Posted on May 18, 2014
Why does the Army discriminate against single soldiers?
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First let me say I am biased in my opinion since I am a single soldier. The Army stacks the deck against single soldiers, in a variety of ways. There are standards that single soldiers are forced to obey that married soldiers are not. Purely just because of their marriage.
Housing is my personal biggest area of concern being a single soldier. I am a 27 yr old college graduate. I get the same "rights" in my living quarters that a single 17/18 yr old straight out of high-school would get. If that same soldier is married, they get considerably more freedom, pay, and budget control than I do.
I as a single soldier get no say in where I live. At my current duty station the BAH for my rank and dependent status (Single, E-4) would be $1,068. So I essentially pay $1,068 dollars a month to live in the barracks. The barracks I live in have two separate bedrooms, with a common kitchen and bathroom area. Since there are two soldiers in each little barracks apartment, we collectively pay $2,136 a month for this set up. That is FAR more then what a similar apartment style would cost in the surrounding communities. If single soldiers were allowed to have BAH and live where they choose we could potentially save several hundred dollars a month by controlling our living expenses. That's not including the approximately $300 a month we are forced to pay for the DFACs.
There is also the issue of furniture in the barracks. Again we have no say, we get whatever the Army already has in the room. Personally I would love to have an actual nice mattress, instead of these cheap plastic blue ones.
Barracks inspections. I can't stand barracks inspections. The inspections are completely up to the person doing them and what they "think" the standard should be. One inspection your could be fine, the next one your getting lectured about how to make a bed. Last summer I had to write a 2 page paper for an LT about personal standards in the barracks. All because my bed didn't have hospital corners. (That morning when I get up I tossed my blanket off to the right of me, where it was just sorta crunched up against the wall running the length of my bed.) If I want to know what I am allowed to have and not have in my room, I have to read three different policy letters to find out. Division could allow something, Brigade could say no, and then Battalion have nothing about it at all. I get that lower commands are allowed to restrict privileges as they see fit. I'm just saying it's cumbersome to have to read three different levels policy to find out what is what.
It annoys me that I have to have periodic inspections(currently every morning before PT for my company) while married soldiers receive no inspections just because they are married. I get that they have a family, I just don't see why that should stop a squad leader from making a planned, announced, and visual walk-through of the house of the married soldier. Keeping the same standard of living as a single soldier should be part of the military life.
Meal Deductions. I don't think the DFACs are worth the $300 a month I have to pay. I hate having to "play" the "I am a Meal Card Holder" card to get lunch sometimes during work. It's usually followed by a married soldier saying "I'm working thru lunch, you don't see me bitching about wanting to leave for food". True. However when we miss our lunch it's gone. The money we paid is gone rather we ate that meal or not. Married people if they bring their lunch it'll still be there later. If they eat out, then well that's just money they didn't spend that day. They can use it tomorrow to get twice as much for lunch or eat somewhere more expensive depending on their budget.
We get no say in what sounds good for dinner. It's whatever the DFAC has. Sometimes that means either fried or grilled chicken. If they run out of one thing, it'll be whatever they have left. It's not right. It leaves married people with control over their diet and single soldiers with whatever the Army needed to clean out of the fridge.
The above is just Big Army things, the discrimination continues all the way down to the company level. At my company single soldiers who live in the barracks are not allowed to park in the lot in front of the company. Now our barracks is approximately 3/4 mile down the road. Our motor pool is another 3/4 mile the other direction. I find it silly that an entire parking lot is reserved for married people. Sure single soldiers can drive to work, but we have to park in the barracks across the street. Which is not the barracks we live in. Married people can't park in that same lot if the one in front of company is full? To a point I can understand the reasoning behind this, but single soldiers have to leave and run here and there just like our married counter-parts. Why should they get special parking treatment? I don't see anyone stopping married people from using the barracks washers and dryers to avoid buying their own/going to coin laundry mats. Why are married people allowed to dip their hands in our honey and slap ours away from theirs?
Like I said from the start I'm biased. I look over the fence and see greener grass. Perhaps this is all just one single soldier bitching and complaining.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Update FEB 2019: Since I originally posted this message, I have gotten married. My view on the subject has not changed. I want to respond to some of the overarching themes in everyone responses.
“Quit bitching/whining/complaining.” I feel there is a difference between logically laying out issues and grievances and just bitching about them. The number of leaders who contributions on this post/topic amounted to “quit saying words” is disheartening.
“Get married/Army will issue you a wife.” Saying to get married just to move out of the barracks is a failure of leadership. Those of you (in my opinion) with that mentally should reconsider what you do/did and what your job is/was. As a former Infantry NCO I have dealt with the countless issues that arise when a soldier quickly marries someone for the wrong reason (example: get out of the barracks). The domestic issues, spouse calling in to the Staff Duty, soldier isn’t training because of counseling/FAP/court/Divorce related nonsense, greatly diminishes readiness which the last I checked the Army still considers to be pretty important.
“I had more money/I wish I was back in the barracks/ but but bills! etc.” Bull. I wish I could challenge anyone who says that to actually prove it. As stated, I am married now. I have more money, flexibility, and financial freedom then I did as a single E-4. Now some of that is because I’m a higher rank. Part of it is because I use BAH as intended to cover housing/bills, my BAS for food, and having the control over how much I spend on those two items is very important. Also, my spouse works. I have come to realize that is less than common for married soldiers in the Army. However, I would argue that getting married and not having both spouses working is a decision that you made going in to it. I’m not arguing/stating if it’s the right or wrong choice. It’s what you decided worked for ya’ll. To me it’s the equivalent of a private going out and buying that 23% interest Mustang then complaining about how much money it costs and how he used to have it so much better without that car payment. If you choose (by getting married/having kids) to feed/house/care for additional people (spouse/kids) and yet do nothing to increase your income than yeah…you’ll have less money. That is a very poor argument for what the original post was about.
a. Hopefully ^above^ I’ve made my point clear and concise seems a little muddy to me, I guess we shall see in future comments.
“Move off post.” That’s not an option. Well I guess it is, however single soldiers still have to maintain the barracks room they get assigned, they still wouldn’t get the BAH entitlement, and they would have to still pay the DFAC out of their BAS. Do I need to continue on the ignorance of that statement? Sure, there’s a packet you can submit and ask to receive those allowances, I’ve only ever seen get accepted once and that was when my BDE changed from Light to Armored, only for E-5s, and it was suggested only if they were on orders and would be PCS’ing soon anyhow. They wanted non-PCS’ing E-5s still in the barracks. I don’t recall if I stated it in my original post but that unofficial additional duty of being an NCO at the barracks is crap. “You’re an NCO at the barracks keep everyone in line down there after work and on weekends”, thought that’s what CQ was for. I’ll also comment on the “single people off post would party to much/be late to formation/traffic at the gates/ get in trouble in town more” line of nonsense. It’s ignorant. Along with the “paying dues” comments.
Veterans- I appreciate you are still active in the boarder military community, and recognize that your time in the service paved the way for what we did/do/have accomplished today. However, pointing out how things were worse yesterday compared today and to “suck it up” is lazy. There is no reason we can’t keep pointing out things today to make tomorrow even better. I’m sure there is crap I can’t even fathom that ya’ll dealt with back in the 60s, 80s, and what have you that were fixed because of people continuing to bring the issue up.
Lastly, I’ve enjoyed reading the varied amount of responses everyone has on the topic. If mine come off as aggressive or across the line it was not my intention. When I posted the original stuff above 4+ almost 5 years ago I never expected it to get attention and still receive emails notifications years later. I’m fairly sure I’ve read 90% of the comments because Rally Point sends me an email every time someone comments. No I did not add that picture at the top, it’s the website. Sorry if you clicked on a Rally Point ad somewhere that linked to this post only to see it’s from 2014. I don’t control those. It’s the website. Yes I’m sure there are a few grammar and spelling errors. If you point it out at the beginning of a comment, I’m more likely to see it and correct the issue. Cheers to several more years of being told why I’m wrong.
Housing is my personal biggest area of concern being a single soldier. I am a 27 yr old college graduate. I get the same "rights" in my living quarters that a single 17/18 yr old straight out of high-school would get. If that same soldier is married, they get considerably more freedom, pay, and budget control than I do.
I as a single soldier get no say in where I live. At my current duty station the BAH for my rank and dependent status (Single, E-4) would be $1,068. So I essentially pay $1,068 dollars a month to live in the barracks. The barracks I live in have two separate bedrooms, with a common kitchen and bathroom area. Since there are two soldiers in each little barracks apartment, we collectively pay $2,136 a month for this set up. That is FAR more then what a similar apartment style would cost in the surrounding communities. If single soldiers were allowed to have BAH and live where they choose we could potentially save several hundred dollars a month by controlling our living expenses. That's not including the approximately $300 a month we are forced to pay for the DFACs.
There is also the issue of furniture in the barracks. Again we have no say, we get whatever the Army already has in the room. Personally I would love to have an actual nice mattress, instead of these cheap plastic blue ones.
Barracks inspections. I can't stand barracks inspections. The inspections are completely up to the person doing them and what they "think" the standard should be. One inspection your could be fine, the next one your getting lectured about how to make a bed. Last summer I had to write a 2 page paper for an LT about personal standards in the barracks. All because my bed didn't have hospital corners. (That morning when I get up I tossed my blanket off to the right of me, where it was just sorta crunched up against the wall running the length of my bed.) If I want to know what I am allowed to have and not have in my room, I have to read three different policy letters to find out. Division could allow something, Brigade could say no, and then Battalion have nothing about it at all. I get that lower commands are allowed to restrict privileges as they see fit. I'm just saying it's cumbersome to have to read three different levels policy to find out what is what.
It annoys me that I have to have periodic inspections(currently every morning before PT for my company) while married soldiers receive no inspections just because they are married. I get that they have a family, I just don't see why that should stop a squad leader from making a planned, announced, and visual walk-through of the house of the married soldier. Keeping the same standard of living as a single soldier should be part of the military life.
Meal Deductions. I don't think the DFACs are worth the $300 a month I have to pay. I hate having to "play" the "I am a Meal Card Holder" card to get lunch sometimes during work. It's usually followed by a married soldier saying "I'm working thru lunch, you don't see me bitching about wanting to leave for food". True. However when we miss our lunch it's gone. The money we paid is gone rather we ate that meal or not. Married people if they bring their lunch it'll still be there later. If they eat out, then well that's just money they didn't spend that day. They can use it tomorrow to get twice as much for lunch or eat somewhere more expensive depending on their budget.
We get no say in what sounds good for dinner. It's whatever the DFAC has. Sometimes that means either fried or grilled chicken. If they run out of one thing, it'll be whatever they have left. It's not right. It leaves married people with control over their diet and single soldiers with whatever the Army needed to clean out of the fridge.
The above is just Big Army things, the discrimination continues all the way down to the company level. At my company single soldiers who live in the barracks are not allowed to park in the lot in front of the company. Now our barracks is approximately 3/4 mile down the road. Our motor pool is another 3/4 mile the other direction. I find it silly that an entire parking lot is reserved for married people. Sure single soldiers can drive to work, but we have to park in the barracks across the street. Which is not the barracks we live in. Married people can't park in that same lot if the one in front of company is full? To a point I can understand the reasoning behind this, but single soldiers have to leave and run here and there just like our married counter-parts. Why should they get special parking treatment? I don't see anyone stopping married people from using the barracks washers and dryers to avoid buying their own/going to coin laundry mats. Why are married people allowed to dip their hands in our honey and slap ours away from theirs?
Like I said from the start I'm biased. I look over the fence and see greener grass. Perhaps this is all just one single soldier bitching and complaining.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Update FEB 2019: Since I originally posted this message, I have gotten married. My view on the subject has not changed. I want to respond to some of the overarching themes in everyone responses.
“Quit bitching/whining/complaining.” I feel there is a difference between logically laying out issues and grievances and just bitching about them. The number of leaders who contributions on this post/topic amounted to “quit saying words” is disheartening.
“Get married/Army will issue you a wife.” Saying to get married just to move out of the barracks is a failure of leadership. Those of you (in my opinion) with that mentally should reconsider what you do/did and what your job is/was. As a former Infantry NCO I have dealt with the countless issues that arise when a soldier quickly marries someone for the wrong reason (example: get out of the barracks). The domestic issues, spouse calling in to the Staff Duty, soldier isn’t training because of counseling/FAP/court/Divorce related nonsense, greatly diminishes readiness which the last I checked the Army still considers to be pretty important.
“I had more money/I wish I was back in the barracks/ but but bills! etc.” Bull. I wish I could challenge anyone who says that to actually prove it. As stated, I am married now. I have more money, flexibility, and financial freedom then I did as a single E-4. Now some of that is because I’m a higher rank. Part of it is because I use BAH as intended to cover housing/bills, my BAS for food, and having the control over how much I spend on those two items is very important. Also, my spouse works. I have come to realize that is less than common for married soldiers in the Army. However, I would argue that getting married and not having both spouses working is a decision that you made going in to it. I’m not arguing/stating if it’s the right or wrong choice. It’s what you decided worked for ya’ll. To me it’s the equivalent of a private going out and buying that 23% interest Mustang then complaining about how much money it costs and how he used to have it so much better without that car payment. If you choose (by getting married/having kids) to feed/house/care for additional people (spouse/kids) and yet do nothing to increase your income than yeah…you’ll have less money. That is a very poor argument for what the original post was about.
a. Hopefully ^above^ I’ve made my point clear and concise seems a little muddy to me, I guess we shall see in future comments.
“Move off post.” That’s not an option. Well I guess it is, however single soldiers still have to maintain the barracks room they get assigned, they still wouldn’t get the BAH entitlement, and they would have to still pay the DFAC out of their BAS. Do I need to continue on the ignorance of that statement? Sure, there’s a packet you can submit and ask to receive those allowances, I’ve only ever seen get accepted once and that was when my BDE changed from Light to Armored, only for E-5s, and it was suggested only if they were on orders and would be PCS’ing soon anyhow. They wanted non-PCS’ing E-5s still in the barracks. I don’t recall if I stated it in my original post but that unofficial additional duty of being an NCO at the barracks is crap. “You’re an NCO at the barracks keep everyone in line down there after work and on weekends”, thought that’s what CQ was for. I’ll also comment on the “single people off post would party to much/be late to formation/traffic at the gates/ get in trouble in town more” line of nonsense. It’s ignorant. Along with the “paying dues” comments.
Veterans- I appreciate you are still active in the boarder military community, and recognize that your time in the service paved the way for what we did/do/have accomplished today. However, pointing out how things were worse yesterday compared today and to “suck it up” is lazy. There is no reason we can’t keep pointing out things today to make tomorrow even better. I’m sure there is crap I can’t even fathom that ya’ll dealt with back in the 60s, 80s, and what have you that were fixed because of people continuing to bring the issue up.
Lastly, I’ve enjoyed reading the varied amount of responses everyone has on the topic. If mine come off as aggressive or across the line it was not my intention. When I posted the original stuff above 4+ almost 5 years ago I never expected it to get attention and still receive emails notifications years later. I’m fairly sure I’ve read 90% of the comments because Rally Point sends me an email every time someone comments. No I did not add that picture at the top, it’s the website. Sorry if you clicked on a Rally Point ad somewhere that linked to this post only to see it’s from 2014. I don’t control those. It’s the website. Yes I’m sure there are a few grammar and spelling errors. If you point it out at the beginning of a comment, I’m more likely to see it and correct the issue. Cheers to several more years of being told why I’m wrong.
Posted in these groups: 
Barracks
BAS
Marriage
DiscriminationBetter Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) President
Barracks BAS Marriage DiscriminationBetter Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) President
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 488
Old culture versus new culture and common sense leadership. BOQs and BEQs for single junior officers and NCOs used to be a very common cost saving and militarily correct thing to do. Then those places disappeared or turned into TDY lodging and those junior leaders were told to move off post. BAH was nice except realty agents knew what we made and ensured rent nearly matched BAH for subpar apartments.
I agree charging soldiers BAH for living in government provided quarters sucks. The same happens for married soldiers living in family housing. Wasn’t always like that and the justification for it, private contracted maintenance, is absurd.
When I was a Cdr it was possible to waiver E5/E4s with partial child custody to live off post. Sounds good until that first incident that soldier turned his bachelor pad into a party house for all his single buddies that leads to police calls and misdemeanors. It only takes a few examples to give senior leaders reason to substantiate their “junior enlisted need supervision” claims.
Your example of excusing married soldiers from post field recovery activities is a leadership failure not a common expectation.
Anyway, bottomline, I agree that it feels like discrimination and bias against single soldiers to include officers but its just decades of treating soldiers based on their rank not their age. So a 30 y/o E4 is gonna be treated the same as a 20 y/o E4. It’s not personal.
I agree charging soldiers BAH for living in government provided quarters sucks. The same happens for married soldiers living in family housing. Wasn’t always like that and the justification for it, private contracted maintenance, is absurd.
When I was a Cdr it was possible to waiver E5/E4s with partial child custody to live off post. Sounds good until that first incident that soldier turned his bachelor pad into a party house for all his single buddies that leads to police calls and misdemeanors. It only takes a few examples to give senior leaders reason to substantiate their “junior enlisted need supervision” claims.
Your example of excusing married soldiers from post field recovery activities is a leadership failure not a common expectation.
Anyway, bottomline, I agree that it feels like discrimination and bias against single soldiers to include officers but its just decades of treating soldiers based on their rank not their age. So a 30 y/o E4 is gonna be treated the same as a 20 y/o E4. It’s not personal.
No sir, maj anonymous, the soldiers base pay is the same, with one exception, and I'll get into that later. Base pay is always and has always been by rank and time in service, more time in service means more pay. More rank. More pay, but the military as a whole has chosen to separate married from single in pay matters because, without the support for the families of these soldiers, there wouldn't be any senior rank structure. Just senior NCOs make more than most CPTs or MAJs in base pay, the family is more important to any soldier no matter what. The only exception the base pay rule is for enlisted to officer rank. Like O1E, O2E, and O3E. They get a higher rate of pay than their counterparts that never were prior service, that reason is because those NCOs would have to take a loss in pay to be promoted. And that wouldn't be good for anyone. As for the single soldiers, if you don't like how your treated being single then get out. Complaining about never helps, or go to your BOSS rep and change your room inspirations. STOP BITCHING, and do your job. When I came 8n, it was the same, NCOs walk right into your room and never knock. I asked why once and the answer is very simple, YOU DO NOT OWN THAT ROOM, YOU ARE NOT THE PROPRIETOR OF THAT ROOM IN ANY WAY, it belongs the military. And they let you dwell in it just for the fact that you CHOSE to the country and swore an oath. Man up!!!!
I tend to agree...I was single for quite a while I was on active duty, culminating in retiring from the Army.
I could not wait to get out of the barracks. I was treated very differently and did have to work over time returning from the field cleaning weapons and tents, mtoe rooms...Married Soldiers went home earlier. My superiors always explained that they had children etc....The Army is still struggling to try and figure out a balance. A balance that they will never fulfill under present doctrine....
I could not wait to get out of the barracks. I was treated very differently and did have to work over time returning from the field cleaning weapons and tents, mtoe rooms...Married Soldiers went home earlier. My superiors always explained that they had children etc....The Army is still struggling to try and figure out a balance. A balance that they will never fulfill under present doctrine....
At every stage there is risk / reward. Someone your exact demographic sans being in the military would take exception at all the places that offer you credit ( good or bad terms) simply because you enlisted. You compared single to married, then got married and still compare two entirely different institutions. It really doesn't matter the subject , I could say the same thing ( why not get married/ why not this or that?? It comes to the same conclusion its all about your attitude. The title had me thinking of issues like not allowing single parent soldiers to enlist but allowing married ones to. Since your writing doesn't talk about corrupt/ abusive/ blatantly discriminatory preferential treatment, it looks like you're in a good unit in a good setting. You have time to notice the difference between yourself and ppl who are married, while the same time you had time to work on your promotion, date, marry, and still further your research on who has it better. Have you ever stopped and thought about the cost to house / feed/ healthcare/ gym membership/etc that you are fully entitled to simply by having your CAC. You see and state a few issues that made you grieve, but not one good one that caused you allow the military to support your family. Hopefully you'll hang around long enough to be a part of some of the militaries great advocacy groups, make some of those changes, or come to terms with why some of those reasons are in place. Great Luck when you start having kids.
I agree, they definitely do discriminate. Married soldiers get a lot of perks that single soldiers don't. On the parking issue, that is not right. When I was enlisted, you just parked wherever there was a space, no lots reserved for anyone except the commanders.
On the barracks, yours sound like a hotel...furniture, kitchen, etc.....you are lucky. When I was in, it was 2-4 guys per room, sometimes 6, no furniture except your military bed and locker, and definitely no kitchen. Showers and latrines were down the hall, not in rooms. We had daily inspections, and if you were in the barracks after last formation, you would most likely be put on duty if they needed to fill a spot...that is why 95% of the barracks soldiers disappeared after last formation. They would spend hours at stores, restaurants and bars just to not be picked for duty when someone couldn't show up.
Point: The married soldiers have to pay for gas to get to base, pay outside bills and buy their own food. Single soldiers have everything provided. For me, it was worth the hassle to be single in the barracks.
One major point: just wait until you get back to the civilian world....it's EXACTLY the same thing....married people won't have to work holidays, single people will, and so on. They will assume you have no life because you are single. If you can't handle this issue in the military, then civilian jobs will drive you insane. It's the same, if not worse.
You have some good points, but this is the way it has been for a long time inside and outside of the military. Enjoy your barracks perks (kitchen,furniture, etc.). You were actually living better than a lot of past single soldiers when you were in the barracks....but, on the parking issue, I think the parking reserved for married soldiers is BS, especially if you can't park next to your own barracks.
On the barracks, yours sound like a hotel...furniture, kitchen, etc.....you are lucky. When I was in, it was 2-4 guys per room, sometimes 6, no furniture except your military bed and locker, and definitely no kitchen. Showers and latrines were down the hall, not in rooms. We had daily inspections, and if you were in the barracks after last formation, you would most likely be put on duty if they needed to fill a spot...that is why 95% of the barracks soldiers disappeared after last formation. They would spend hours at stores, restaurants and bars just to not be picked for duty when someone couldn't show up.
Point: The married soldiers have to pay for gas to get to base, pay outside bills and buy their own food. Single soldiers have everything provided. For me, it was worth the hassle to be single in the barracks.
One major point: just wait until you get back to the civilian world....it's EXACTLY the same thing....married people won't have to work holidays, single people will, and so on. They will assume you have no life because you are single. If you can't handle this issue in the military, then civilian jobs will drive you insane. It's the same, if not worse.
You have some good points, but this is the way it has been for a long time inside and outside of the military. Enjoy your barracks perks (kitchen,furniture, etc.). You were actually living better than a lot of past single soldiers when you were in the barracks....but, on the parking issue, I think the parking reserved for married soldiers is BS, especially if you can't park next to your own barracks.
Agree with you 100%. I was in a very similar situation as you when I was single in the barracks. Atleast you have your own private room. I shared one single room when I was in the barracks. Friend of mine was 38 sharing a room with a 19 year old. I see two possible solutions to the problem. Either get married, which is what many soldiers do, which I believe contributes to the high divorce rate in the military or get out. When I got married and moved off post I made significantly more money and improved my life significantly. When I ETS'd I improved it significantly more. Its a huge issue in treatment that doesn't get talked about. Its a big reason why I am no longer serving.
Don’t want to violate your safe space, but if you want cuddles and love, you should have stayed with your mama. I’ve been in both positions, single and married, so I kind of know of which I speak. Let’s see, they give you a bed and food, and all you have to worry about is completing the mission. No matter what, married or single,the mission takes priority.
Hoping to shed some insight from a spouse here who has seen first hand both situations of single soldier vs married soldier. When my husband (then boyfriend) got assigned to his first duty station the state next to us he was assigned a barracks and was to maintain that barracks even though he was granted permission at E2 to live with me off base in a shared rental agreement. This is solely based on the judgement of command to allow this. Now in my personal opinion the reason I think that there is discrimination against single soldiers is mainly because the actual soldier themselves have very few rights while under command. Where as if a soldier is married and live under the house with a civilian,a civilian such as a spouse or child has all rights and by law in privatizated housing only the landlord which is base housing may do inspections with 48 hours notice unless deemed a emergency. Command isn’t allowed to come into privatized housing without reasonable notice under any circumstances because they do not have the authority,military police have the authority if deemed a emergency from command or have a warrant. All because one person in the house is a civilian. (How I know this is because we had to deal with this situation of rights and one of his chain of command thinking they can get at my husband and break the law by stepping into my territory)I had to go to JAG and Base Housing to get my information so I could handle the situation properly because I didn’t appreciate getting woke up at 7:30am with 5 min notice that someone was coming into my home to do a inspection because they didn’t like the fact my husbands car title wasn’t still here and with the car causing a Panic attack and then scrutinized my service dog as he was trying to prevent me from passing out but not to mention making the comment of you don’t want to raise kids with a house smelling like this right after I just had a miscarriage.(I do henna tattoos the mix stinks,I had a henna party the night before which was a Sunday,this surprise inspection was a Monday morning) that same leader asked to see the inheritance my husband got and wanted to know what we’ve been spending it on which is also out of line. That money was no longer in my husbands account because I’m the one who manages the finances. Anyway. When you have no dependents in my opinion from what I’ve been through and gathered that you don’t have the rights to the same thing as those with dependents which I agree isn’t right but it’s based upon the judgement of most commands cause like I said when hubby was a single E2 he was allowed to rent a apartment with me off base 6 months at his new duty station. Most duty stations it would be a financial burden I think to reside off base as a single soldier which is why they usually don’t allow it. Hope this shows a different perspective to you.
While the Army may use accounting methods that show you receiving BAH and BAS, and it being deducted, you aren't entitled to those. This is simply an administrative process used to resource (fund) barracks and dining facilities, not an act of taking away an entitlement.
With some research, you'll find that you aren't entitled to BAH, or BAS, and the Army changed how it was resourced and managed in the past.
Installation commander's budgets used to require they use part of their budget to resource barracks housing, family housing, DFACs, and other facilities and activities. I don't believe there was earmarked money, but that isn't relevant for purpose of this discussion.
Before the administrative change to how these were resourced (budgeted, tracked), you wouldn't see the payment and deduction of BAH and BAS (DFAC) on your LES, because you weren't entitled to them.
You still aren't entitled to them, so you aren't paying for anything, although it may appear so, on paper.
Similarly, married Soldiers residing on post before the change in budgeting and accounting, didn't show any BAH on their LES, because they weren't entitled to it because they resided in on post housing.
So, you don't really pay anything, aren't being discriminated against, and the Army isn't interfering with your ability to control your budget.
You can't save $300 of money you aren't entitled to.
Were it the days of squad leaders checking barracks rooms every morning before PT, mandatory GI parties to clean barracks evenings and weekends, Charge of Quarters in the barracks, no visitation in the barracks, nothing other than military furniture, mandatory displays and wall locker displays, orderly room colocated with the barracks, then, yes, there WAS different treatment for Soldiers residing in the barracks.
When I lived in the barracks, it wasn't uncommon to be commandeered for weekend duty when another Soldier failed to report for duty, and entering using a master key at times. For that reason, I always kept a single beer beside my bunk. You would hear the NCO seeking a body knocking door to door. When they reached my door, I'd pop the beer, chug a bit, and open the door with my best been drinking all night look.
With some research, you'll find that you aren't entitled to BAH, or BAS, and the Army changed how it was resourced and managed in the past.
Installation commander's budgets used to require they use part of their budget to resource barracks housing, family housing, DFACs, and other facilities and activities. I don't believe there was earmarked money, but that isn't relevant for purpose of this discussion.
Before the administrative change to how these were resourced (budgeted, tracked), you wouldn't see the payment and deduction of BAH and BAS (DFAC) on your LES, because you weren't entitled to them.
You still aren't entitled to them, so you aren't paying for anything, although it may appear so, on paper.
Similarly, married Soldiers residing on post before the change in budgeting and accounting, didn't show any BAH on their LES, because they weren't entitled to it because they resided in on post housing.
So, you don't really pay anything, aren't being discriminated against, and the Army isn't interfering with your ability to control your budget.
You can't save $300 of money you aren't entitled to.
Were it the days of squad leaders checking barracks rooms every morning before PT, mandatory GI parties to clean barracks evenings and weekends, Charge of Quarters in the barracks, no visitation in the barracks, nothing other than military furniture, mandatory displays and wall locker displays, orderly room colocated with the barracks, then, yes, there WAS different treatment for Soldiers residing in the barracks.
When I lived in the barracks, it wasn't uncommon to be commandeered for weekend duty when another Soldier failed to report for duty, and entering using a master key at times. For that reason, I always kept a single beer beside my bunk. You would hear the NCO seeking a body knocking door to door. When they reached my door, I'd pop the beer, chug a bit, and open the door with my best been drinking all night look.
I was single when I first joined the Army in 1978. At that time, I shared a room with 3 other Soldiers, the latrine, complete with an open shower, was down the hall, the chow-hall was down the street--as was my place of duty. So it sounds like the Army is making an effort toward improving the environment for single Soldiers. When I went to Germany without my family in 2003, I lived in the BOQ. I had a 2-room "apartment" to myself, it was a very lonely existence! The single Soldiers could not relate, and the married Soldiers made me feel like a 3rd wheel. Whenever we came in from a field exercise, no-one was released until every weapon, vehicle, and all equipment, was clean. Single Soldiers went into their barracks rooms, took showers, ate, and even watched t.v. while they cleaned everything but the vehicles.
My point being, there are ins and outs of both, being married or single, it's what you make of the situation. You either deal with it as a Soldier, or you deal with a whole other set of problems as a civilian.
My point being, there are ins and outs of both, being married or single, it's what you make of the situation. You either deal with it as a Soldier, or you deal with a whole other set of problems as a civilian.
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