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    Ok....well, that is how I am feeling right now about the whole military commitment anyway.

    Todays mail held the next of what has become several two to three day long ordeals with the pay office, and benefits of the USAF.
    Quick overview...DW is FAP, was commissioned on Oct 16 2001...first pay after commissioning was Jan 15 2002. Since that time we have dealt with three people in AFIT. Of those, two have not been able to find the "correct" paperwork for DW. DW has taken LOA from residency and also from the benefits of the USAF for 3 months, last pay from AF was 5-15-03 for two weeks in April. This has pushed her finish to Sept 30, 2004....fast forward to today.

    The letter that we got today first stated that DW benefits were not stopped for her LOA.....I about flipped out! They have stopped paying us, so someone knows she is on LOA and not to receive benefits. Then the letter goes on to state that once she returns from the LOA that her benefits will stop next June 30. Did I mention that we were required to send a letter for request of LOA to AFIT, along with a letter from the Director of Medical Education at her current hospital??? So, we have got this abnormally long paper trail that suddenly ends when it goes to Wright-Patterson??
    DW, thank god she is home, calls this new program manager. The new person has no letters in her file, EXCEPT the new letters that were just sent for her return from LOA. Did she pick up the phone and call us to see why we were sending letters for return, when there were none stating that she was going on LOA??? Of course not, she processes a new set of paperwork and sends it to HQ in San Antionio to have everything stopped Jun 30 of next year. So to make a long story longer, we have faxed over copies of the first letters sent from us and from the hospital and she is trying to figure out where the originals are since we haven't been getting paid. This will take at least another day, and may not get fixed until next week. I can guarantee that this will come back to haunt us next year. I was getting anxious to get the military thing rolling, but now I have had my reality check and I'm back to normal.

    Thanks for letting me vent.

  • #2
    arrrgggh!

    8O

    Matt....I don't know what to say...what a PAIN...I hope you get it straightened out soon....I grew up as a military brat and I definately know that the red tape can be an absolute nightmare!

    kris
    ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
    ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

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    • #3
      Been there, done that! The AF royally screwed up Jon's pay last year and caused us problems to no end - problems that we are STILL (10months later!) trying to resolve! Because of the Air Force's screw up we couldn't pay some of our bills and I was nervous that this was going to affect our credit. This is what we have discovered in our many, many dealings with pay offices: The people in charge of your spouse's pay are NOT finance majors nor are they certified accountants. The pay offices are notoriously bad at fillng out, filing, and sending important, life-altering paperwork. AND those higher in the chain of command are only helpful when they aren't completely ignorant of the subject of pay for medical personnel (translation: they are therefore usually unhelpful). I truly hope you luck out and happen to speak to the right person who can fix your problem. Good luck....
      Who uses a machete to cut through red tape
      With fingernails that shine like justice
      And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

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      • #4
        Well, you will never guess what happened?!

        They called us back on Friday and told us that it was a terrible mistake! All the correct paperwork was found in a file in "never-never land" I am sure. Anyway, they called us back and told us that we will be getting some paperwork this next week at some point that will have it all straight.

        I know that it will still be screwed up come June 30, 2004. If it isn't screwed up before then!!

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        • #5
          Well, welcome to the AF!

          If it makes you guys feels any better, the Army owes my husband for one more year of service as enlisted and we're just bideing our time until we put in for it- essentially they're going to owe us for the entire time he's been in- medical school on up.

          The story is that he was enlisted for 4 years and then did a year of National Guard service. Because he was active duty for exactly 4 years, and the rules say he had to be in for 4 years and 1 day, they have determined that he was 'only' to be paid as and 0-1, 0-2, 0-3 etc, rather than O/E-3. So....we're going to contact the National Guard and get the records of his time on active duty for that year (his weekends and 2 weeks) and bam- there's the 4 years and one day (plus) and they'll owe us O/E pay from the day he set foot on the grounds of USUHS to the day we apply for it and every day thereafter. So...we just wait and wait for the time to get the National Guard records.

          And my husband's pay was totally screwed up the first 6 months of residency. We had a 2000 paycheck one week and a 400 paycheck the next. Great!!

          Another important factoid is also that 90% of the people in the pay offices are civilians who really don't know or care about making sure things are right.

          Jenn

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          • #6
            Jenn- the difference in pay for an O-1 and an OE or whatever it is (I will never get these acronyms down, it's so frustrating) is so huge!!! That will be a fat check, when it comes around!

            Matt- all I can say is reading your story, along with all the other military spouses, helps me mentally prepare for my life to come... So I'd like to think. At least we've had plenty of exposure to incompetence in pretty much every sector of non-military life-- even in the private sector! Our faith in the human race has been shattered. We are keeping all military records and correspondences in 2 separate fire safes, because I know that if we lose them, we're screwed.

            Good luck anyway!

            Peggy
            Peggy

            Aloha from paradise! And the other side of training!

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            • #7
              USAF and 3rd year wanting to start a Family

              Hi Peggy -

              Can I ask you if you work full time? My USAF-UVA med student hubby and I are thinking about starting a family, but we werent sure how financial aid works for us, since his schooling is paid for. Any thoughts?

              thanks!
              Jill.

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              • #8
                Hi, I'm not Peggy, but my husband is now in the payback phase of his HPSP scholarship from the Air Force, and we started our family at the end of his second year of med school. I stayed home during 3rd and 4th year. We took out loans and lived off of them for two years -- I also worked as a nanny during DH's fourth year. Doing it the way we did kind of renders the HPSP deal obsolete, but on the other hand, you get to start your family a little earlier. I would have your husband make an appt. at the Financial Aid office at UVA and ask what his options are if you are not averse to taking out loans.

                Hope this helps,

                Sally
                Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

                "I don't know when Dad will be home."

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                • #9
                  Thanks, Sally - that does help...

                  My husband DID make an appt with the financial aid office, and he seemed to come away with the impression that there wasn't much loan money available out there for us, since we were hpsp. can I ask what types of loans you found most available to you as you were searching - a personal loan, student loan... etc...

                  thank you to anyone who can help me out with this issue - I REALLY appreciate it!!

                  Jill.

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                  • #10
                    Jill,

                    I just asked my husband and he said we were able to get Stafford loans, some subsidized and some not. When he was in med school, the stipend was around $800 a month -- pretty hard to live on, and I imagine the same is true now, so I wouldn't think that being HPSP would disqualify you for loans. Are there any other HPSP students where you are that have families? Have your husband ask around. Sorry I can't be more specific!

                    Sally
                    Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

                    "I don't know when Dad will be home."

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      HPSP and Fed loans

                      Jill,

                      My husband is Army HPSP. What you can take in federal loan monies is directly related to what your school claims is the cost for attending. For example ...

                      My husband's school claims that it coses 42,000/year to attend medical school. The feds will only go for that amount. With HPSP paying his tuition and a stipend, we are considered just shy of that by about 1800 per semester. That 1800 is what we are allowed to take in addition to our HPSP awards.

                      Whatever your school says for the cost of education is the MAX that you can borrow.

                      As for starting a family, we entered med school with two children and had our third second year. I am blessed to work from home, so with the HPSP income we are a dual income family, but we still take that extra loan money where available.

                      Hope that helps!

                      Shel

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                      • #12
                        Ok...so I dug out this topic again beacuse that is what I am saying about right now....^@$@&#(*@^$(@$

                        We have gotten a couple emails today, wanting some paperwork that was needed PRIOR to the AF even allowing DW to join....let alone be commissioned. I don't know what is going on, but as soon as DW finds out she will be pissed! They are requesting some doctor records from 1995 that were produced and sent when the AF Surgeon General requested it to allow DW to join the AF. They state in the first line that they are giving us 90 days to get this paperwork to them, then the last line of the email says have them there by Feb 29th?! Are they just eating the paperwork that we send them? They are also requesting a release of DW from the OB from the pregnancy. Hello? It was faxed not once, but twice in JULY!!!! I know that this is only the beginning...in June we will have our stipend shut off, I am sure of it. All because they screwed up the maternity leave. Oh what fun......

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