. I served 80s-2000s, the pay was really low and we were considered low income. We lived in base housing, and we were on WIC. WIC was on our base, a full office for parental training and benefits. I was confused by this, because the government acknowledged my low pay but then authorized this support and did not raise my pay. At the same time, I could have been better financially.
To the specific problem about BAH. I've heard many stories about owners raising the rent to the match BAH ceiling (sadly some owners were retired military too!). Still pay and BAH is ALOT better today. Also, regarding the above examples, though true, people should be smarter on their chosen living arrangements. It appears somebody ignored base in-processing briefings...those briefings clearly explain the off-limit areas and other dangerous areas. Everyone knows the community immediately around the base is not always safe (ie NAS Jax, Kirtland, Lackland, Homestead, Andrews, etc).
I get it that everyone knows the dangerous parts near a base, but that still doesn’t mean airmen are ok with the one hour commute in order to protect their families and themselves.
Status:
"Smartened up and walked away!"
(set 21 days ago)
11,767 posts, read 5,781,921 times
Reputation: 14186
Quote:
Originally Posted by WK91
I get it that everyone knows the dangerous parts near a base, but that still doesn’t mean airmen are ok with the one hour commute in order to protect their families and themselves.
I edited this response after getting clarification. The guy at Kirtland, money isn’t the issue. It’s the crime, violence, and poor schools of ABQ near Kirtland. Which pushed him to get housing far away, which is a major inconvenience. Others, scarcity of housing and cost is a problem.
My main reason for posting this topic is to show things have changed. Back 30 years ago, no matter what base you were at, you didn’t have to think about housing cost, scarcity of housing, or schools too much.
Tracking, that makes more sense. Thank you for getting clarification (especially the 'why').
I looked it up based on your post. Just on crime stats, Albuquerque is not an attractive overall city. If I had been stationed there (Albuquerque) I might have considered geo-baching or doing what this airman is doing.
BAS is he tax free stipend designed to cover the service members food costs if they are not provided food via facilities, MREs or other food sources.
However, now it’s in fashion to say this loss of the stipend when deployed would be covering child care, etc so must be stopped. The end game here is to stop any loss of any BAS, for all conditions.
Expanded family leave, increase travel allowances to cover pets, increase in family sep allowances, and yet service members still want more. Oh, and the training holiday that bookends holiday weekends appears to be a permanent holiday, post deployment or not.
Oh, and the training holiday that bookends holiday weekends appears to be a permanent holiday, post deployment or not.
That's been the case since 2001 and was a direct result of poor accession rates for junior officers.
"Although the accession of enlisted personnel was a success for the Army in FY 2001, accession of officers proved difficult."
"the Army struggled to fill the numbers of officers commissioned in its basic branches and specialty areas, adding only 3,979 of the 4,100 new officers needed. "
"The lack of off-duty time for junior officers represented another critical concern."
"The panel also submitted a list of recommendations to remedy its previously identified imperatives."
"The chief of staff directed that soldiers should receive more family time on weekends and holidays by restricting garrison activities and by scheduling four-day weekends in conjunction with national holidays."
Big sign up bonus, GI Bill and VA home loan guarantee after just four years. They need to change the benefits so it encourages at least 8 years. Maybe even give a little 10% retirement at 10 years. (Which would actually mean 12 years.)
Big sign up bonus, GI Bill and VA home loan guarantee after just four years. They need to change the benefits so it encourages at least 8 years. Maybe even give a little 10% retirement at 10 years. (Which would actually mean 12 years.)
Not many people would be willing to wait eight years for the GI Bill.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
correct
