The CFLCC Army Reserve
Affairs (ARA) Division is dedicated to resolving Army Reserve component Soldier
issues. Our office is located in
If you
have questions please feel free to contact us, however, we do have one basic
rule. Always use your chain-of-command
first. If we receive an issue from you
the first person we will go to is your Commander to see what actions they have
taken. Our e-mail address is:
Frequently Asked
Questions:
Question #1: My employer continues to pay my full salary
while I am on mobilized. Do I get a tax
break on my civilian pay as well as my military pay?
Answer #1:
No, good try though!
Employers who make up the
difference of an employees' salary while the employee is mobilized or who pay
the entire salary of an employee who is mobilized are not required to take out
withholding to include taxes or FICA.
This income should be reported to the employee at the end of the tax
year on a 1099-MISC showing no withholding (unless the
employee made previous arrangements with the employer). You should find out from your employer if
they are withholding taxes for you, if not, this may result in an underpayment
of taxes by you at the end of the tax year.
If that is the case you should go to the IRS or a tax consultant
immediately to avoid tax penalties for UNDERPAYMENT of taxes.
Just to explain your
military basic pay and benefits. You are
covered under the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE). This is a monetary benefit for designated
zones such as
Question #2: My unit was mobilized in 2002 for
Answer #2:
On 8 December 1995 President Clinton signed a Presidential Reserve Call up which authorized the mobilization of Reservists for a period not to exceed 270 days to support peace operations in Bosnia.
On
By the way, just in case
you’re interested, here is the list of Presidential authorities used to
mobilize the Reserves beginning with Desert Shield / Desert Storm. Each one is separate and the time spent
mobilized under one operation does not count towards the time spent mobilized
in support of another operation:
President Bush used the
Presidential Reserve Call up authority in August 1990 for Operations DESERT
SHIELD / DESERT STORM during the Gulf War.
President Clinton used
the Presidential Reserve Call up authority on
President Clinton used
the Presidential Reserve Call up authority on
President Clinton used
the Presidential Reserve Call up authority on
Question #3:
Can we take our entire leave when we get home, or are we limited to just
30 days and have to sell the rest?
Answer #3:
If you are a mobilized soldier you have three
options for your leave:
You can sell your leave back to the Army. If you
sell back your accrued leave you will only receive your base pay times the
number of days you are selling back. All
entitlements such as HFP and BAH are not included in the formula.
You can use all of your leave. This is the case even if you are suppose to demobilize before you can use up all of your
leave. In an event such as this, your
unit must submit a memorandum through channels to HRC-Alexandria requesting an
extension on active duty to expend accrued leave. DA Message 291239Z Aug 02, DAMO-ODM, Subject: "Extension on Active Duty to Expend Accrued
Leave - GWOT" addresses the requirements for this memorandum. When approved, the demobilization station is
authorized to extend your orders and to adjust your DD Form 214 to take into
account this extension.
You can do a combination of the two.
Question #4: How do we get our expired Powers of Attorney
fixed?
Answer #4:
This is a command
issue. The Company Commander/1SG should
arrange for your local Legal Assistance Office to complete an updated Power of
Attorney.
Question #5:
I was told I am not eligible for promotion because I ETS six months ago
under Stop Loss. I meet all of the
eligibility requirements for promotion to Sergeant (E-5) and my unit does not
demobilize until another six more months.
Why can't I be considered for promotion.
Answer #5:
Good question, and
one that we are currently researching.
We cannot find anything that explicitly
states that going past your ETS disqualifies you from being boarded and
therefore being considered for promotion.
However, the consensus is that you must have a remaining contractual
service obligation in order to be promoted, so the next logical question would
be – “Why should we board you?”
My question to you is, “Why don’t you extend
for the remaining period of your mobilization plus 90 days; since you are still
in Stop Loss for 90 days after you demobilize?” Better yet, have you checked with your
local Retention NCO to see if you are eligible for a tax free reenlistment
bonus? For those of you who do not have
a Retention NCO readily available, you can contact one of the CFLCC Reserve
Affairs Retention Office at the following e-mail address for assistance. [email protected]
Question #6: My unit was mobilized for 9 months for
Answer #6:
WHAT IS THE ANSWER: COL King at OCAR has the issue and has
designated an author to respond.
Pertains to the Army Reserve Expeditionary Package.
Question #7: The families of active component soldiers
have the ability to get counseling and other forms of assistance at their
installations. For Reserve Component
Soldiers, what is in place, or is being put out into place, to take care of our
families counseling needs, and who is going to pay for it?
Answer #7:
The following
article was taken from the Army News Service website at http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key-5183
ARMY ONE SOURCE
gives around the clock human touch. Now
you get questions answered about the Army 24 hours a day -- from a human, not a
computer-generated voice.
It's reality, and it's called Army One Source.
It's a 24/7 toll
free telephone number for information and referral service for soldiers,
deployed civilians and their families, said Carla Cary, Family Advocacy Program
specialist at the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center.
The service was
activated Aug. 15. It is fully operational for Army installations and U.S. Army
Reserve components worldwide.
From the
"There is no
phone tree, no menu. The phones are answered by people,"
The source is
staffed by consultants who hold master's degrees in social work or psychology
and who can talk about a variety of subjects such as parenting, TRICARE, child
care, relocation, finances, legal, elder care, education and everyday household
issues.
Stateside
active-duty and demobilized National Guard and Reserve soldiers, deployed
civilians and their families can also arrange for up to six face-to-face
private counseling sessions with licensed clinical social workers who know the
military environment.
The contractor
operating the service will collect information about local family programs and
morale, welfare and recreation from one point of contact in the installation
Army Community Service program so callers will receive information about
programs geographically closest to them.
"This is a
supplement to our existing family programs, not a replacement for any
programs," explained
The service is
also available to the immediate family of single soldiers.
"(The) staff
knows the Army and they know who's eligible to use Army services and receive
benefits," said
The staff will provide bilingual and
multicultural personnel capable of communicating in Spanish, Korean and German.