Guest Post: Read Your Orders – Executing a Close Proximity Move
By Dr. G. Adam Jakubek*
I am in the process of a PCS from NH Jacksonville to Kings Bay, and noticed that my Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) would drop significantly based on the change in duty station zip codes. The BAH rates vary depending on your duty station zip code, not your address, so you could see a dip in a few hundred dollars if your duty station changes but elect to keep your home in your prior, higher BAH rate zip code.
I’ve had colleagues PCS to close proximity duty stations and elect to not move their family and miss out on keeping their BAH at their old duty station. Some examples I’ve seen where people see a drop in BAH are PCS moves from San Diego to Camp Pendleton, or the Bethesda/National Capital Area to places like Annapolis or Baltimore where rates drop by $200-300/month.
The current order writing system authorizes funding for a household goods shipment by default if your new duty station is farther than 30 miles away from your prior duty station, but you might prefer to make the commute if it means staying in your home, keeping your kids in the same schools, etc.
My current orders have the following statement attached:
‐ MEMBERS WHO RECEIVE PCS ORDERS WHEN THEIR OLD AND NEW PERMANENT DUTY STATIONS ARE WITHIN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER (BASED ON A REASONABLE COMMUTE DETERMINED BY THE GAINING CO) MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A CLOSE PROXIMITY WAIVER AND RECEIVE BAH BASED ON THEIR OLD PDS LOCATION. SEE NAVADMIN 101/10 FOR WAIVER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES. GO TO: HTTP://WWW.PUBLIC.NAVY.MIL/BUPERS‐NPC/ REFERENCE/MESSAGES/PAGES/DEFAULT.ASPX.
If you follow the instructions in the NAVADMIN, it is a relatively simple process, but the key is completing the request through your gaining command BEFORE you execute your orders. Your gaining command needs to endorse your request stating that your commute is ‘reasonable’ and you forfeit your household goods shipment, making it a no‐cost PCS move for the government.
Once you receive the signed endorsement letter from your gaining command, you forward that letter directly to your detailer. You’ll get an order modification that drops your household goods shipment funding and states that you’re authorized BAH at your prior duty station rate. Again, make sure you follow up with your detailer prior to checking out of your old command if you haven’t seen your order modification come through in NSIPS. Once you check into your new command PSD or Human Resources department with your modified orders, you’ll be locked into that BAH rate and cannot retroactively request funding for a household goods shipment if you decide to move later on in your tour.
Here are some useful templates to help you with this process:
Close Proximity Approval Letter
Close Proximity Request Letter
*The views expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense or the United States Government.
My Guest Post on White Coat Investor – Disability Insurance for Military Physicians
Check out my guest post on the White Coat Investor site:
MOAA Post – Defense Bill Would Protect Hundreds of Military Medical, Dental Offices
This is certainly a short but interesting read…
Defense Bill Would Protect Hundreds of Military Medical, Dental Offices
Billets Still Available
I check the Medical Corps Chief sharepoint page (pick your e-mail CAC certificate) weekly to see what new information is on there. This spreadsheet was recently updated, and on it are a few billets still being advertised. If any of these interest you, contact your Detailer:
- Student at the Naval War College – O5/O6 with JPME I complete
- Physician Researcher at Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Springs, MD – any rank who is qualified as a researcher
- Senior Medical Officer on the USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) in Guam – O5/O6
- Executive Medicine/Surgical Detailer at PERS – O6
- Medical Department Staff – Defense Intelligence Agency Detachment (Washington, DC) – O6
Guest Post – Mindset for the GMO, UMO, and Flight Surgeon
By Dr. Keith Roxo, LCDR, MC(FS), USN*
I teach the medical logistics lecture for the flight surgery course at NAMI. I don’t do it because I love logistics or am some kind of logistical guru; I do it because it is a great way to have a discussion about mindset for young physicians.
I begin the lecture by asking if there are any medical students in the class. It seems silly, right? They smile and look around thinking that I am being silly. Next I ask how many interns or residents are in the class. I raise my own hand because I am a resident in the Aerospace Medicine program, but generally I’m the only one with my hand up. They are starting to get a little confused by my line of questioning. It is all set up for my next question: “if you aren’t a medical student, intern, or resident then what are you?”
The answer is that they are an attending physician. And after telling them that they are all, indeed, attending physicians, I get a lot of wide eyes in the crowd. The occasional student, who happens to already be board certified before going into flight surgery, already understands this, but they are few and far between.
For the last five years most of the flight surgery students have had near constant supervision and have not had the final say on any patient. Every plan or prescription had to be run through someone else before being executed. They have very little experience doing it on their own, but many are about to be thrust into that position. They need to start thinking about how they want to run their practice, solidifying resources and contacts, how do they get help for more challenging cases, how to handle a mishap, and how to transfer a patient from an austere location. Better to start thinking about this stuff from the safety of the Pensacola beaches or classroom rather than when a problem first develops.
Meanwhile, the logistics part of the talk is a way for me to get them to also think of themselves as a mini-department head. It doesn’t matter if your Marine Air Group (MAG) surgeon or the military treatment facility is supposed to manage your supplies, if you go on det or deployment missing items, it hurts you and your people. Better to be involved in your supply than to trust the system blindly.
Not all GMO positions are equal. Some are on a staff with other senior physicians. However, some are running solo with a squadron, infantry unit, etc. without much support from more experienced physicians. Getting your mindset right before you are in those positions can go a long way to better preparedness.
*The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense or the United States Government.
End-of-the-Month Personal Finance Post Summary
Here are all of my personal finance articles from the month of May:
Blogs, On-Line Resources, and Podcasts I Recommend
Get Ready to Remodel & Revisit Your Debts
How to Get Rich in the Military Article Compilation
Imagine You Were the Executor and Drop Unnecessary Insurance Coverage
Set Up a Home Equity Line of Credit
Think of Your Assets as Income
TSP Fund Deep Dive – The C Fund
TSP Fund Deep Dive – The F Fund
TSP Fund Deep Dive – The G Fund – Free Lunches Do Exist
TSP Fund Deep Dive – The I Fund – The TSP’s Most Controversial Fund
Joint Medical Executive Skills Website for Executive Medicine AQD is Down
I’ve received a few questions in the last 1-2 weeks about how to get the 67A Executive Medicine Additional Qualification Designator. After tracking down the latest info, it appears that for now the website is down. They are working on revamping the criteria to achieve the AQD and working the issue, but for now there is no way to get the AQD.
Once I have further info I’ll post it.
Guest Post – Why Most of You Should Switch to the Blended Retirement System
By Dr. Keith Roxo, LCDR, MC(FS), USN*
My graduating class from the Naval Academy has just reached 20 years and the first in zone selection board for O-6 recently occurred. I was not in zone. This is because I am an O-4…for the second time. Even though I never had any intention of leaving active duty after my aviation contract, I did that very thing. Life has a way of intervening in our plans and we have to live and work within that reality. My reality was that at 10.5 years my spouse wanted me out. In hopes of averting marital disaster, I acquiesced and left active duty.
When I first arrived at the Naval Academy in 1994, the military didn’t even have the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The first enrollment period began in October 2001, 3.5 years after I was commissioned and more than 2/3rds of the way through my initial service obligation. Despite that, I was hooked for a bit longer as I was serving a concurrent obligation for an aviation contract that was eight years after my winging. I signed up for the TSP and have been contributing ever since. I was about to enter my first squadron and I was in the profession I had always wanted. I had no plans on leaving the military. If the Blended Retirement System (BRS) was available then I would not have switched and I would have been wrong given that I did leave active duty with no plan to return. As it turns out, my marriage failed anyway and I rejoined the military as a second time Ensign at USUHS.
By the time most physicians are able to leave, they are around half way to a retirement, as I was. I frequently tell people they shouldn’t leave the military for the money. You are giving up the ability to transfer the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the pension and the health benefit. Those are very valuable. But you shouldn’t stay for the money either. There is a lot that can happen between initially signing up for USUHS, HPSP, HSCP or FAP and when your commitment is up. Half way to a pension means you still have half to go. No amount of money is worth it if you are completely miserable and can do well enough in the civilian sector.
There have been countless articles that discuss the BRS (Editor – all of which can be seen here and here) and who, among the eligible, should or should not switch over to the new system. There are also numerous calculators that can show you, as best as possible, the actual number breakdown. However, few of these articles and calculators can account for the realities associated with leaving the military or staying until retirement eligibility. You never know what the next few years hold for you and how your goals in life may change, just as mine did.
This is why I recommend to all eligible people, who aren’t committed to well past 10 years, to make the switch to the BRS.
*The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense or the United States Government.
Construct for Implementation of Section 702 of NDAA 17 (Translation – Who’s Running the MTFs Under DHA?)
The document that tells us who is going to run military treatment facilities (MTFs) under the Defense Health Agency (DHA) was just released:
Construct for Implementation of Section 702
This quote from the first page gives you the bottom line:
As a general rule, at each MTF there will be a single military officer who will be dual hatted as the MTF Director, under the authority, direction, and control of the Director, Defense Health Agency (DHA), and the Service Commander, under the authority, direction, and control of the Military Department concerned. Acting on behalf of the Director, DHA, the MTF Director will determine the capacity of each MTF required to support both operational readiness and quality, access, and continuity in the delivery of clinical/health care services to members of the Armed Forces and other authorized beneficiaries.
With the objective of ensuring a “ready medical force” and a “medically ready force”, MTFs will be the default choice for the assignment, allocation, detail, or other utilization of military medical personnel. Such default will be subject to the capacity of the MTF to afford military medical personnel opportunities to obtain and maintain currency in the clinical Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities associated with their medical specialties and communities, at or above minimum established thresholds.
The drive for operational readiness and support of war fighting and operational missions take primacy over the delivery of clinical/health care services and the execution of business operations in an MTF. To this end, each Military Department will have unrestricted access to its military medical personnel for all validated war fighting and operational requirements.
Director for Clinical Support Services, Ft. Belvoir – 05/06
All of the info about this leadership opportunity are found in this document:
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 