BAH Question

[HighOctane23]

Ok, so I've read through some posts on BAH and what not, and have a pretty good understanding of how it all works, but I still have one question that I haven't seen brought up. I'm married with one child, so I know I'm eligible for BAH. From my understanding you cannot live in single housing and also get BAH for your wife and kid to live elsewhere, unless of course you are in transition from say Great Lakes to Charleston. My question though is can you receive BAH (at the with-dependent rate) for off base housing even if your wife and kid don't move in with you. To clarify what I'm wondering, my wife is considering staying in San Diego to finish her degree since she only has about a year left, while I go through basic and on to Charleston. Would I technically be able to just get a roomate or two, split my cost of rent with them to make it cheap, and let my wife use the rest of the BAH to pay for her own rent in SD. Does anyone actually check whether or not your family actually moves in with you or not?

[eaton1981]

Here's an interesting scenario for you to think about and wrap your head around...

Say I'm in the Nav' living with my wife and kid in Charleston, SC. Suddenly, my wife's mother dies, but I have work to go to (and also, I'm not a fan of my in-laws anyway). I console my grieving wife and drop her and my child off at the airport as she begins the trip to WhereverElseInTheUS to go to the funeral etc.

After the funeral, she decides to stay with her Dad for awhile to help him out around the house etc.

All the while, the Navy is still responsible to pay for that stipend known as BAH each month. Just because my wife doesn't live with me at the moment, they can't take it away. NOBODY is going to come to your house, take a look around, and say "Where's your wife and kid at?"

Bear in mind though that the cost of two rental fees each month adds up QUICK. You won't be under the Navy's "Geo-Bachelor" program (I wouldn't think), so bear that in mind. You're looking to take in $1176.00 each month.

Lastly, AND BY FAR MOST IMPORTANTLY...married students when I was going through NNPTC in '02-'03 were required to live in BASE HOUSING. Thus, you DO NOT GET THAT $1176.00. So your plan of roommates and whatnot is a bust.

I'd start looking into her taking classes in Charleston. There are very good schools there, and I'm pretty sure wives of active duty military will get in-state tuition.

[HighOctane23]

Hmm, good point. Initially I preferred to live in the on base housing because it seems like a little less headache than trying to find somewhere off base to live and because its closer to the campus, less traffic, etc. But then that thought of my previous post came to mind. If I got $1172 in BAH and split rent with someone, paying say about $500 a month for my portion, and letting the wife keep the rest for her rent then that miiiight work. I don't know, I'm just juggling ideas in my head. I guess my problem is that she has about a years worth of coursework to finish her degree in accounting at SDSU. She dropped out back in 2006 when she was 21 due to health issues, and now wants to finish. If she goes to another school, then she will most likely have to complete about 2 to 3 years of coursework because whatever school she goes to won't accept all her credits from SDSU. Even just going and finishing at Cal State LA would take her nearly 2 years to do, and both schools are in the same Cal State system, so I can only imagine how long it would take if she went to an out of state school. Not to mention the extra money we'll spend on having to take more courses, etc. It would be great if she was able to get in state tuition in Charleston, but will still cost more I'm sure. I know none of this has to do with my career as a nuke. I'm just hoping to help my wife out with her goals as well, but we both  understand that my career path and the "needs of the navy" have top priority once I'm in.

The recruiter told me that I would be offered on base housing if it was available, but that it was my choice whether I wanted to live on base or off-base. Then again, he didn't seem too clear on that whole thing or how BAH really worked either, so I'm inclined to think he's really not too sure either.

[HydroDave63]

Does anyone actually check whether or not your family actually moves in with you or not?

I'll bet the same Finance folks that pay the BAH, would know if they also paid for a dependent move or not.

[HighOctane23]

True, but what if I opted to do the whole "move my family myself" option where you get like a week and they pay you based on mileage and weight and all that. If I said I wanted to move my family that way instead of have the Navy move them for me, and it was to move into a place off-base, would anyone ever really check or know if I actually brought them back with me? I mean if I went back and just brought some stuff, but they stayed behind, then there ya go right? This is of course if they allow us to live off base. I might only have the option to be on base like eaton said, in which case none of this would be relevant. I guess I'm just curious as to whether there's really a way to do this or not.

[DontGoToNPTU]

For one... before you go and start trying to lie about what you're doing with your travel claim take a look at this article about two female sub officers who decided to try and commit fraud.

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-05-01/us/us_female-submariners_1_submarine-forces-submarine-duty-submarine-base?_s=PM:US

Like eaton said you will be required to live in on base housing as a student at NNPTC. Sea returnees don't want to live in that place so it is wide open and they need to fill it with military people so you are not going to be offered a choice until after completing power school. You will "probably" not have to live in housing when you're at NPTU. In short, while you're going to A school and power school you will be getting some amount of money to live in housing but the housing authority will take pretty much all of it each month no matter how many people you live with. If I were you, live in the barracks, let your wife finish her degree and then have her meet you for NPTU or maybe even when you get to your ship. In power school you will be doing a 40 hour work week and then as much as 30 required hours on top of that for studying (depending on how you do). Most people struggle and will do atleast 10 - 15 hours a week on top of the normal class hours.

Words of advice stop saying "The recruiter told me" right now unless you enjoy being laughed and/ or yelled at.

[HighOctane23]

Got it. Thanks for the advice! I guess your right about it being like cheating. I hadn't really looked it at like that, just as a way to accomplish more than one goal at a time. I appreciate your guys' honesty. This is the main reason why I've relied more on what I've read in these threads than on anything my recruiters have said, and why I would much rather ask the question here. Thanks again.

[HighOctane23]

Now on to Sub Life vs. Carrier Life! There's a thread for that! 

[T0ne]

Yeah they check don't try to trick the command here. You got a couple of options. I would personally stay in the beq that they assign to you when u make it to goose creek. U will be on base living with other students and you will still collect bah to pay for your wife's housing in SD or move your family down, you can choose to live on or off base with your family. you take care of family living arrangements within the first couple of days of reporting to nnptc.

[ArthurRyan]

          The Army is starting to crack down on this issue.  The majority soldiers want to get married for the simple fact of receiving BAH.  The greater part all have the same plan: to live in the barracks and save all the money, or live with a buddy on post and spilt the rent.  So if you are being paid roughly about 1400 from BAH and about 368 for separate rats depending on your area.  You can easily accumulate a little bit of money, close to 30-40 grand in a three year period.  Another concern is the DD Move.  Most folks will declare max weight and will have zilch to move, so that’s generally another 9 to 10 grand in the bank.   Same fear when you PCS.
          
          It been going on for years and this makes it tremendously unfair for the soldier, who is doing the right thing.  Most of these families are struggling, living paycheck to paycheck.  Now you must prove that you and your spouse are living on post.  They have mandatory assemblies every week in which your wife must show her face.  They are particularly starting to check the U-hauls now.  If you claim max weight, your platoon Sgt. has to do a ride along to make sure that your claim is accurate.  No more sand bags and concrete!  

[HighOctane23]

Thats exactly what one of the recruiters was describing to me. He was telling me "Yeah you can just put a bunch of rocks or sandbags in the truck and get max weight and make some extra money man!" And he's a nuke! Thats a little too much trouble for me.

I would personally stay in the beq that they assign to you when u make it to goose creek. U will be on base living with other students and you will still collect bah to pay for your wife's housing in SD or move your family down, you can choose to live on or off base with your family.

So wait, according to TOne, you can live in BEQ and still receive BAH? Is that right? That doesn't make sense to me. So the Navy will house me by myself AND give me BAH for my family even if they don't move out there with me? Seems like double dipping.

[eaton1981]

It's not double dipping. This is similar to being a geo-bachelor. In fact, it might fall under the same instruction, but since you're a student, I'm not sure.

But yes, you can live in Barracks AND have BAH for your family. Make sure to talk to your nuke recruiter about the details of this specifically.

[HighOctane23]

Really? And that would be the full BAH rate with dependent (currently at $1,172/ month for Charleston, we have a daughter also) or would it be that diff-BAH crap?

I mean if thats the case then there would be no need to try and "cheat" the system. I wouldn't care if I lived on base or off base. I just thought for sure your family had to be with you to get any BAH.

[MMM]

Your family doesn't have to be with you to collect BAH. If you live in SC and they live in CA, you will still collect BAH with dependents. I think you might collect it for where they are, since it's higher. The question is, what will you do when you start NPTU and have to find a place to live? At that point you have to start paying rent.

Ultimately, don't try to cheat the system, just ask your chain of command or the folks in Admin. Believe it or not, they should try to get you the right answer.

[HeavyD]

BAH-DIFF is paid in very specific circumstances.  The one instance I dealt with in 20 years concerned one of my sailors.  He was divorced and because of some circumstances that I can't 100% recall, he was receiving BAH-DIFF.  Or more to the point, it was on his LES (Leave and Earnings Statement) as a payment and also as an allotment, paid directly to his ex-wife for child support.  LOADS of paperwork involved, along with an incompetent Personnel Chief.

For your scenario, you will most likely be classified as a Geographical Bachelor.  You absolutely MUST talk to your recruiter about this.  Do NOT let him/her feed you any crap like the sandbag thing.  When you get to bootcamp, ask about this again, this time to your Company Commander (are they still called that?  ).  Then, talk with your Section Adviser at "A" School.

Typically, Geo Bachelor was a forced or semi-forced thing.  Two friends of mine left their families in Norfolk and Va. Beach when they went to NPTU Charelston because they didn't want to go into debt to sell their houses, if they even managed to sell.  Wives and kids stayed behind.  Both these guys are Chiefs, so they could easily afford an apartment, but I think you get the idea.

To close, BAH fraud investigation and prosecution has been a very big deal for the Navy for at least the last 4 years.  Do NOT get involved in anything even remotely close to being shady.  You will end up paying for it, figuratively and literally.  Ask, ask, ask and ask again!

Best of luck and thank you for volunteering to serve!

[eaton1981]

Recruit Division Commanders are what CC's are now called.

[Gamecock]

If you live in SC and they live in CA, you will still collect BAH with dependents. I think you might collect it for where they are, since it's higher.

Unless you are serving in "extremely arduous sea duty", you will not get BAH based on dependant location.  You will get BAH based on your duty assignment location.

Cheers,
GC

[HydroDave63]

Time to stow this thread for sea?

[HighOctane23]

Thanks guys for all the info, I really appreciate it. I'm definitely not trying to get in trouble or commit fraud. I had just thought from what I was told that things worked differently and that you couldn't get BAH with dependent unless your family moved with you. This was what my recruiter said when I asked. The problem is none of the recruiters in the office know anything about BAH. I think I'm the first married person they've ever dealt with, so when I ask them about it they either don't know or they give me some BS answer that I later find out is not correct. I know that all my paperwork shows that I am married with one child or that I have two dependents. I even had to get a dependent waiver for my file before I was allowed to choose a job. Is there anything else that my recruiter needs to have in there to specify things for my BAH or is that pretty much it? Like I said, I really don't think my recruiters even fully know what they're doing when it comes to this part of everything. I'm actually very satisfied with everything else, and I think they've done a great job overall with helping me. Its just this one topic that they seem to be having trouble with.

[DontGoToNPTU]

When you do your Page 2 (a form that has all yours and family member information) just make sure you have your wife and child listed on it. As long as the date you got married or the date your child was born is on or before the day you enlist you will get BAH from day 1 of enlistment. There will more than likely be some admin screw ups since yeoman are so awesome at doing paperwork but they will back pay you as long as you are proactive in telling them very politely how stupid they are.