I agree! I am here and don't exactly like it, but I know a few wives who do like it here. I don't regret coming, I just wouldn't choose to come here for years!

Can anyone give me a better idea, discription, or picture of the BOQ's at Osan?

What kinds of activities are within an hour and a half of Osan? Movies theaters, shopping malls, sports... Etc...

Can't post a picture for you, but I would tell you that there is some good and bad information being passed on to you. You really need to contact the housing office here and speak to them about what your entitlements are going to be.

Your wife can only stay with you in your dorm room for a cumulative 30 days during your tour. Period, dot. That information is contained in the 51FW Unaccompanied Housing instruction. You can access that from the 51FW directory of the AF Publishing website in the CE regs section.

You mentioned in one of your posts:

"NCS seems like the way to go. She is thinking of signing a lease somewhere in the states and collecting BAH for that location, then I herd that she must leave Korea once every 3 months so that she can still collect BAH for the location she will have her apartment. "

I will tell you that if she is living here for more than 30 days, you MUST change your dependent location for BAH purposes and start collecting OHA for the local area. There are people that have been in the last year and are pending courts martial for BAH fraud for having their spouses listed as living in one place when in fact they were living in another. You don't want to go down that road.

Although I love the forums...they are a great source for general information, but most don't take the time to look at the AFIs before responding. Most are going off of "what happened to me" or "I heard that..."

Read the AFIs and talk to the experts at the housing office before you head down the road of misinformation...

Did I piss anyone off? I know...on my soapbox again, huh?

Good info Dameeun. Are they enforcing that 30 cumulative days though? That is the first time I heard of it. I have seen people with their wifes staying in the dorm much much longer than 30 days, not consecutive days though, but cumulative.

I'm getting some conflicting information.

For a NCS spouse to collect BAH from a stateside residence, what is the maximum legnth of stay in ROK?

When does the spouse's stay in that location forfit the other locations BAH?

If a spouse has a residence with a lease, does the DOD mandate the spouse visit that residence a certain number of times?

In my case, my wife has family in Asia she was planning on visiting every few months, while maintaining the lease on our residence in the states.

We are trying to plan on how many times she must go back to states and if there is a regulation for that.

When did this 30 day rule for BAH/OHA start? I have never heard of that? Why because when you get in country your spouse is SUPOSED to be in country for more than 90 days until your OHA kicks in, prior to those 90 days you will still receive BAH for where she was staying. That is if she is staying of course.

That is why people on here were worried about paying there rent for the first 90 days until there OHA kicked in and their BAH stopped.

Now did people get lucky when their spouse arrived yes they sure did and they started recieving OHA with 30 days.

Ans yes you have been recieving bad info about certian things....still cannot help you on what they look like...

__________________
CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

[quote=pathos408]I'm getting some conflicting information.

For a NCS spouse to collect BAH from a stateside residence, what is the maximum legnth of stay in ROK?

Okay, again, I'm utterly confused here...are you speaking of a non-command sponsored spouse living in Korea? Or are you talking about a frequently visiting spouse? There is a difference, and again this is my confusion. Is it your wife's desire/intent to live with you here in Korea? If so, she's a non-command sponsored spouse.. If she's just wanting to visit a lot, that's something totally different.

If your wife wishes to come with you and live in Korea, there is no need for a non-command sponsored spouse to maintain a stateside residence to continue her financial housing benefit. A non-command sponsored spouse coming to Korea will receive a housing allowance (called OHA, but the same thing as BAH) for an off-base house in Korea, as well as an additional allowance to defray the cost of utilities. It's based on your address here in Korea, you don't need any "fake address" in the US, etc. It works just the same as BAH..you come here, you pick an apartment, you sign the lease, turn it in to housing,and you get the exact amount of your rent put into you paycheck monthly.

Chuck and Mr. Joe both made a valid statement....coming NCS to Korea isn't for everyone...

However, in this case, given that Pathos, unless I've read it wrong, has stated that his wife's basic intent is to basically live here except for the times it's required that she go home by regs,etc...it sounds like she's already decided to go NCS, anyway!

It just seems to me like this is a practicality issue, as well as a possible legality issue.

Why go through all the major trouble and expense of all the trips back and forth, and risk the possibility of UCMJ action for falsifying BAH records/ breaking dorm standards,etc, when your spouse, if she intends to stay here that long anyway can do so *legally* , without having to try to maneuver around any regs, without losing any financial benefit? OHA and BAH are the same bloody thing, you're still getting your housing paid for! LOL :)

It just makes no sense to me to be placing yourself in a precarious position with regs,etc, when you can accomplish the same goal within regs, and without question, and far more *easily* and less expensively, than trying to go in and out of country every x amount of days.

Dameeun's absolutely right on in his comments about BAH fraud, that subject is a major sore spot right now among the powers that be, and as a result, I would be willing to bet that there's going to be a lot more scrutiny over all as far as BAH goes for spouses. Why risk your career trying to skate around the regs, and the system, when there is a system already in place to allow you to acheive your goals without any wrongdoing? (*G* And yes, Dameeun, I actually do have a copy of the AFI that allows a NCS spouse to get OHA. LOL.. I had copies of that puppy in my files when I came over, prepared to hand them out to folks as necessary)

It just seems to me as though if you want your life to live here in Korea with you, the shortest distance from point A to point B is the straight line.. just bring her here, forget the apartment in the states, get your apartment here, collect OHA, and peace of mind as you'll be doing it all legally and above the board..

..pass go, get 200.00 and a get out of jail free card!

Life's complicated already...why make it more complicated?

Dee :)

I guess I need to know the differences between NCS and frequently visiting spouse. (its possible my spouse might be a frequent visitor)

Sorry if it sounds like i'm trying to break regs. I'm just trying to figure out what they say, so that I don't break them. UCMJ is the Law.

A Non-Command Sponsored Spouse is a spouse, who, without being granted Command sponsorship status by the command relocates to the USFK at his /her own expense...i.e. you pay for your own travel to Korea, and you obtain your own tourist passport and A-3 visa (free from the Korean consulate for American citizens.) which allows the spouse to remain in Korea for the duration of the sponsor's tour instead of the 30 days at a pop allowed with a tourist passport alone.

A Non-Command sponsored spouse is allowed to maintain a full time, 365 day a year, 24-7 off-base residence here at Osan, and receives, per a 2005 regulation change, Overseas Housing Allowance at the With Dependant rate to pay for that off-base residence, as well as an utility allowance to defray the cost of utilities,etc.

A Non-Command sponsored spouse lives here in Korea for the year of the unaccompanied tour, and is entitled to base access and privileges, in many cases, at the same level as a command sponsored spouse. A NCS Spouse living in Korea is registered with the base security system,and receives a rations card for purchases at the commissary and BX, the amount of which is equal and exactly the same as a CS spouse.

A Non-Command sponsored spouse may utilize medical and dental facilities on base, on a space available basis. Now, this is anecdotal, and strictly my experience, but I personally have never had any difficulty in getting any kind of appointment at all. A Non-Command sponsored dependant child may attend the base DoD school on a space available basis.

A Non-Command sponsored spouse is required to participate in NEO evacuation drills,and in the event that an evacuation should occur, would be evacuated from the peninsula, with no deference to their command sponsorship status at all.

A Non-Command sponsored spouse is covered under the SOFA treaty, and is also allowed to drive according to her husband's status. As an O-3, you'd be able to drive , so she would.

Basically, a Non-Command sponsored spouse is a spouse who has PCS'd without official permission, practically, and again,this is purely anecdotal commentary, but if you check the anecdotal experiences of the many NCS spouses on the board here, it seems to be a universal experience... being here NCS is really not as much a hardship as you might think.

You receive full pay for your rent, so you're not paying anything out of pocket, and if you're planning on coming to visit anyway, you'd be having to spend the money for your tourist passport and at least one round trip plane fare anyway... why not pay for one plane fare and just stay?

No, NCS isn't for everyone, there are some women who just aren't a good fit for it for many many different reasons. -However- , if your wife is of Asian descent,and has family here, I'd say she'd be just fine here.

If you're planning on her being here 50-75% of the time anyway, only going home when she needs to to maintain that BAH, why not save yourself some money in plane fares, and some legal hassles,and just go all the way, and come here, and live here at Osan as a NCS spouse?

Being here full time NCS eliminates the need for the repeated trips to the US, or the problem of where to stay while here, etc.

If your wife is talking about moving into an apartment anyway, why not move into one here, and be here all the time,especially given that it's paid for by the AF the same as one in the states?

Unless you have a specific reason for her not moving ,etc, such as already owning a house that your BAH is paying for,etc... I'd recommend seriously considering just bringing your wife here Non-Command sponsored, rather than trying to go through the hoopla of having her just "visit" a lot.

It'd definitely save you money on plane fares! :)

If you have any questions on NCS, please ask, those of us who are here already will be happy to help/answer any questions you might have. :)

Hope that clarifies a bit?

Dee :)

Since my wife isn't an American, with her Taiwanese passport, can she still get an A-1 Visa, or will she only be able to stay in country for a limited amount of time?

If she can only stay there for a limited amount of time on each trip, We were thinking of having her just keep her residency within the states so her Green Card dosn't expire.