posted by LoveMyTanker @ 12:49 AM
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The Fisher House Foundation plans to give away a $1,500 scholarship at every military commissary.
Applications for Scholarships for Military Children are available at commissaries or on line here.
The application deadline is Feb. 17.
For more information, visit here.
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 9:38 PM
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The Army will work to preserve soldiers’ dwell time of at least 12 months between deployments despite the upcoming surge in Afghanistan and the end of stop-loss, officials say.
Rotational units got at least 12 months of dwell time between 12-month deployments as of late December, according to Army operations officials. The service’s long-term plan is to increase dwell time to 24 months as forces are withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan.
But, for now, the challenge will be to keep dwell time stable during the Afghanistan buildup ordered by President Obama in early December.
During that same period, the Army will phase out the stop-loss policies that have prevented soldiers from separating or retiring during deployment.
“We have a couple of programs in effect that should mitigate problems in that area,” said Maj. Gen. Sean Byrne, commander of Human Resources Command.
“One very important consideration is the deployment extension bonuses available to soldiers who in the past would have been in a stop-loss situation, but who now have an opportunity to voluntarily complete a deployment with their unit,” he said.
Depending on when they extend, these soldiers can receive $350 or $500 for each month of the extension.
HRC assignment branches are taking a close look at units that deploy in 2010 and will replace soldiers whose terms of service will expire during the deployment, Byrne said.
“There is a price to pay with that, in that it will increase the number of people we put in units by 1 or 2 percent, but it will get us off stop-loss,” he said.
Byrne also said that within the next couple of months, the Army will start seeing the first increment of soldiers to be brought into service under the 22,000-soldier growth plan approved in 2009 by the Defense Department and Congress.
Initially this will involve about 5,000 soldiers who were recruited in the fall, and who will start coming out of the training base this winter.
While the president has ordered an additional 30,000 soldiers and Marines for Afghanistan duty in 2010, the Army’s huge force in Iraq, about 100,000 soldiers, will begin to decline after the Iraq elections in March, Byrne said.
Operating tempo will still run high, and HRC assignment managers remain committed to insuring assignment equity, according to Byrne.
“Right now, 379,000 soldiers, or 69 percent of the active force, have served at least one deployment,” Byrne said.
“That’s an increase of 10 percent in the past two years and does not include 250,000 soldiers who deployed and left service, and another 50,000 who deployed on active duty and then transferred to the reserve components,” he said.
Col. Jon Finke, chief of HRC’s enlisted personnel management directorate, said deployment equity plays a major role in the decisions of his career managers.
“When we review soldiers for reassignment to deploying units, we do look at a soldier’s deployment history so that we can balance the burden of deployments across the force.”
While the Army is temporarily growing by 22,000 soldiers, Congress recently authorized the service to add 30,000 over three years, which would bring the size of the force to 577,000 soldiers.
Byrne said additional troops will not be used to build new units, but to fill out existing ones.
“This means these soldiers will be privates, lieutenants and maybe some retirees who are recalled to active duty,” Byrne said.
As the Army adds soldiers, “there will be some midcourse assessments and corrections, either up or down, as needed,” he said.
The Army’s five-year plan to increase the number of brigade combat teams from 33 to 45 will be completed this year as the final units are manned and readied for operations. Byrne said that with the completion of that force expansion, personnel managers “will be able to tell with some precision what the manning requirements for brigades will be during reset.
“However, I expect that some of the same issues we have today, such as the shortage of captains and majors, will persist.”
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 9:37 PM
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Wishing you and yours and wonderful Christmas!
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:54 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 5:17 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 1:15 PM
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Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited will give away 1,000 free one-year subscriptions of its digital comics to enlisted military personnel from Monday through Jan.7.
It’s first come, first served, said spokeswoman Ann Hinshaw. A year’s online subscription would normally cost $59.88, she said. Enlisted personnel who want to sign up for the free subscription can send an e-mail to marveldigitalpromo@sunbeltfs.com to receive a promotion code.
Online subscribers have access to the largest collection of new and classic Marvel comics on the Internet, with more than 5,000 characters spanning the last 70 years.
It includes the first 100 issues of the Amazing Spider-Man series, the first run of the X-Men series and original stories developed exclusively for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, which is part of Marvel Entertainment.
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 12:25 PM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 10:20 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:15 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:31 PM
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The first W-2s, 1099Rs and 1099-INTs, along with retiree and annuitant annual account statements, will start becoming available on Dec. 16, DFAS says. The first wave of forms — Retiree Annual Statements and Retiree 1009R forms — will be mailed that day.If you did a DITY move (or PPM) be sure to wait for your MIL PCS W-2 to come in the mail before filing.
W-2s for active-duty members of the Army, Navy and Air Force will go out from Jan. 23 through Jan. 29, but all will be available on myPay starting on Jan. 20.
W-2s for reserve componet members in those three services will be mailed from Jan. 4-7 and can be accessed starting on Jan. 4.
W-2s will be mailed to active-duty and reserve Marines from Jan. 19-20, but can be accessed on myPay starting on Jan. 18.
Certain forms, including W-2s for VSI/SSB recipients, Vendor Pay 1099s, Vendor Pay MISC W-2s and Civilian PCS W-2s, will not be available on myPay, DFAS says.
The full schedule can be found online.
New Deductions, Credits for 2009 Taxes
Give Yourself a $200 Raise Right Now
Double-Check Your Emergency Fund Balance
House votes to extend $31B in expiring tax breaks
What if You Didn't File Your Taxes?
Keep up with military related financial information and advice below:
Ask June
The Paycheck Chronicles
Military Money
Military OneSource
Labels: 2010 BAH rates, 2010 Military Pay Charts
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:24 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 11:05 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 12:46 AM
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It’s a scene that’s played out in airports across the country numerous times in the past eight years: Families and servicemembers clinging to each other, either sad to leave or happy and vowing to never let go again.
The emotion always is appropriate, but the location of the scene – just beyond the airline ticket counters and before the security checkpoint - robs the actors of precious minutes with loved ones. Those lost minutes are unnecessary, at least as far as the Transportation Security Administration is concerned, a TSA spokesman said.
“TSA permits the airlines to offer a gate pass to family members of arriving or departing U.S. servicemembers,” Greg Soule said. “So, family members who want to accompany a servicemember being deployed to the boarding gate, or greet them [as they return] from deployment at the arrival gate may receive passes to enter the secure area of the airport.”
Though TSA allows this practice, the final decision rests with the airlines, from which family members must request the passes. Each airline, and possibly even airport, has its own rules and procedures, Soule said.Families interested in obtaining a gate pass need to check with the airline before arriving at the airport to determine the exact rules and procedures.
“It’s an airline procedure,” Soule said. “It is something that TSA has permitted the airlines to do, though we have security regulations that we provide to the airlines.
“Typically, only passengers who are flying and have a boarding pass are allowed to pass through security,” he added.
TSA makes this allowance out of support for the armed forces, Soule said.
Though military family members with gate passes can pass through security, they must adhere to all security regulations. This includes removing coats, jackets and shoes, and the liquids regulation. Anything of a liquid or gel consistency must be 3.4 ounces or less and be sealed in a quart-sized storage bag to pass through security, Soule said.
Each family member would have to present the gate pass as well as a valid government-issued identification card, Soule added.
TSA doesn’t keep statistics on how frequently military families take advantage of this opportunity. Volunteers at Washington-Dulles International Airport’s USO lounge said they are not frequently asked about the program or for assistance in obtaining the passes.
Separations and reunions are emotional enough in normal situations, but with the holidays in full swing, they’re even more poignant. And thanks to the TSA and cooperating airlines, they can be more positive.
“We’re happy to do this and make this small exemption,” he added, noting that TSA officials recognize that military families, as well as servicemembers, make sacrifices for the country.
The TSA has no jurisdiction overseas, so U.S. military family members wishing to see off or meet their servicemember at a foreign airport are encouraged to check with the airline for local policy.
The policy on gate passes is available on the Transportation Security Administration’s Web site under the heading “Accommodations for U.S. Military Personnel.”
Related Sites:
Transportation Security Administration
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 12:06 PM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 5:59 PM
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The defense bill has not escaped the eyes of budget watchdog organizations. The nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense quickly tallied up the earmarks in the 2010 bill negotiated by the House and the Senate: 1,720 earmarks worth $4.2 billion. That is 17 percent less in total and 14 percent less in value from last year, but still a “formidable number,” TCS’ Laura Peterson wrote in an email update.
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:15 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:23 PM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:09 PM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 9:04 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:49 AM
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Twenty-six thousand veterans now in college still have not received their living stipends and book allowances under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, a big sign of continuing problems in the program that may lead some students to drop out.
“The next semester is just a month away,” said Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s economic opportunity panel, which held a Thursday roundtable discussion on how to fix the new benefits program.
Launched Aug. 1 with great fanfare and high expectations, the new education benefits program has been tarnished by delays that occurred when it became clear the Veterans Affairs Department wasn’t ready to pay the living stipends many student-veterans need so they can afford to go to school full-time.
Margaret Young Baechtold of Indiana University said she has heard from students who are considering dropping out of school because they cannot afford to continue. Indiana University has made loans to veterans who have not been paid.
VA officials said some benefits claims are more complicated than others and they hope that better procedures will be in place by the spring semester.
Brian Hawthorne of Student Veterans of America said his organization has heard from hundreds of students still waiting on payments — many of whom are not getting by on the one-time emergency payment of $3,000 authorized by VA earlier this year.
The payment covers about 90 days of rent in the Washington, D.C., area, Hawthorne said, adding: “Landlords don’t care if they are going to be paid ‘eventually.’ ”
Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., said problems with timely payments are not surprising, because it is now taking an average of 47 days to process claims.
“Clearly, that is unacceptable,” Boozman said.
posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:37 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:33 AM
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posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:31 AM
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I am.....A thirty-something active duty army wife. A mother and teacher. A southern born girl. I love sports! An independent conservative - sometimes I talk (or bash on) politics. You are not required to like my opinions or politics. I am a strong woman. I am not a feminist. Be sure to check out the sidebar for the most updated information.
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