Know The Difference Between Montgomery, Post-9/11 GI Bills Before 2023

When pursuing an education after the military, veterans are often faced with the choice between using the Montgomery GI Bill or the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Which of these benefits is right for you depends on your educational goals and service history. To read more, please click here.

Vote To Reinstate 8,000 Troops Booted Over Vaccine Fails, But The Mandate Is Dead In New Defense Bill

The military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate is on the cusp of ending after the Senate approved the annual defense policy bill containing the repeal, sending the bill to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. To read more, please click here.

Surgeon General Urges Vets To Get Updated COVID Vaccine Now 

Veterans Affairs officials partnered with the surgeon general on Thursday to urge health staff to keep up their push to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19, amid rising cases of the virus and lagging participation among veterans. To read more, please click here.

Merry Christmas from the AFSA Military and Government Relations Team!

Our Team would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season!

May the peace and joy of this year's holiday season be with you throughout the coming year, and may you make lasting memories with all your family and friends.

IMPORTANT TO REITERATE: 2023 Total Force Survey is LIVE!

AFSA's Total Force Survey is LIVE! Help our Military and Government Relations Team help you by taking the time to complete the survey. This year's survey is comprehensive and covers several important topics for our members - including An Active Component, Reserve Component, and more! 

Have any questions? Please reach out to our M&G Team at milgov3@hqafsa.org.

To complete the survey, please click here.

IMPORTANT TO REITERATE: Here Are Your 2023 BAH Rates

By: Amanda Miller | Military.com

The 2023 Basic Allowance for Housing, or BAH, rates for military service members will increase by an unusually large average of 12.1% thanks to soaring housing costs nationwide, though some troops have already begun to receive their new amounts thanks to a temporary bump this year.

The Pentagon announced the 2023 BAH rates on Dec. 14, 2022.

Rates will go up in 291 of the 300 military housing areas (MHAs) in the U.S., stay the same in four, and go down in five with the start of the new calendar year. The Defense Department estimated that it will pay about 1 million service members a total of $26.8 billion in BAH in 2023.

The "significant increase" in average rates reflects "unique market conditions experienced across many locations nationwide over the past year," DoD spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz said in a statement. "While average BAH rates increased substantially, different rental markets experience different market trends, and the 2023 BAH rates reflect those geographic market condition differences."

The handful of locations where rates fell include Lake Charles, Louisiana, by 10%; Alamogordo, New Mexico, by 4%; Long Island, New York, and Enid, Oklahoma, by 2%; and Buffalo, New York, by 1%.

Calculate your 2023 rate here.

Twenty-eight MHAs received temporary BAH increases on Oct. 1, 2022, as part of an effort announced by the DoD to reduce troops' financial burdens amidst soaring inflation. The new rates in those areas will remain largely unchanged from the temporary boosts, Dietz said.

That's a shift from 2022's rates, which went down in some areas after a temporary 2021 boost ended.

The DoD calculates BAH rates based on a uniformed service member's geographic duty location, paygrade and dependency status, along with housing costs in each local market. BAH is payable only when government quarters, such as barracks, are not provided or when a service member has dependents.

Each year, the department releases new BAH tables in mid-December for rates effective Jan. 1.

The increases in BAH come as service members anticipate their biggest military pay raise in decades, proposed in Congress' fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Expected to pass this month, the plan provides a 4.6% raise. A separate measure proposed in the House of Representatives would have provided an inflation bonus of at least 2.4% for service members and Defense Department civilians making less than $45,000 in 2023, but did not appear in the final bill.

2023 BAH Rates

The 12.1% average increase from 2022 to 2023 represents another larger-than-normal increase. The 2022 increase of 5.1% was already up from 2.9% in 2021.

The department bases BAH on a combination of local costs for rent and utilities for various housing types. Any fluctuation of one or more of those factors affects BAH rates for that location.

Individual Rate Protection

In locations where the BAH rate falls from one year to the next, service members already living there will have their BAH rate protected thanks to individual rate protection. The policy prevents the BAH rate from being lowered as long as the service member's status remains unchanged.

BAH Rates Below Actual Housing Cost

After a congressionally mandated change, BAH rates were slowly reduced over time to 5% below current housing costs. That process was completed in 2019. The nearly one million troops who receive BAH will absorb $82 to $184 of their calculated housing costs monthly in 2023. Rates will continue to sit at 95% of actual costs going forward.

BAH Does Not Cover Renter's Insurance

Another congressionally mandated change eliminated renter's insurance from the BAH calculation. That means troops are expected to pay out of pocket for such insurance. Privatized-based housing companies also no longer provide that protection as part of on-base rental agreements.

BAH and the GI Bill

The GI Bill Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) is generally the same as the BAH for an E-5 with dependents. MHA is based on the ZIP code for the school a service member attends. Unlike the BAH, which changes Jan. 1 of every year, the GI Bill MHA rates change on Aug. 1, the beginning of the academic year. 

Support the Care for the Veteran Caregiver Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92824/respond

Legislation Summary

• Updates the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by requiring the VA to continue providing assistance to a family caregiver for at least six months after the death of a veteran participating in the program.
• Requires the VA to establish a process by which veterans who are determined to have the most significant need for caregiver assistance are permanently eligible for such assistance.
• Requires the VA to standardize the criteria used across all facilities in its required evaluations of the needs of the veterans and the skills of the family caregiver.
• Standardizes criteria used in accepting and evaluating applications for participation in the program across all facilities.

Support the CHAMPVA Children's Care Protection Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92822/respond

Legislation Summary

This bill provides that a child shall be eligible for medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) until the child's 26th birthday, regardless of marital status.

Support the AUTO for Veterans Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92795/respond

Legislation Summary

The Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans "AUTO" Act would reduce the financial burden incurred by virtue of military service by ensuring severely disabled veterans receive a grant from the VA's Automobile Assistance Grant program to purchase a specially equipped vehicle once every ten years - as opposed to only once.

Support the Aid and Attendance Support Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92792/respond

Legislation Summary

The Aid and Attendance Support Act temporarily increases eligible disabled veterans' and surviving spouses' Aid and Attendance (A&A) allowance by 25%.

Support the Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92790/respond

Legislation Summary

The Ensuring Survivor Benefits During COVID-19 Act requires the VA to solicit a medical opinion to determine if a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death in situations where a veteran's death certificate identifies COVID-19 as the principal or contributory cause of death, the certificate does not clearly identify any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, and a claim for dependence and indemnity compensation is filed with respect to the veteran.

Support the TRICARE Select Restoration Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92820/respond

Legislation Summary

The TRICARE Select Restoration Act would eliminate TRICARE Select enrollment fees for veterans who retired prior to 2018.

Support the Healthcare for Our Troops Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92819/respond

Legislation Summary

• Ensures Reservists and National Guard members have no-fee healthcare through TRICARE Reserve Select that covers medical and dental coverage.
• Fixes the parity gap for Reserve Component retirees receiving early retirement pay due to deployment credits making them eligible for TRICARE upon receipt of retirement pay.
• Provides an incentive for small businesses to hire Reserve and National Guard members by ensuring their healthcare costs are covered.
• Ensures service members can access physicals needed to be ready for no-notice deployments (which have increased over the past year).
• Eliminates the statutory language that excludes Federal Employees Health Benefits Program eligible service members from TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility.

Support the Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92818/respond

Legislation Summary 

The Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act would:

• Split Impact Aid's $1.1 billion request evenly over five years, across three main categories for funding: Basic Support, Federal Property, and Children with Disabilities.
• Increase Basic Support funding by $190 million annually, meeting Impact Aid's 2019 funding requests.
• Increase Federal Property funding proportionally to Basic Support (BSP) by allocating an additional $11 million annually.
• Increase funding for Children with Disabilities by $9 million annually, funding $2,000 per eligible student.
• Advance national K-12 school systems to become more equitable and meet educational needs.
• Support military families that are especially impacted by federally tax-exempt land.

Support the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92815/respond

Legislation Summary 

• Modifies the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE by allowing a dependent at the age of 26 to be covered without an additional premium.  
• Authorizes such coverage of dependents without a premium regardless of whether they are eligible to enroll in an employer-sponsored plan.

Support Expanding TRICARE Cranial Remolding Helmet Coverage!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92802/respond

AFSA urges our nation's elected officials to support legislation that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if your baby:

1. Is three to 18 months old; and
2. Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)

Support the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92799/respond

Legislation Summary 

• Allow an employer a work opportunity tax credit for hiring the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces.
• Specifically, an employer may receive a tax credit equal to 40% of a new employee's first-year wages if the employer hires a service member's spouse or domestic partner (as recognized under state law or by the Armed Forces). 
• Create programs for service members to pay for childcare on a pretax basis.
• Specifically, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) must implement flexible spending arrangements that permit members of the Armed Forces to use basic pay and compensation to pay on a pretax basis for dependent childcare.

Support the Retired Pay Restoration Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92798/respond

Legislation Summary

• Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability.
• Extends full concurrent receipt eligibility to individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability.

Call To Action: Share How TRICARE's coverage of the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device negatively impact your family's quality of life!

Share your Story Here: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Surveys/7294/Respond

Context

For the past year, our Military and Government Relations Team has been working with AFSA military families on getting legislation introduced that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if a baby:

1. Is three to 18 months old; and
2. Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)

Despite unsuccessful efforts (via FOIA request) to obtain important data for the purpose of quantifying the need of this issue in the aggregate, our Team is looking to hear from the field to share your story and help have your voice heard by members of Congress.

Issue Background

• Helmet therapy is used to gently correct the shape of babies' skulls over time.
• Newborn babies' skulls are soft plates with spaces between them. As the baby grows, these plates grow, gradually harden, and knit together.
• Unfortunately, there are circumstances under which the soft plates may develop a flat spot or uneven appearance. This condition is called plagiocephaly. 
• Today, almost one in two babies (47%) is affected by some form of plagiocephaly.
• When the baby's skull joins together too early, or in an abnormal way, this is called craniosynostosis. There are several types of craniosynostosis, depending on when the baby's skull joins together. 
• Today, it is estimated that 1 in every 2,500 babies has craniosynostosis.
• Positional skull deformities and/or abnormalities - whether diagnosed as a form of plagiocephaly or craniosynostosis - can have short and long term health effects on a child.
• However, despite this, TRICARE only covers the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device, synonymously referred to as a "molding helmet," if your baby:

1. Is three to 18 months old; and
2. Has had craniosynostoris surgery;
3. But still has a misshaped skull.

• In other words, cranial molding helmet(s) are not covered for the treatment of nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly or for the treatment of craniosynostosis before surgery; despite medical evidence that suggests the presence or absence of congenital or acquired plagiocephaly (to include torticollis) can, at the very least, increase the risk of gross motor development.
• In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics school-aged children with moderate to severe plagiocephaly scored lower than controls on cognitive and academic measures. 
• As a result, military families - who face unique challenges given the sacrifices that come along with serving our country - have been put in the tragic position to either front the hefty cost of the helmet (approximately $2,000), seek alternative forms of treatment that may not be preferred, or forego treatment altogether.

Greetings AFSA Division and Chapter Leadership,

We are pleased to share the AFSA Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay procedures and marketing materials to help share the process with our members, your membership and potential new recruits.

The Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay program creates an opportunity to JOIN AFSA or RENEW a membership by making a $36 once-a-year/every-year auto payment, or a $4-each-month/every- month auto payment. The $36 once-a-year option is set at $36, and the $4-a-month option includes a bank processing fee of $1 each month.

Review the two ways to enroll, the benefits to using the auto-pay option, and the marketing materials to help share the details of this program and ensure its success.

For more information, please click here.

For questions, please contact AFSAHQ Member & Field team at 800-638-0594 x 288.

Please Update Your Contact Information Today!

Dear Air Force Sergeants Association Member,

In order for the AFSA to effectively communicate with our members, it is essential to ensure we have your current and / or valid e-mail address. 
 
We are in the process of updating our records and need your help! Please take a moment to ensure that we have your most current mail and email address (no .mil's); and accurate membership listing information.

We've made it easy, as you can update your information in either one of three ways: 

1. Call Member & Field Relations team directly at 800-638-0594 x 288 (Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST)
2. Email to: msvcs@hqafsa.org
3. Visit www.hqafsa.org and select the UPDATE button on the right

We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.

In sum, veterans frequently have to decide between using the Post-9/11 GI Bill or the Montgomery GI Bill when continuing their education after leaving the military. The advantage that is best for you will depend on your educational objectives and military experience.

Both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills provide up to 36 months of tuition help, but there are differences in the requirements and payment plans. Veterans are only allowed to use one GI Bill at a time, but individuals who qualify for both programs can get benefits for a total of 48 months by taking one benefit for 12 months.

In addition, however, a last-ditch attempt by Republican senators to reinstate troops who had already been dismissed due to the mandate with back pay failed in a vote that was mostly along party lines. The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, on Thursday night by a vote of 83-11. The $858 billion bill approves annual personnel pay increases and reforms the prosecution process in the military justice system, among other things.

The COVID-19 vaccine requirement for military members must be revoked by the Pentagon within 30 days of the NDAA's passage into law, according to this year's legislation. The White House has stated that it opposes the mandate's repeal, but it has not indicated that Biden will veto the defense measure because of the matter.

That signals the impending conclusion of a policy that was implemented in August 2021 while the pandemic was still raging and put tens of thousands of soldiers at risk of being let go. However, since the subject of restoring discharged troops is still up for debate, the loss of the mandate is unlikely to be the end of the matter. The military services will also need to consider how to treat members who are not currently immunized.

And lastly, Vice Adm. (Dr.) Vivek Murthy, who is in charge of the U.S. Public Health Service, said the nation is in "such a better place" with the virus than in previous years during a call with medical directors and providers on Thursday. He did, however, issue a warning that the coronavirus remained a hazard and stated that public health experts needed to reiterate that point.

Despite a sharp decline in COVID-19 instances in America over the past year, according to Murthy, authorities are still reporting roughly 400 deaths a day from the virus' consequences.

Active COVID- The number of 19 instances in the VA healthcare system has considerably risen in recent weeks. There were roughly 12,000 instances scattered among 135 VA hospital facilities as of Wednesday night.

That is an increase of almost 30% over the last two weeks and a 70% increase over mid-November levels.

And that's the way it is for Thursday, December 22, 2022.

Stay tuned for our next M&G-B, where we will continue to keep you in the loop on all things pertinent to the coronavirus, veterans, active-duty members, guards and reservists, and military family members. Stay happy, and stay healthy!