Q: I was ordered to self-monitor after I returned from official government travel. What benefits are available to me?
A: The Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) was updated to provide guidance on per diem allowances that are impacted by COVID-19. This website is a helpful source of information: https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/news_Coronavirus.cfm
Q: I was ordered to self-isolate while in the middle of temporary duty (TDY) travel for official duty. What will happen when my TDY orders are supposed to end?
A: If you are ordered into restriction of movement for self-monitoring at a TDY location, your command may authorize continued TDY travel and transportation allowances. Your TDY orders should be amended to extend the TDY assignment to cover the period of self-monitoring, allowing your per diem and travel allowances to continue until you can return to your permanent duty station.
Q: Can I request an extension of the 10-day TLE allowance?
A: No. There is no authorization in law to extend the number of TLE days in this situation.
Q: What happens if I or my college son/daughter is in a resident program and is sent home to conduct studies online? What happens to my Basic Allowance for Housing or other benefits
A: The answer will depend on the type of action taken by the school, the timing of the action, and the current program approval. Contact the Veterans Benefits Administration, Education Call Center at: 1-888-442-4551. Note: dependent students are not authorized travel and transportation allowances if required to quarantine before proceeding to the PDS or school.
Q: If an enlisted member on a cutter is quarantined shoreside, do they get Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)?
A: Yes. Work with your Admin/SPO to transfer the BAS entitlement.
Q: I just completed my PCS move but was ordered to quarantine because I came from a COVID-19 impacted area. If I cannot move into housing yet, is there an allowance that could help?
A: Yes, both members and dependents may be entitled to isolation allowance. Contact your inbound unit SPO to determine if you are entitled to this allowance.
Q. Are there any other pay, allowances, or entitlements available given the current challenges with COVID?
A. Several new pay and allowances are now available to members and their dependents. These entitlements are part of the overall military effort to support our members during the COVID-19 pandemic, and include:
- Isolation Allowance
- Hardship Duty Pay – Restriction of Movement
- COVID-19 Related Galley Meals
- Basic Allowance for Subsistence II (BAS-II)
- Continuation of Special and Incentive Pays
- Family Stability Act (BAH and Housing Flexibility)
Prior to seeking external financial assistance, contact your local Personnel and Administration (P&A) office to determine your eligibility for these new pay and allowances.
Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I have heard about this new pay called HDP-ROM. What is that?
A: Hardship Duty Pay – Restriction of Movement (HDP-ROM) is a newly authorized pay that compensates service members for the hardship associated with being ordered to self-monitor in isolation (i.e., restriction of movement) somewhere other than at their home or a government-funded lodging facility. HDP-ROM is only payable in situations in which the member remains assigned to the same permanent duty station; it is not payable when a member is isolated while on official travel or Permanent Change of Station (PCS). Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I’m not able to complete the requirements outlined for the continuation of my Special and Incentive Pay, what can I do?
A: Members who are receiving special or incentive pays (other than Career Sea Pay) that require the performance of specific duties (e.g., Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay, Special Duty Pay, Dive Pay) that can’t be performed through no fault of their own may be allowed continuation of the S&I pay for up to 12 months. This authority to waive performance of duties required is delegated to the first O-6 in the members’ chain of command. To the extent that this authority may conflict with broader, more liberal waiver authorities contained in existing policy guidance, existing policy shall take precedence.
Q: If I am self-monitoring at home, can I get Basic Allowance for Subsistence Level II (BAS II) instead of BAS?
A: No. BAS II (i.e., twice the monthly rate) may be authorized for those members ordered to lodging that cannot store food, which in turn requires the member to get his or her meals from a commercial source. BAS II may only be authorized for an individual in these circumstances if it is uniformly authorized for all enlisted members in similar situations at the same installation or in the same geographic area. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I am an enlisted member ordered to reside in my Unaccompanied Personnel Housing (UPH or shipboard quarters) or temporary contracted quarters in the close vicinity of my PDS. During my period of restriction of movement for self-monitoring, I do not have access to a galley or other Appropriated Fund Dining Facility for meals, and the quarters in which I am quarantined or isolated do not have adequate food storage and preparation facilities. What is my subsistence allowance authorization?
A: All members out of Basic Training receiving Basic Pay are entitled to Basic Allowance for Subsistence. If a quarantined/isolated enlisted member is subject to automatic meal charge deductions from their pay accounts while on sea duty or at Class A School, such deductions are to be suspended during the period restricted movement in quarters. For enlisted personnel in restricted to quarters without galley meal availability and in quarters without adequate food storage and preparation facilities, commands must request BAS-II authorization from COMDT (CG-1332) for members whose conditions of restriction of movement meet the requirements for BAS-II. See Sec. 3.A.5. of the CG Pay Manual, CIM 7220.29 (series). BAS-II is a second payment of ENL-BAS rate, pro-rated daily for the eligible period. Officers are not authorized BAS-II. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I have not been feeling well and am worried that I may have COVID-19. I do not want to infect my family and friends. Can I just isolate myself at a hotel and then request HDP-ROM to defray the cost?
A: No. HDP-ROM may only be paid in the case where your commander (in conjunction with military or civilian health care providers) determines that you are required to self-monitor and orders you to do so away from your existing residence in lodging not provided by or funded by the government and that you must pay for without reimbursement. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I have been ordered to restriction of movement for self-monitoring because I recently returned home from travel during which I may have come in contact with someone infected by COVID-19. I have spent the past two weeks alone in my personal residence. When will I receive my Hardship Duty Pay – Restriction of Movement (HDP-ROM) payment?
A: Although you have been ordered to restriction of movement for self-monitoring, you have been allowed to do so at home in your personal residence. You receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for your residence and are not eligible for HDP-ROM. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I am in the middle of a PCS move and just checked out of my old command. But, now I was ordered to stay at my old duty station as a part of the stop-movement. Am I eligible for HDP-ROM?
A: No, HDP-ROM is not authorized when a member is isolated while on official travel or during PCS. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I just returned from a deployment and transited through a CDC THN Level 3 country. I am required to self-monitor but don’t want to potentially expose my dependents. Am I eligible for HDP-ROM?
A: Your command may order you to self-isolate from your family who did not travel to the CDC Level 3 country and are not currently affected by COVID-19. If no on-post government facilities (e.g. barracks, dorms) or government-funded lodging (e.g., government contract off-post hotel rooms) are available and you are required to incur additional costs for lodging, which are neither reimbursed nor defrayed by any other source, you are eligible for HDP-ROM. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I just returned from deployment and am not required to self-monitor. However, we think one of my dependents was exposed to COVID-19 while I was gone. If I return to my residence, I will also be exposed. Am I eligible for HDP-ROM?
A: Your command may order you to restrict your contact with your potentially exposed dependents. If no on-post government facilities (e.g., UPH, barracks, dorm) or government-funded lodging (e.g., government contract off-post hotel rooms) are available and you are required to incur additional costs for lodging, which are neither reimbursed nor defrayed by any other source, you are eligible for HDP-ROM. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I have been hospitalized at a medical facility near my permanent duty station and near where my dependents live. I am unable to see them. Am I eligible for Family Separation Allowance (FSA)?
A: No, Family Separation Allowance (FSA) is not authorized in this situation.
Q: My command ordered me into restriction of movement for self-monitoring near my permanent duty station and I am unable to return to be with my family even though we live nearby. Am I eligible for Family Separation Allowance (FSA)?
A: No, Family Separation Allowance (FSA) is not authorized in this situation. You may be eligible for other benefits, such as Hardship Duty Pay – Restriction of Movement (HDP-ROM), galley-provided meals without charge, or BAS-II, depending on where you are ordered to isolation for self-monitoring. Check with your P&A office. Detailed information on entitlements can be found in the article, “New pay and allowances to help you through COVID-19.”
Q: I am away from my family on TDY and not allowed to return because of the stop movement order? I was receiving Family Separation Allowance – Temporary (FSA-T). Will that continue
A. Yes, FSA-T will continue until the TDY ends, as long as the total length of the separation is 30 days continuous or more.
Q: I am currently in the middle of a permanent change of station (PCS) move. As a result of the stop movement order, I am separated from my dependents and expect to be separated from them for an extended period of time. Am I eligible for FSA?
A. Yes. Members who are separated from their dependents during the PCS process, where a member is at the original or new duty location but their dependents are at the other, are eligible for Family Separation Allowance – Restricted (FSA-R) if the directed separation lasts longer than 30 days for the direction of the ordered separation.
Q: If my dependent is NOT authorized concurrent travel on my PCS orders to my new duty station because of the travel restrictions, am I eligible to receive a second housing allowance?
A: Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) at the new duty station and Family Separation Housing Allowance (FSH) will be authorized if ALL of the following conditions are met:
1. government quarters are not available at the new duty station,
2. the member has obtained private-sector housing, and
3. the dependent does not reside at or near the new permanent duty station.
Q: How much do I get if I am eligible for Family Separation Housing (FSH) Allowance?
A: You will continue to receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) or Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA - if in a not in the 50 states/District of Columbia) at the “with-dependent” rate for your dependent’s location or the old permanent duty station (whichever is more equitable). Additionally, FSH will be paid in a monthly amount equal to the “without-dependent” BAH or OHA rate applicable to your paygrade for the new permanent duty station.
Q: If my dependent(s) visits me at my new duty station, will I continue to receive Family Separation Housing (FSH) Allowance?
A: Your FSH will continue uninterrupted while your dependent visits at or near the new Permanent Duty Station (PDS), but the visit cannot exceed 90 continuous days. If, for any reason (including illness or any other emergency), a visit lasts 91 or more days or whenever it appears that your dependents have taken up residence in the vicinity of your PDS - whichever is earlier - FSH eligibility ends and payment must be stopped. FSH may be authorized again on the day the dependent departs from the PDS if the COVID restriction has not been lifted. If one or more, but not all, dependents visit for longer than 90 days and you are authorized a with-dependent housing allowance on behalf of the dependents who are not visiting or do not reside in the vicinity of your PDS, then FSH will continue uninterrupted. When/if your dependents are determined to have taken up residence in the vicinity of your PDS, FSH is stopped and your housing allowance is BAH/OHA at the with-dependent rate for your PDS.