Why Does the National Guard and USAR Not Have the Ability to Get an AER Loan?

MSG(P) Michael Warrick — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:00:43 -0400

Recently I had a Soldier that approached me that is having a difficult time with finances due to a hardship. So I advised him about the Army Emergency Relief (AER) loans and gave him the number to make the call. I was later advised by the Soldier they were not available so I call AER and confirm the truth to the matter. Unless you are on Title 10 the National Guard or USAR Soldiers are not eligible for a AER Loan. You can be on Titles 32 as an AGR and you are still not eligible for an AER loan. Why it that? Are those that are on Title 32 as AGR not serving their country just as those on Title 10 or Active Duty? This is a double standard and needs to be corrected!!

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 14 at 2014 10:14 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:14:21 -0400

MSG(P) Michael Warrick I had no idea! I'm retired and I get mail that says I can petition to get them! Double standard if you ask me. Do other retirees get offered AER loans? I wonder if it is because I was medically retired and still on TDRL? Puzzling.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 14 at 2014 10:22 PM

SGT Richard H. — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:22:40 -0400

I'm absolutely not making a judgement, just offering an opinion as to the "why" of your question.
I'm guessing that it's because as a reservist the SM is in control of their own income 28 out of 30 days of the month, whereas on active duty, a SM basically has no control of their income, other than just not screwing up their next promotion.
That, and that the AER has to cut off somewhere in order to avoid spending more than they have.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Sep 14 at 2014 10:28 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:28:19 -0400

Likely because they don't make enough monthly in reserve/guard pay to meet the repayment allotment requirements. I know on the AF side, members can "skip" a UTA weekend without any real issues outside of not getting pay that month. This would be an issue if AER works like our Air Force Aid Society loans that require a monthly allotment to pay back the full amount within 1 year.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 15 at 2014 12:38 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 00:38:15 -0400

I am not sure where you are getting your facts from but if you are in the National Guard you can get an AER loan. I got one. I am sure the pay you will get out of it is a factor in it but my hardship was due to the military.

In my situation I was at at Ranger School with no contact with my home unit and very little little with spouse. We got a new readiness NCO and no one let him know what I was doing at Benning. So drill weekend came around and I was coded at being at Drill. This stopped all pays and pretty much screwed me. So I ended up going about a month and half with no pay, minus a payment for drill. It couldn't get fixed or not in a timely manner so my commander had an AER payment of 1400 made to my bank. With the back pay I was getting it wasn't an issue paying it back.

With a Guard soldier having trouble on his own, outside the military, There really is no promise that they will get their money back. I am sure it would have been nice but I doubt they could have advanced him enough to take care of the problem. It wasn't that he needed the money for an emergency. It was that he was broke.

Response by SFC Stephen P. made Sep 15 at 2014 1:19 AM

SFC Stephen P. — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 01:19:45 -0400

Arguably, those on title 32 serve the state and not the union.

I would speculate the decision was partly due to the differences in policies between states. Title 32 AGR in Nebraska might be entirely different from Maine.

If relief from title 32 orders is a simpler process than title 10 (just a guess, I have zero experience in these matters), than the rational for a relief program is not applicable.

Of course AER is a private corporation, and they don't discuss policy matters with me.

Response by SSG Byron Howard Sr made Jun 13 at 2019 5:13 PM

SSG Byron Howard Sr — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 17:13:28 -0400

What about Red Cross?