Dual-BAH?

[Kathy]

I remained in Houston while my husband went through the FRS and for the first year of his sea tour due to my job and owning a house there (and because he was deployed for 6 months of that). He received BAH for where he was stationed (first Jacksonville, then Whidbey).

 

[Goober]

I have a roommate who has a wife still in San Diego due to her job and a house they own there. While being stationed here (a 3 year tour) he is still receiving BAH for San Diego. Unless he is scamming the system (which I don't think he is), there are ways to continue your San Diego BAH.

P'cola is (was?) on the critical housing list, so it's possible to keep the BAH rate of whatever previous duty station if your dependents don't move with you.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Geographic Bachelor in Pcola

I guess I'll put this question here because I don't want to start a new thread, I know this is putting the cart before the horse because I haven't gotten my final select yet but I'm trying to research as much as possible now to be prepared for later.

When (if ) I report to Pcola for IFS and API, my then wife will be staying at our house in Houston to finish college and I will be staying in the BOQ as a geo bachelor. Since Houston is not on the critical housing list and Pcola is I'm assuming it is possible to do this and get BAH for her.

However, I went to the base BOQ website and they said that due to limited space at Pcola, all geo bachelors will be billeted at the BOQ at Whiting. Is this still the case and does that mean I'll be living at Whiting and commuting to Pcola everyday? If so, how long is the commute really? The website says it is about 35 minutes. I hope this isn't true b/c I was looking forward to living on base for flight school and saving money on gas. Thanks.

 

[Flying Low]

Critical housing is not an issue for the above questions. You are only allowed BAH for your duty station. Pensacola was on the critical housing list and therefore you could get BAH for your last duty station if your family stayed there. However now it is not. So once you PCS here, you get BAH here. Doesn't matter where your family is or if that area is on the critical housing list.

 

[FLYTPAY]

I "know" someone who had this exact situation......PCS it to Milton, move out of your buddies house AND THEN MOVE TO THE Q, this will give you your BAH with dependents (make sure you indicate that you are moving household goods after Primary), ensure that "your wife moves with you" so you get Married DLA paid BEFORE YOU MOVE....Finish Whiting as soon as possible.

I went to the base BOQ website and they said that due to limited space at Pcola, all geo bachelors will be billeted at the BOQ at Whiting. Is this still the case and does that mean I'll be living at Whiting and commuting to Pcola everyday? If so, how long is the commute really? The website says it is about 35 minutes. I hope this isn't true b/c I was looking forward to living on base for flight school and saving money on gas.

You won't have to live at the Q at Whiting (45 minute commute if lucky)......don't scrimp on gas, you must live out in town for the flight school experience!

 

[HH-60H]

I "know" someone who had this exact situation......PCS it to Milton, move out of your buddies house AND THEN MOVE TO THE Q, this will give you your BAH with dependents (make sure you indicate that you are moving household goods after Primary), ensure that "your wife moves with you" so you get Married DLA paid BEFORE YOU MOVE....Finish Whiting as soon as possible.

I may be misinterpreting what you are saying here, but it "sounds" like the person you "know" is committing "fraud."

 

[FLYTPAY]

I may be misinterpreting what you are saying here, but it "sounds" like the person you "know" is committing "fraud."

You are misinterpreting it. The fact that your spouse goes back and forth to her job or even moves back to your old residence on your own dime has nothing to do with the move. Remember that the moving of Household Goods is separate from the PCS paperwork. Just count it out, the money to move your stuff is spent and not related to this transaction.
If you move in with a buddy in Pensacola and then move out and reside in the Q then there is no problem. Where the problem would come, is if you try to collect for 10 days in the Q TLA on the front end and never move out, which would of course show you never resided at your buddies place. Residing at the Q would be more expensive than living out on town anyway. So technically, you would have two residences and your spouse would transit. There are a millions ways to legally do this.

 

[HH-60H]

You are misinterpreting it. The fact that your spouse goes back and forth to her job or even moves back to your old residence on your own dime has nothing to do with the move. Remember that the moving of Household Goods is separate from the PCS paperwork. Just count it out, the money to move your stuff is spent and not related to this transaction.
If you move in with a buddy in Pensacola and then move out and reside in the Q then there is no problem. Where the problem would come, is if you try to collect for 10 days in the Q TLA on the front end and never move out, which would of course show you never resided at your buddies place. Residing at the Q would be more expensive than living out on town anyway. So technically, you would have two residences and your spouse would transit. There are a millions ways to legally do this.

What's the point of moving in with your buddy first? I don't get it.

 

[FLYTPAY]

What's the point of moving in with your buddy first? I don't get it.

If you do not establish a residence when you PCS, other than the Q, you will lose BAH and DLA. Bottomline, he needs to get a roomate.

 

[Uncle Fester]

So I think we've made the point that when it comes to PSD and money, there's almost never one answer. It's more of an if/then/when/therefore flow-chart deal. So, go talk to PSD and keep moving up the chain until you get the answer you want. Usually unless you're asking for something really bizarre (will the Navy pay to move my alpaca farm?) you can find someone who will sign off on it.