I just spoke with my husbands supervisior. He said I couldn't go over to korea to live if he only goes for a year. Does anyone know where the regulation/rule that they will pay for me live off base is located?I would like to show him this so I can show him I know what I'm talking about.Thanks

Again, you have people who have been over here for years that do not want NCS people here.

Turn it on him....tell him to show you where it says you CANNOT come over here, you want to see it in black and white.

As far as I know there is nothing that states you can come or you cannot, Korea is a Visa/Passport country, you have those you can come.

Also at the start of 2006 Congress said that OHA will be provided if your spouse comes over for your spouse.

On this site, search for JFTR (joint federal travel regulation) find that linnk and I believe you want book 2.

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CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

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

Sunburst...

In a word, your husband's supervisor is misinformed.

Unfortunately,there is a *plethora* of inaccurate information out there about coming here NCS...folks know the way it "used to be", but don't bother to update themselves (and often have no reason to keep up to date) on changes that came into play. And sadly, there is, as Chuck said, a certain level of "good old boy" network in place that doesn't want spouses coming to Korea.. usually, the guys who look forward to a year of unfettered partying and being stupid while they're here.

Before I came over here, I was told that a) I couldn't come b) that if I did come, I'd be paying for my own housing c) that I wouldn't have medical care at all.. d) that I wouldn't be allowed on base at all e) that I couldn't use the BX... some of the tales are out and out ridiculous. And I won't even touch on some of the comments that I got about how I was wrong for coming over because I was going to "ruin the fun" for other guys (I suppose they're afraid I'd tell their wives about little 'extra-curricular' activities)... and an official AF spouse forum? Let's just say that there was little support to be found there.

The fact of the matter is that there are some people that speak without being certain of what they're saying. It's sad,and unfortunate, but I know I ran into it frequently...even folks at MPF were misinformed. That's one reason why this board, and this thread in particular are so very important.. getting the *correct* information out there.

If you go back on the Non-Command Sponsored thread, the sticky thread, somewhere around page 10 or so, someone posted a link to the reg you're speaking of. You should be able to find it and print it there. :) I actually printed a copy of it and carried it with me everywhere I went when hubby had appointments,etc, before I left, and yes, took great satisfaction in showing people their errors. Yes, I know. Bad Dee :)

One huge piece of advice that I can offer is this.. remember that there are those who are going to try to discourage you. Keep your resolve, hold to what you know is right..and lean on those of us here who *ARE* here, and are living it. :)

Hope this helps :)

Dee :)

Edited to add:

BLAH! I was off by one page..it's page 9.

http://141.116.74.201/regs/Immediate/UTD86-05E.pdf


There's the link,and there's actually a display of the reg you can see on page 9.

Tap 34.. I don't know if you're still around, but.. if you are ..

THANK YOU! :)

That one post has helped so many of us so much! :)

We're not worrrrrrrrrrrrrrrthy! :)

I don't have any words of wisdom for you but I would like to share my story. When my husband got to Korea he told his commander that I was coming NCS. The commander said that was fine but to ask around about another soldier who had brought his wife over. Well, no one would talk about the other soldier's situation. After my kids and I got here the battalion commander got involved. She said that she would've done everything in her power to make me leave the country BUT we had come over without any help from the company and she respected that. She made it very clear to him that he would not be getting any special treatment just because his family was here (not that we were expecting any.) He was called into the 1sgt's office and given a briefing about living off post. That was it and that was the end of the story. In my opinion, they will do everything to discourage spouses from coming over. I believe that once they are here...it's a different story.

Also, we did find out just a few weeks ago about the other soldier. Apparently there were OHA issues and there rent wasn't being paid. When they got a few months behind the soldier got into trouble and his spouse left the country. I have since found out that he's in a different unit now (he was going to be chaptered out) and his wife his back.

Anyways, I hope my story can offer you some encouragement.

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Have a Blessed Day!

Michelle

I emailed someone at OSAN afb. Asking about living off base. They said they wouldn't pay for me to live off base. Can anyone explain that? Did I talk to the wrong person or what ? Does anyone know how I can contact the Housing office?

Can anyone explain that? Hmm...

In all honesty, the only way I can explain it is to say that you spoke to the wrong person, or they misunderstood your question. Without knowing who exactly you emailed, it's very hard to know what the situation might be. It's quite possible that if you emailed someone in the rank and file, they might not be aware of the existence of the reg. Many aren't, still, even those in command level positions , who theoretically *should* be aware of these things. We received erroneous information from my husband's first shirt before arriving ourselves, and during the course of conversation with a squadron commander's wife during a recent NEO exercise, I discovered that -she- didn't even realize that NCS spouses get OHA. As I've said previously, there is a -lot- of misinformation out there,and unless you get to the right source, you can't get the right answer.

I would definitely advise you to contact the housing office directly. I don't have their email address, but if you look on the Osan thread in the Military forum, there is a list of phone numbers posted there as a sticky,and I'm sure that you could find the number there. Mr. Rust was the name of the gentleman who handled our paperwork for OHA, and if he's there, would be an excellent point of contact for answering your questions. Actually, if you check with finance, they might be able to confirm it as well.

If you look here at the official USFK publication entitled "Your Pay in Korea",
http://175fmc.korea.army.mil/Yourpay07.pdf ,On page 4 of the pamphlet, (page 5 of 19, according to the file), it clearly states that a NCS spouse does get OHA, and if you look further on down to page 20 of the pamphlet, I believe, (page 12 of 19 in the file, according to my Adobe Acrobat) it gives a detailed example of the LES of a servicemember here , and confirms OHA for those dependants.

That withstanding, there's really little more information or "proof" that we can offer you. The regulation has been posted, and all of us here can document that we ourselves are receiving OHA, while here NCS, so there's anecdotal evidence, as well.

If you're asking us to explain the ignorance of others... well.. if we could do that, I'm sure that most of us would be making a much better paycheck than we are! :)

Dee :)

Edited to Add:

The number to the housing office is :011-82-31-661-1840

Yea...I talked to my husband and we decided that he was just uniformed. Its really odd that most people think they don't pay your rent. Is Osan hiding something? lol .I appreciate all of your help. You have made me feel alot better about the situation.

If you're uneasy , or still uncertain, definitely give the housing office a call. It's always best to be sure than sorry later. I personally haven't heard anything about a reg change, and with a reg change that substantial, it would/should have been publicized, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. :)

Honestly, I think most of the people who don't think that NCS spouses receive housing allowance are probably just going on information that is out of date. Until 2005, and that reg change, things were substantially different for NCS spouses, housing allowance wise..although, yes, there were still spouses who came here NCS and made it very successfully, even without the OHA.

General Bell, who is the commander of the U.S. Forces in Korea is *very* supportive of NCS spouses, and if he gets his way, all tours in Korea will be command sponsored, and like any other PCS. With that in mind, I really don't foresee it getting more *difficult* for NCS spouses in the future, if anything, I expect more things will change in our favor.

Is Osan hiding something? No, I don't think so, but I really do think that NCS tours have been the best kept secret of the Air Force up until this point! :)

Dee :)

__________________
CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

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

I don't know who you talked to, but I DO know the 51st MUNS and they ARE informed and know whats going on. They did talk to my husband about how we wouldn't be getting any special treatment, but that was it. They did always ask my husband how I was doing, and they took the time to say hi to me when they saw me on base. The housing office was also VERY informative and helpful, even meeting with our landlord when we moved off base and she was trying to charge us money we didn't owe.