I am new to the site, mainly because I need advice from individuals that actually have experience or are experiencing this.
I am the wife of an E-4 Nuke on the USS Nimitz. He is looking to re-enlist mainly (and you all know this way better than I) because he wants to take his knowledge to the next level and qualify in areas he can’t or get the chance to unless he is E-5. Right now he has been working long hours since he got on the ship to qualify in record time and he set to qualify in about a month from now. Anyways, he wants to re-enlist and I am all for it, not for the money but because he has put so much into this field that he should get as much as he can out of it. But my question is this, he has mentioned before there be a nuke pay or something along those lines? Is there and how much? I am just trying to get a full picture of our finances.
I am a new wife, so LES and his pay I haven’t been groomed on yet. Plus I am still on one side country and he is the other, set to move shortly. I have our base pay, housing, sea pay but what other pay is there to take into consideration for a Nuke, or have I covered pretty much everything?
Your husband is entitled to base pay, sea pay, SDAP (aka "pro" pay, Special Duty Assignment Pay), and BAH (if he isn't living in barracks). SDAP is dependent on your husband's NEC (Navy Enlisted Classification). As a surface nuke his NEC is 3383(ET), 3384(EM), 3385(MM), or 3386(ELT). As surface nuclear operator your husband's SDAP is $150.00. In a few years he will eligible for higher SDAP. Your husband's NEC is important because it determines his multiple if he re-enlists. His CCC should figure this out for him, but you and he should already have calculated it to make sure it is correct. To determine your SRB multiply your base pay on the day you re-enlist times your multiple times the number of months your are adding to your current obligation. Divide this by twelve for your total pre-tax SRB entitlement. If you re-enlist prior to your extension going into effect the extension (24 months) can be included in your SRB. All nukes are required to serve four years plus an automatic 24 month extension for completing nuclear power training. About twice a year a message comes out with the multiples for each NEC. A link to SRB info is below. In summary, multiples for surface nukes 3383-10, 3384-4.5, 3385-8, 3386-5.5.
Example: Your husband is an E-4 (I'll assume he's an EM) over two and reenlists for six years. His base pay is $1848.9 times his multiple of 4.5 times the number of months 48 divided by 12. His total SRB entitlement is $33280.20. His first check will be roughly $12979.00 (half the total amount minus 28% taxes). You'll get an annual installment each year of about $2600.00 (the remaining amount paid annually over five years). There are many factors that determine when best to re-enlist and for how long. Link:
http://www.npc.navy.mil/CareerInfo/EnlistedCareerProgression/Incentives/ You can get spouse access to your husband's pay account through myPay. It allows you to look at his LES, but not change anything. This is important if he is deploying so you can tell if his pay gets messed up. I recommend you check out navy one source, which is linked below:
For Web access, go to
www.navyonesource.com, user ID: Navy; Password: Sailor.
To contact Navy One Source by phone:
· Toll free CONUS number is 1-800-540-4123
· OCONUS universal free number is 1-800-540-412-33
· OCONUS collect call number is 1-484-530-5914
· Special needs line for TTY/TDD is 1-800-346-9188
· Spanish and other foreign language line is 1-888-732-9020
When you get to his duty station, the local fleet and family support center (FFSC) has frequent classes for new spouses. These are worthwhile. If for no other reason, you'll start your local support network and meet others in similar situations.
My last recommendation is to sit down with a financial counselor (you and your husband) to decide how to handle your SRB, if you opt for it. Many a young nuke has wasted his SRB, yours truly included. Do not get SRB without a plan. I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask me any other questions. Good Luck!
Derek Murray