To Resolve the BAH on Boat Issue...

[boobcheese]

Yes, you could, but that would be considered FRAUD. Core Values anyone?
ea6bflyr

I know this is a relatively old thread but i'm just now coming across it. Fraud? Are you kidding me? You don't apply for BAH its an entitlement meaning just that, you are entitled to it(i.e. part of your pay). In comparison with the civilian market military personnel are generally underpaid based on their experience/education. If you were to make benefits such as BAH/BAS based on need rather than being true entitlements then that would be a major blow to the wallet(or pocketbook) of the average sailor thus making military service that much less atractive to to high quality accessions. This is not a matter of Honor, Courage, Commitment as ea6bflyr has implied but simply a matter of people being smart and stashing away their entitlments when there is no need to be paying rent, bills etc.

 

[Banjo33]

You can try and justify it all you want, but ea6bflyr is correct. 10+ service members sharing an apartment for the sole purpose of collecting BAH is fraud. If they returned from float and still continued to live together then of course it wouldn't be illegal. Would I go out of my way to bring them up on charges? No, of course not. But a spade is a spade.

 

[NFOwife]

When I said that guys "double up", I meant like 2 or 3 guys put their stuff in one of their apts., split the rent 3 ways for the time at sea, and saved the rest of BAH. Even if a guy just got a storage space for his things and didn't have an apt. at all, I don't see a big problem. It's just living below your means in my view. How is it very different than living below BAH when you're home? Do you think that if you live in a place with a BAH of $700 and you get a place for $400, you should give back the extra $300 a month? This has never been an issue for us since we've been married since before my husband's first fleet tour and so even when he's gone I still keep up our house and have the same bills, but it never bothered me that the single guys were doing what they could to save $$ while on the boat. As a previous poster said, BAH is part of your pay, not an extra. I don't see it as fraud at all.

 

[boobcheese]

You can try and justify it all you want, but ea6bflyr is correct. 10+ service members sharing an apartment for the sole purpose of collecting BAH is fraud. If they returned from float and still continued to live together then of course it wouldn't be illegal. Would I go out of my way to bring them up on charges? No, of course not. But a spade is a spade.

Perhaps you don't understand what I am saying. Unless you live in government housing(i.e. in barracks or navy housing) then you get BAH whether you like it or not. Even if you were to walk into PSD and tell them that you felt like you didn't deserve this benefit they would not be able to discontinue your entitlement. People who minimize their expenses by spliting rent or even putting their stuff in storage are not doing anything illegal or even unethical and its certainly not fraud and your assertion that these individuals could potentially be brought up on charges of some sort is absurd. So please get off your moral high horse and once you've gained some time in service hopefully you will have also gained a little perspective. :icon_tong

 

[Banjo33]

So please get off your moral high horse and once you've gained some time in service hopefully you will have also gained a little perspective

This coming from someone with a screen name "boobcheese"? Give me a break! She didn't say "doubling up" in her first post. She said "some guys".

However, I do agree with this much:

Unless you live in government housing(i.e. in barracks or navy housing) then you get BAH whether you like it or not. Even if you were to walk into PSD and tell them that you felt like you didn't deserve this benefit they would not be able to discontinue your entitlement. People who minimize their expenses by spliting rent

Did you even elect to read this?

Would I go out of my way to bring them up on charges? No, of course not.

My point being: you do what you have to do. I could care less.

Oh and FYI "boob", I just completed my eighth year of service in June. Troll.

 

[boobcheese]

OK look. I have been married since I joined the Navy so I personally have never been in the situation which we are disputing. My main problem with your statements is one of my major problems with naval service in general. In my experience any time that someone percieves that someone other than themselves is getting what they see as a "good deal" they instantly have to try to **** all over it. In your most recent post you acknowledge as a fact that you will continue to recieve entitlements such as BAH even if you are entirely forthcoming about what your living situation is. You will continue to recieve it because YOU ARE ENTITLED TO IT no matter what your living situation is. As to the second part of your post, while I find it "admirable" that you wouldn't go out of your way to bring these individuals up on charges I think its ridiculous to think that you could if you should so choose. If your best rebutal to what I am saying is to comment on my user name it doesn't say much about your argument. So Bravo Zulo on the eight years of service lets all hope that sometime over the remainder of your career that you ultimately find enlightenment and can be content to see others get a "good deal" without *****ing and moaning and even going so far as to call their integrity into question.

 

[VetteMuscle427]

<Grabs popcorn>

 

[Thisguy]

FYI-

The guys on the Stennis without dependants were asked to produce a lease before their cruise. Take it for what it's worth.