Airman 1st Class Benjamin Soileau, then a 517th Training Group Russian linguist student, attends class at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., on May 12, 2022. Airmen who attend extended training courses such as the 48-week Russian language program are now eligible for new allowances to support their families while they are away. (Jocelyn Ford/U.S. Air Force)
Airmen and guardians attending military training away from their families for no more than a year will now qualify for an additional housing allowance to ease the costs of paying for two residences.
The policy provides money equal to the basic allowance for housing rate authorized at the school or training location for those without dependent family members, the Air Force said.
BAH is based on a service member’s pay grade, duty location and family size.
Eligible airmen and guardians must have permanent-change-of-station orders for school or training, and they need to return to their prior location when they’re finished. They can’t collect the extra cash if they’re living in free government housing, the Air Force said in a statement Wednesday.
The course or training must last from 140 to 365 days and produce a formal training certificate, the Air Force said.
“This new allowance gives our service members and their families additional resources to weather these times away without the added stress of financial uncertainties,” Alex Wagner, Air Force assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, said in a statement.
In some situations, the policy could mean a service member receives a higher allowance while away than the rate at their home station, due to steep fluctuations in housing costs across the United States.
For example, a staff sergeant with a spouse and kids would see an additional $1,524 per month in BAH for a short, temporary move to San Antonio, Texas.
If that airman is assigned to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, where his family stayed while he went away, he would continue to receive $1,455 a month for his household in Dayton, Ohio.
Previously, if service members had unaccompanied orders to another stateside location for training or school lasting more than 20 weeks, they would have to pay rent out of pocket at the temporary site if on-base accommodations weren’t available.
The new policy was directed by the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act and was published Nov. 1, 2023, in the Joint Travel Regulation.
It went into effect May 7. Service members can receive retroactive payments if they meet the criteria during a course they attended on or after Dec. 23, 2022, the Air Force said.
The change does not replace temporary duty waivers for formal training, which allow airmen and guardians to attend courses with a duration between 141 and 180 days in a temporary status instead of a permanent-change-of-station status.
