USAF Members Feeling the Effects of Budget Cuts

Airmen across the globe are feeling the effects of budget cuts. These issues are not only affecting the weapon systems they use to protect our nation, but it is affecting their quality of life as well as their mission and in some cases, whether or not they have a job.

Expect around 5,000 Airmen to be forced out of a job

Among those selected for Reduction in Force measures in 2008, the USAF is expecting to cut around 130 lieutenant slots. The Air Force will rely on volunteers, separation bonuses, forgiven service commitments, and other methods to meet these reductions. This is primarily a result of budgetary issues. On the flip side, the USAF is pressing for higher retention bonuses in certain career fields.

PCS Cuts

The Air Force cut almost 10,000 permanent change of station moves in FY07 due to budgetary shortfalls. There simply was not enough money to perform all the PCS moves. This makes personnel planning difficult and can hinder an Airman’s career progression.

In 2007, Air Force leaders enacted a new PCS policy that lengthened the standard CONUS tours from 36 to 48 months. This will save the Air Force millions of dollars, but at what cost in terms of career progression and retention?

Longer Deployments and More Combat Roles

The Air Force is extending AEF rotations for many members, and providing more Airmen in combat support roles to augment the Army, which has been stretched thin with constant rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force went to standard 120 day AEF rotations in 2006, but 6 month and year long deployments are becoming more common, especially with senior enlisted and officer positions. These longer deployments provide a more stable transition and are more effective, but they are also a direct result of financial issues; the cost of deploying and redeploying Airmen, weapon systems, and materiel is greatly reduced by extending rotations.

Decrease Services and Morale Welfare and Recreation Activities

Many bases have reduced the number and quality of services they provide Airmen. Among the early casualties include closed libraries, reduced health and fitness center hours, and scaled back services at base Airman and Family Readiness Centers.

More cuts to follow?

The USAF recently requested an additional $20B for the FY09 budget – to be used for weapon system upgrades. While the FY09 is still a long way from being approved, one thing is certain. The war efforts over the previous 6 plus years have taken a toll on the budget and are affecting Airmen, weapon systems, and quality of life issues.

Military Budgetary Issues Affecting Troop Quality of Life?

The military budget has gone through a lot of changes in the last few years. The ongoing War on Terror has stretched the budget thin, to the point of almost breaking. Each service needs an influx of billions of dollars to restock and refurbish their equipment and supply the ongoing war efforts.

But how much of a toll is it taking on our nation’s troops? The USAF is asking for a $20 billion bump in next year’s budget to pay for modernizing their fighter fleet. The aging F-15s andF-16s are becoming more and more expensive to maintain. The USAF’s plan is to eventually replace them with hundreds of F-22s and over a thousand F-35s.

To pay for new aircraft and upgrade other weapon systems, the USAF has undergone several rounds of voluntary and involuntary reduction in forces. The USAF simply cannot support the current number of Airmen and afford to pay for modernized weapon systems.

The Army is struggling to replace armored troop carriers and outfit their Soldiers with proper protective equipment. They are also struggling with retention. The Army is currently giving record payouts for reenlistment bonuses to retain Soldiers, but it is coming at the expense of other troop benefits and welfare programs.

These problems are affecting our troops in many different ways and as a result, their quality of life is suffering. To keep pace with the war efforts and the decreased budgets, troop deployments have been extended several times. It is now very common for members of all branches to serve 6-15 months in a designated war zone. Some of this is due to low troop numbers, but another reason is that it just costs too much money to rotate troops and equipment between deployment locations more often.

In many cases, PCS movements have been cancelled or delayed in an effort to save money. Morale programs have been cut or eliminated, and troops are seeing diminished support services at many bases. When will these cutbacks end?

There is no clear cut solution at this point. In my opinion, as long as the War on Terror continues, there will be continued effects on troop quality of life.

5 GI Bill Facts Every Veteran Needs to Know

The GI Bill is one of the most valuable benefits that most veterans are able to take with them when they leave military service and transition into civilian life. The value of a college education vs. not having a college education can be well over a million dollars throughout the course of a lifetime. Using the GI Bill to pay for your education, or reduce the number of student loans you need to pay your tuition can make your investment a lot more valuable.

If you are eligible for the GI Bill, here are some things you need to know:

You have 10 years to use your GI Bill benefits

The day after you separate from the US Armed services, the clock starts. From that day, you have 10 years to use all of your GI Bill benefits – or you lose them forever. There are a few exceptions to this rule, most notably if you rejoin Active Duty status. If you rejoin AD service for more than 90 days at any time during the 10- year period, your 10-year clock is reset. This most often comes into play when Veterans transfer into the Guard or Reserves and are activated for more than 90 days. At that point, your GI Bill is reset to 10 years; even if you only had a few months remaining. Sweet deal! Remember – 10 years after your last discharge from AD and it’s gone. So use it or lose it!

The GI Bill is not considered Federal Student Aid

The GI Bill is intended to be used for tuition and college expenses, but it is paid directly to the student, not the school. Because of this, the GI Bill is not considered Federal Student Aid in the traditional sense. Many college and university financial aid departments may require you to sign an agreement to use your GI Bill funds for tuition costs, or require you to apply for student loans to pay tuition and fees in advance. What you do with your GI Bill payments is actually up to you. Hopefully you will use it to pay your tuition and fees.

There are benefits to the GI Bill not being considered Federal Student Aid. In addition to receiving the GI Bill, you may be eligible for student loans, scholarships, Pell Grants, employer tuition assistance, and other grants or student financial aid.

Search GI Bill Schools: You can use this GI Bill School search tool to help find available programs where you can use your GI Bill.

A “term” is a month, but that doesn’t always mean a month

The GI Bill provides 36 months of education benefits. This can be measured in two different manners. For veterans, this means receiving 36 months at the maximum payment rate (currently $1,101 per month). To calculate the number of months when receiving your entitlement, divide the total amount you receive by the monthly payment rate. For example, if you receive a check from the VA for $5,505 and divide it by the max rate of $1,101, you will be charged for 5 months time against your GI Bill benefits.

GI Bill terms are calculated slightly differently for those on Active Duty. If you use your MGIB while on AD and you go to school full-time, you will be charged the number of months you attended school, regardless of how much the tuition cost. In this example a “month” actually does mean a month. The best way to use your GI Bill on AD is to use your service’s tuition assistance program and use your GI Bill as tuition assistance “top-up” if your tuition costs exceed your tuition assistance level.

GI Bill rates are based on the number of credits you take

GI Bill payment rates are prorated based on the number of credits you take. Full time students receive up to $1101 a month (FY ’08 rates), and rates are prorated downward from there. Payments can be broken down into full-time, ¾ time, ½ time, etc. A full rate schedule can be found at the VA’s GI Bill rate page.

It is important to recognize that if you do not receive full time MGIB payments, you will not be charged a full month of credits against your MGIB eligibility. As noted above, your GI Bill credits will be charged based on the total payments received, divided by the full time rates. So if you only take half time courses, you will only be charged half a month from your GI Bill eligibility.

You do not have to use the GI Bill all at once

You have a 10 year window of opportunity to use the MGIB. The GI Bill has 36 months of eligibility, but that does not mean you are required to use it all at once. In fact, you can start and stop your MGIB benefits as often as you wish, provided you do not exceed the 36 months of eligibility, or the 10 year window.

For more information

Be sure to visit the VA’s Montgomery GI Bill page, or contact your local VA office. Whatever you do, don’t pay someone to help you get the GI Bill information you need. It is all out there and available free of charge!

Military Tax Forms Available on MyPay

Tax season is officially upon us all! DFAS recently announced that W2′s are available in MyPay for military members. DFAS customers with myPay access will be able to retrieve their tax statements electronically up to two weeks sooner than those relying on regular mail delivery. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms W-2s, 1099Rs and 1099-INTs, along with retiree and annuitant annual account statements will be available to DFAS customers via myPay.

According to Lee Krushinski, acting DFAS Operations Director, tax statements available through myPay are approved for use by the IRS and have several added benefits for myPay users. One is the ability to retrieve your tax statement directly from myPay at any time during the year. The statements remain online to allow customers to view and print whenever it is convenient for them.

Another great feature is the use of “restricted access PINs, which allows users to have other family members, tax preparers or other trusted individuals view and print their tax statements without the ability to change any pay account information. This can be of particular interest to military members deployed overseas, retirees, annuitants, or anyone who uses commercial tax preparation services. The restricted access PIN can be established after logging into a customer’s myPay account.

myPay is a secure Web-based pay information system. One of the many benefits of this system is avoiding risks associated with identity theft. myPay has a series of security measures with layers of defense against identity theft. The secure technology provided to myPay customers meets or exceeds security requirements in private industry worldwide.