length of OBC after residency??

[huskydoc]

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I just received pre-accession acitive duty questionaire via email.
It states that if I have yet to do OBC (which is the case) that I will be attending the course this upcoming summer. (see below)

"Therefore, if you have not completed this course or fail to provide documentation of completion, you will be required to attend an OBC, in a Temporary Duty Status (TDY) during the first week of July 2008 through mid September 2008, enroute to your duty assignment"

Is this course truly 12 weeks in length?

How does housing during this time work?
Do I pay for housing at Fort Sam adn get reimbursed, or is this paid for as part of TDY?

I already spoke to GME office regarding my base pay and BAH (i have wife and kid) but is there per diem for food? mess privileges? etc

any input would be appreciated

 

[colbgw02]

I just received pre-accession acitive duty questionaire via email.
It states that if I have yet to do OBC (which is the case) that I will be attending the course this upcoming summer. (see below)

"Therefore, if you have not completed this course or fail to provide documentation of completion, you will be required to attend an OBC, in a Temporary Duty Status (TDY) during the first week of July 2008 through mid September 2008, enroute to your duty assignment"

Is this course truly 12 weeks in length?

How does housing during this time work?
Do I pay for housing at Fort Sam adn get reimbursed, or is this paid for as part of TDY?

I already spoke to GME office regarding my base pay and BAH (i have wife and kid) but is there per diem for food? mess privileges? etc

any input would be appreciated

Truly 12 weeks? Yes, I believe so, truly.

If you are TDY, then you will be expected to pay for everything from your per diem, BAH, BAS, etc. You typically have more control over where you stay than the bureaucrats let on. So if they've set you up at the BOQ or the local miliatary inn, you may be able to stay off-post. Then again, the military options are likely cheaper and possibly more convenient. You will get paid the same amount irrespective of how much you spend.

Officers in the Army are expected to pay for their food. Even if you are in the field, then I expect that you'll have to pay a lump sum for your MREs etc.

Edited to ask: I assume that you have been deferred for a civilian residency? Otherwise, if you did a military residency, you really dropped the ball vis-a-vis applying for constructive credit.

 

[huskydoc]

If you are TDY, then you will be expected to pay for everything from your per diem, BAH, BAS, etc. You typically have more control over where you stay than the bureaucrats let on. So if they've set you up at the BOQ or the local miliatary inn, you may be able to stay off-post. Then again, the military options are likely cheaper and possibly more convenient. You will get paid the same amount irrespective of how much you spend.

Do you mean I will be paid per diem, BAH, BAS and base pay? your sentence makes it seem that I would pay for this???

Yes I am civilian deferred, so unfortunately no ball dropping here

 

[colbgw02]

Sorry for the confusion. What I mean is that all of your costs (housing, food, etc.) are your responsibility to pay. To cover these costs, the Army will give you a per diem, your BAH, your BAS, your base pay, and any additional specialty pay to which you are entitled.

Try to have some funds available to cover your expenses until the government dollars actually show up in your bank account. Or, use a credit card.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, save every receipt. In fact, save it in triplicate.

 

[huskydoc]

To cover these costs, the Army will give you a per diem, your BAH, your BAS, your base pay, and any additional specialty pay to which you are entitled.
QUOTE]


Do you get paid Per Diem automatically with each bimonthly check during TDY?

I feel so much like a first year resident...clueless...
thanks so much for the answers, it makes me feel more in the know

 

[colbgw02]

I assume you mean semi-monthly, not bi-monthly.

And, I honestly don't know, I've never been TDY for that long.

 

[chaser08]

Do you get paid Per Diem automatically with each bimonthly check during TDY?

I feel so much like a first year resident...clueless...
thanks so much for the answers, it makes me feel more in the know

If I remember correctly, you won't receive per diem in your paycheck. You will receive your base pay, BAS, any associated specialty pay, and probably BAH. Off the top of my head, I can thing of three things that you can do to get extra money:

1. File for an advance. This needs to be done several weeks before you start your TDY and you will receive some amount of money (I don't know how it's calculated) to help cover some of your expenses. When you file your travel voucher at the end of your tour, this will be taken out of your reimbursement amount.

2. File interim travel vouchers. You can file them about once a month and you will receive per diem and any additional reimbursements (e.g. hotel, car rental, dry cleaning, etc - make sure you have reciepts!) for the time covered for that travel voucher. Please note that if you are authorized and bring your own car, you can receive in and around mileage reimbursement, so keep track of your mileage. This would be submitted at the end of your TDY.

3. If offered, get a government credit card. You can charge all expenses and don't have to pay it back until you get reimbursed by the government. It will be automatically deducted from your travel voucher reimbursements. I don't know if they will give it to you then or wait until you get to your permanent duty station. Just be careful with what you charge on it, as anyone can look at your charges and the charges must be related to your TDY. In one of my previous units, soldiers got in trouble for charging for items such as visits to strip clubs and internet purchases. Others got in trouble for using the credit card when they weren't on TDY (buying groceries, getting cash advances, etc).

So here's an estimate of how much you should expect to make during your TDY, assuming you're in the Army, an O-3 <2 yrs service, and your permanent address is San Antonio, TX:

This is what you should see in your paycheck:
Base Pay: $3292
BAH: $1266 (if your permanent address is somewhere else, this number will be different)
BAS: $192.74
Separation Pay: $250 (assuming your family isn't coming)
VSP: $416.66
BCP: $208.33
Total: $5625.73/2 = $2812.86 twice a month, before taxes

If you are living in a hotel, you will be allotted $112/day for lodging. Regardless of whether you live in a hotel or not, you will be allotted $54/day for incidental expenses. This could add up to as much as $166/day ($4980/mo) per diem for which you would be reimbursed when you submit your travel voucher.

Any other expenses (including lodging), you must show receipts for and you will be reimbursed. If you are given a rental car, you will be given orders stating this and you will also be given an amount you cannot exceed (e.g. not to exceed $40/day) and you must save gas receipts to get reimbursed for that as well.

I did not go to OBC at Ft Sam, but I've done many TDYs and attended OBC at another location. If someone has been to Ft Sam, they may be able to give more info.

HTH.