Army Discriminates Against Single Career Soldiers Deploying in Support of GWOT
The Army G1 Staff, BG Gina S. Farrisee, published an interim policy effective APR08 that results in dozens, possibly hundreds, of career single Soldiers losing their BAH while deployed on Military Transition and Training teams (MiTT).
This policy was intended to manage personnel PCSes during the transition period of moving the MiTT training support mission from Ft. Riley to Ft. Polk. BG Pharisee and her staff determined that the best interum alternative would be to PCS all MiTT personnel to Kuwait (dependent-restricted location) until JUL09.
This policy solely benefits the married Soldier or Soldiers with dependants because they get to keep their BAH while deployed. In fact, they also get to move their families and household goods anywhere they want prior to deployment and then move them again when they return from deployment (essentially two PCS moves per family in less than a 15 month period). On the other hand, the single career Soldiers and dual-military Soldiers (without dependants) lose all of their BAH while deployed. How can this possibly be fair?
What really makes this interim policy confusing, is that all Single Career MiTT Soldier prior to APR08 and after JUL09 continue to collect BAH while deployed. Single Career MiTT Soldiers prior to APR08 were PCSed to Ft. Polk and authorized BAH at the Ft. Riley Rate. After JUL09, all Single Career MiTT Soldiers will begin PCSing to Ft. Polk and collect BAH at that location rate. But all the Single Career Soldiers assigned to MiTT Teams between APR08 and AUG09 get absolutely no BAH because the policy forces them to PCS to Kuwait!
How can we honestly justify discriminating against the dozens, possibly hundreds, of single career Soldiers who are or will lose their BAH benefits??? So much for an all-volunteer Army if we keep treating people like this...
Bookmarks