Do you have to be married before your fiance ships to her first base in order to receive BAH?

Question

I want to know if in order to receive basic housing allowance in the Air Force at Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA. will me and my fiance have to be married before she leaves her tech school in San Antonio before July 15th to be eligible for housing and BAH?

Answer 1

Hello Kevin,



You are reading things into the military system for married people that are not true. And, this is only because you and your future military bride are not aware of how the rules are. First of.. there is NO PROCESS to getting married. Your military fiancee does NOT need permission from the military to marry another American. The military can not approve or disapprove of her getting married. It is as it is. The day you get married, local judge or Travis AFB base chapel, are married.



ON THAT DAY, her married rate BAH begins. She takes you and her marriage certificate to the Personnel Office and Pass and I.D. and you get your photo taken and dependent ID card issued. She, of course, has to complete a "form." You get entered into the DEERS military computer system authorizing you as her military dependent. She needs to sign in at Travis AFB and immediately turn in her large envelope with her paperwork. She doesn't NEED 2 weeks to get paperwork "together." There is nothing to "get together." She turns in her paperwork and within a few hours all her needs are taken care of and she is officially a member of that base. She goes to her unit orderly room, signs in, meets her people, her supervisor, etc. You are NOT going to get any housing ON-Base. She is a junior airman. She must go to the base housing office and register for housing and get her name on the housing list. They will refer her to off-base housing or apartment rentals and advise you about what is available to rent and live.



You won't be able to get married in court the day you arrive. You might have to wait maybe 3 days to pick up a marriage license and often local judges only do marriages over their lunch hour on certain days of the week in a 5 minute ceremony. Of course, you could go to Las Vegas over the weekend (open 24 hours a day from Friday to Sunday) get married there for about $300 wedding and the cost of your travel and hotel stay.



No you can not stay in a dorm room with your wife. No way. You must house yourself at a motel. Expect to spend maybe 2 weeks in temporary motels? Maybe. Remember, save your receipts. The move is all deductible from your income tax next year. Temporary housing is deductible until you get an apartment. You can't get paperwork processed before you arrive at the base. The only thing she is allowed to do is sent a copy of her orders to the housing office 30 days before she arrives and be registered on the housing list 30 days early. But, I am telling you that she is a junior airman and may have to wait 1 - 3 years to get a house on-base. You can plan on living "downtown" in an apartment rental. There is no guaranteed on-base housing. Everyone else waits their turn.



Here is the official Travis AFB website. Study the pull downs and the welcome information.

http://www.travis.af.mil/ Start with the PRE-ARRIVAL checklist. In the military always do everything that these check lists say.



http://www.travisafrc.com/articles/view/inbound-4af99c10-eec0-4b7a-a5b0-76cdac100b8a

The Newcomers Orientation is mandatory for all active-duty personnel new to Travis AFB.



Again: BAH ONLY BEGINS THE DAY YOU GET MARRIED. If you get married back home before she reports to Travis then BAH will be authorized and paid - back pay - once she signs in at her base and gets her pay started check to bank. It will take about 2 weeks or 4 weeks depending on when the next payday is when she arrives. If you get married at home then you both will go to Travis together and you will both have to stay in a motel. There is no getting around that.



Don't one of you have a car? You MUST have a car in the Air Force. There just is no adequate public transportation. Everyone has a car. Properly registered in your wife's name and properly insured so it can be driven on-base.



It might be a good thing, if you guys are not yet ready financially, to wait 60 days and have her live in the dorms while she gets adjusted to work and has time to learn all about Travis. She is not going to be reassigned to any other base until she reenlists and goes overseas to Germany, England, Italy, Azores, Turkey, Okinawa, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska for a married 3 year tour.



You are placing too much emphasis on trying to manipulate BAH. It can't be done. Your wife will not be cheated out of any day's worth of BAH. But, it will come to her in a payback once she proves that you are married to each other. Let me ask you this. What kind of work are you going to do in the civilian sector around Travis? You will need 2 cars, you know. One for you and one for her! Take your time, take your time. Whenever people rush they always make mistakes because they didn't know better. It won't make any difference if you get married right away or 90 days later. Take your time.



Best wishes,



Larry Smith

Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret.)

First Sergeant

Answer 2

The military does not recognize the term "fiance" when it come to getting BAH. You have to be married to enjoy any privileges the military has offered to spouses (commissary/exchange, BAH, etc.)



Additionally, does she already have confirmed orders to Travis AFB or was that duty station on her wish list? If she has confirmed orders to any place, once you guys get a marriage certificate then you apply for base housing or BAH through the payroll/housing office. You also should be aware of housing "waiting lists" too - even if you get married how soon will there be a spot available for you two to move into?



Check out the link below about housing at Travis.

Answer 3

Get married as soon as possible. It still takes 6-8 weeks (and sometimes longer) for BAH to start. Also, there is paperwork that has to be done before you get married.



And, yes, you can benefit from partial BAH if she files sooner and IF you are married and it is approved AND she is in Tech school and you are living where ever you are. Instead of you getting full BAH of lets say $1,100 a month for BAH like you normally would, you might get $700, and she would get a dorm room. That is partial BAH. But you must be married, BAH must be approved, and that takes time.



I suggest she goes to the Force Support section and gets the proper paperwork to get married. And I suggest you guys get married fast. After that, you need to get enrolled in DEERS--which gives you and ID card, gets you into the medical system, etc.

Answer 4

She will either get housing or BAH, not both. She will have to be married to be eligible. She will be guaranteed housing if she is not married to you, it is called the barracks, sorry, she is Air Force, it is called the Single Enlisted Dorms. You WILL NOT be living on base as her fiance. As lower enlisted it will be difficult for her to get housing, so she is more likely to get BAH and you will have to find an apartment off post.

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She is eligible for BAH as soon as she turns in her proof of marriage, regardless of when that is.