What is your worst admin nightmare? Who fixed it?

2015-02-07T10:49:15-05:00

I am a pogue, some might say King Pogue.... I am curious among all branches and all types, what is your worst admin story?

Personally, when I was an MP (yeah two strikes...) I was only paid jump pay for three months. I still don't know how that was possible, but the back pay was nice.

Response by SP5 Michael Rathbun made Feb 7 at 2015 1:13 PM

2015-02-07T13:13:04-05:00

When I was in BCT, there was a group selected by the Commander for advanced upgrade to E-2 IAW REG CITED. I was not in this group, but they put the orders in my and everyone else's 201 file anyhow.

When I got to Fort Gordon for AIT, I suddenly started receiving E-2 pay. Apparently Finance had not bothered to look for my name line as an INDIV CONCD on the orders, and had forthwith promoted me, for pay purposes. I liked the extra bucks, couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but now that E-2s had one stripe, I put that on. Being a rather dense creature, I took a while figuring out what had happened.

When I became a two-digit midget in Viet-Nam, I responded to advice to make sure that everything in my finance history was copacetic before the whole DEROS/ETS thing happened. So, confident that they would notice the above referenced anomaly, I put in the paperwork to Finance for a full audit.

Since nobody puts in for an audit unless they believe the Army owes them money, the finance types looked for money, found it, and emitted several hundred dollars to me.

"No, no!" sez I, and put in another audit request, hoping that the attached remarks would show them where the error was.

I got major beer money out of that one.

Decided to stop kicking the sleeping carnivore, ETSed without problems (except for that whole being-AWOL-from-freedom-bird-for-months thing I mentioned elsewhere).

I then reflected that a bank in Kansas City had done something similar when I entered active duty: three times I went to the bank and wrote a check for the account balance with "close" in the notes. Each time, they put more money in the account. To imagine: the civilian world was sometimes as efficient as Army finance.

My adventures with Deutsche Bundespost attendant on PCS from Frankfurt would be interesting to students of pessimistic literature.

Response by MSgt Michael Durkee made Feb 7 at 2015 1:21 PM

2015-02-07T13:21:21-05:00

Mine was from back in 1992, the days of SarahLite. I needed to have an official message sent, but the civilian secretary couldn't do it. Add this to the the things you can't make up...
She had lost a hand in a canning factory accident, and she has Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the existing hand. Nothing against her, but really?
And yes, there are many people that think I'm insensitive...I'm not. Who hires a secretary that can't fit the requirements?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2015 1:38 PM

2015-02-07T13:38:36-05:00

I have had two that stand out. When I came back from a deployment I was given too much leave. I told them that it was wrong and that they didn't owe me that much leave and she said it was right. I ETSed and a year later I got a bill for about 3k. I was overpaid. It turned out I was right. I was overpaid. When I explained that I told them that it was wrong in the first place and I told them it didn't matter.

The next one was when I went to Ranger school. I went being a National Guard one weekend a month soldier. I went to RTAC for 14 days and got my pay correct. I went to Ranger next after RTAC. What I didn't know was my unit got a new Readiness NCO. No told him I was on active duty orders. So while I was in my first month at Ranger I was coded as Present at drill. By doing this I got 600 dollars for drill but it stopped my active duty pay. I was gone and my wife had no clue what was going on. He called my commander to get things fixed. She went over a month and a half with no pay or benefits. It didn't go over well. I had no clue till I came back.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2015 2:06 PM

2015-02-07T14:06:04-05:00

I have been extremely fortunate throughout my career as far as this topic goes SFC Private RallyPoint Member.

Nothing drastic with my Pay or anything like that. At least nothing so significant that it stands out in my memory.

I have also tried very hard to ensure things are correct though and follow up on them.
Another thing that assists me is that I do not live paycheck to paycheck.

I have only had minor situations which were not too frustrating to fix. I am very fortunate.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2015 3:07 PM

2015-02-07T15:07:26-05:00

I remember leaving an Airborne unit and losing my jump status (sad face). Unfortunately my releasing unit's S-1 didn't properly turn off the entitlements and I was receiving jump pay after PCSing. Luckily my receiving unit fixed it while on deployment and the tax free money helped alleviate the boom from the back pay.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 7 at 2015 9:51 PM

2015-02-07T21:51:05-05:00

When I went to BNCOC my unit did not properly authorize my per diem rate and they would not fix it. I came back from BNCOC and about 3 weeks late out-processed. I wound up in my gaining installations IG office to get it fixed.

Response by SGT Nia Chiaraluce made Feb 7 at 2015 9:54 PM

2015-02-07T21:54:43-05:00

When I came back from leave and my PPW dropped around 20pts because my awards and schools were all jacked up. If it wasn't for SSG Winsett-Hall it would have been a prolonged nightmare. I have learned to maintain a dedicated connection with a 42 at all costs.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 7 at 2015 10:00 PM

2015-02-07T22:00:32-05:00

Not mine, but a guy I was stationed with.

Here's the gist of the story.

Guy get's promoted to Cpl (E4) right around same time I was. We're on deployment about about 7 months later and I see him wearing LCpl chevrons and I ask him what happened.

Apparently, they erroneously promoted him. It was discovered when he didn't get his new pay for the couple months after, and he went to S1 to find out what was going on.

So the BN "cancelled" his promotion and put him back down to E3.

Now, keep in mind this was non-punitive, just an administrative error. He was promoted in formation, and was wearing the rank and performing the duties for several months before everything caught up.

He requested Mast. He felt, if I'm doing the duties (with the rank on his collar) he should be paid for it.

Now, on deployment, about 1/2 of our personnel section is on ship, and the other is back stateside. It was a cluster and a half.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Feb 8 at 2015 7:20 AM

2015-02-08T07:20:18-05:00

Being an Army Reserve guy, good years mattered. I'd always done more than enough duty to have good years to count for retirement. Upon my RYE date one year I received a message the past year was not a good year. Lucky for me I kept all my LES statements. I put together the packet myself, turned it in along with help from my UA. The next year it still wasn 't corrected, so had to refile the paper work. This time it took. I was also glad I had a UA who cared and continued to help me check up on my status. Importance of keeping LES as well.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Oct 18 at 2021 8:47 PM

2021-10-18T20:47:15-04:00

Not a nightmare for me but for another NCO in my unit...we went to update our points during the annual update time, something occurred with his point that they didn't get stamped for that month while mine did...90 days later when the points should have been valid for us both, I made SSG while he had to wait for 13-months to make SSG...nothing could be done due to them being stamped at a later date...

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2021 11:31 PM

2021-10-18T23:31:20-04:00

Returned from Afghanistan in 2012. Got paid leave time for 30 days in Ft. Hood.
Got paid again 30 days later.
Called Ft. Hood finance, was told they would take it back out of my account.
2 weeks later, still there. Called again. It will take about 15 days.
15 days still in my bank.
Called again. Was told they couldn't take it out of my bank after 30 days, too late.
So now I do the debt payment thing out of drill pay.
That AT the took out the last of it.
17 days of AT netted me 72.00. But was debt free. And broke when I got home

Response by SSG Ralph Watkins made Oct 19 at 2021 1:21 PM

2021-10-19T13:21:05-04:00

Back before all of the computerized records. I was an E-5 over 4 years. My roommate brought me my LES from the orderly room. He peaked to see what I was getting paid & warned me not to break anything. I was paid $38 for the month. It said I had an Article 15. I immediately walked into the 1SG's office & threatened him that I was going to break his legs. May as well earn the Article 15. I get an appointment with payroll at brigade HQ. A PV2 (different first name) just got busted down to E-1. His Article 15 ended up in my folder. Suddenly not only did my rank, time in grade, PEBD Active duty date, & the Article 15 all change but so did my birthday, birthplace, race, religion, all of my other demographics. The lady at payroll laughed. I didn't think it was so funny. A senior NCO popped his head in & suddenly started questioning my motivations. believing I was trying to fraudulently trying to deny my Article 15. A call to my 1SG & that MSG got an earful of curses & threats from my 1SG. My Top took good care of me. I was able to get casual pay & did not have to fill out a DA-4187 for each of the changes like the MSG insisted. The Article 15 was removed from my folder & put into the right one. My pay got back to normal 2 months later.