MILITARY SUPPORT TO DEPENDENTS - MacDill Air Force Base

MILITARY SUPPORT TO DEPENDENTS
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (813) 828-4422
Military Support to Dependents
The military is not a haven or refuge for personnel who disregard or evade their obligations
to their families. When a military member, or any person for that matter, is married or has
children, that person assumes legal, morale, and financial duties. Therefore, the slogan, if
“she moves out, you only owe her the difference between BAH with and BAH without,” could
not be more wrong. By virtue of having a spouse, and not by virtue of the additional pay
and allowances, the member has a duty to support the spouse. In fact, in the absence of a
court order or an agreement between the parties, each branch of military service has
established its own interim support guidance. The purpose of this pamphlet is to provide a
summary of what support military members must provide to their dependents, in the
absence of a court order (alimony, division of retired pay, child support) and to notify the
dependents of their right to contact the service member’s commanding officer. While this
pamphlet attempts to address most of the common questions and issues concerning
support, it cannot cover all issues which might arise, nor is it a substitute for obtaining
individualized advice and counsel in a particular case from a competent attorney. Also,
clients may want to seek advice concerning divorce or separation from a competent
attorney.
Common Questions & Answers on Nonsupport and Enforcement
Question 1. If the service member fails to provide support, whom should I contact?
The obligation to provide support usually depends on a court order. However, there are
several options depending on the circumstances:
Court Ordered Support or Garnishment Order: Contact the local Child Support
Enforcement Office or the Court to enforce the Court order. If you have secured a
garnishment order, you can serve it on DFAS as per the directions on the DFAS website:
http://www.dod.mil/dfas/militarypay/garnishment.html. In addition, if the service member
fails to comply with an existing court order or garnishment order, you may also contact the
service member’s commanding officer.
Contractual Agreement of Parties: If a written agreement requires support payments,
then you may consider suing the service member for breach of contract.
No Court Order or Agreement: In the absence of a court order or agreement of the
parties, each branch of the service has its own regulations regarding support. You may
contact the service member’s commanding officer or the installation Inspector General. You
may also contact the local Legal Assistance office for assistance.
Question 2. I do not know where the service member is stationed. How can I find out?
Requests for information about a military member should be sent to the respective
service of the individual whose address is being sought. See the DoD website at
6AMW/JA, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida Current As of July 2012

http://www.defense.gov/faq/pis/pc04mltr.html for additional details on who to contact to
get this information. However, if you contact individual installations to determine whether
the member is stationed there, you will not succeed. Typically, that information is closely
held for privacy and security reasons. Therefore, the best procedure is writing a letter to
the correct military locator service.
Question 3. What information should be contained in a letter to the commanding officer?
You should include your name and the names of the service member’s other
dependents, the name of the service member, rank, the last four of SSN if known, and the
amount of support in cash or in kind that the member is paying, if any. You should also
attach any pertinent documents such as marriage certificate, birth certificates, last LES,
military orders, and any bills that you have.
Question 4. What does support include?
A service member would be credited for not only cash support, but also in kind support.
For example, support includes payments for certain essentials such as rent, mortgage,
property insurance, child care payments, etc.
Question 5. What do the service regulations state concerning mandatory support?
The Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard are each governed by different
regulations as follows:
ARMY
The Department of the Army sets minimum support requirements. See AR 608-99, FAMILY
SUPPORT, CHILD CUSTODY, AND PATERNITY (2003) found at
http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/R608_99.PDF. Soldiers are expected to comply with
the following:
1. Financial support provisions of a court order or financial support provisions of a written
agreement in the absence of a court order.
2. Minimal support requirements in the absence of a court order or written agreement are
outlined in the table below for a solider receiving credit for payment of rent, utilities,
mortgage, interest due on loans, and real property insurance payments.
Situation
Family unit not in gov
housing
Family unit in gov housing
Family members within the
family unit residing at
different locations
Single-family units
BAH II–WITH
Level of Support
no support unless supported family member(s) move(s) out
of gov housing, then the soldier will provide BAH II–WITH
pro-rata share of BAH II–WITH to each family member not
residing in gov housing
No additional support for family members residing in gov
housing.
6AMW/JA, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida Current As of July 2012

Soldier married to another
person on active duty in
any service
no support unless required by court order or by agreement
Single-family unit where Soldier married to active duty spouse but with children
from marriage or prior marriage
soldier does not have BAH–DIFF to the military member having custody of the child
custody of any children and or children
the children do not reside in
gov quarters
soldier does not have no additional support
custody of any children and
the children reside in gov
quarters
soldier has custody of one
or more children
no support for a child or the children in the custody of the
other military member
Multiple family units
Family members in gov
housing
no additional support
Each family member not in
gov housing
pro-rata share of BAH II–WITH
A pro-rata share = 1/(Total number of supported family members) X BAH II-WITH
NAVY
Navy requirements for support are found in 32 C.F.R. §733.3 found at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/retrieve.html. The Navy requires a member to comply with a
court order or agreement between the parties. 32 C.F.R. §. 733.3. If there is no agreement
or court order, then the following guidelines are to be used:
Situation
Spouse only
Spouse and one minor child
Spouse and two or more
children
One minor child
Two minor children
Three minor children
Level of Support
one third (1/3) of gross pay
one half (1/2) of gross pay
three fifths (3/5) of gross pay
one sixth (1/6) of gross pay
one fourth (1/4) of gross pay
one third (1/3) of gross pay
The above chart is a guideline and is “not intended as a fixed rule” and “actual support may
be increased or decreased as the facts and circumstances warrant.” 32 C.F.R. §733.3(a)(2).
Gross pay includes basic pay and BAH, but not hazardous duty pay, sea or foreign duty pay,
incentive pay, or basic allowance for subsistence pay. See 32 C.F.R. §733.3(b)(2).
6AMW/JA, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida Current As of July 2012

MARINE CORPS
Marine Corps requirements for dependent support are found in MCO P5800.16A, Ch. 15,
found at
http://www.usmc.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCO%20P5800.16A%20CH%201-
5.pdf. In the absence of a court order or agreement, interim support per supported family
member shall be the greater of the fixed amount of support reflected in the center column
ofthe chart below, or the pro-rated share of whatever BAH or OHA(Overseas Housing
Allowance) to which the Marine is currently entitled, as shown in the chart below, per
month. Note that BAH that is credited to the Marine for government housing, but is not
actually paid in cash and is not counted for purposes of this chapter. Under no
circumstances shall the total amount of support required exceed 1/3 of the Marine’s gross
military pay, per month. For purposes of this order, gross military pay is defined as the total
of all military pay and allowances before taxes or any other deductions. The amount
calculated under the chart below is presumed to be the correct amount of support to be paid
to a family member.
Total Number of
Family Members
Entitled to Support
Minimum Amount
Of Monthly Support
per Requesting
Family Member
Share of Monthly
BAH/OHA per
Requesting Family
Member
1 $350 1/2
2 $286 1/3
3 $233 1/4
4 $200 1/5
5 $174 1/6
6 or more $152 1/7 or etc.
See MCO P5800.16A, Ch. 15 for the Support Calculation Worsheet.
AIR FORCE
The Air Force, unlike the sister services, does not provide specific quantities of support
owing to family members. Instead, Air Force policy regarding support provides that each
Air Force member is expected to “provide adequate financial support to family members.”
AFI 36-2906, PERSONAL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (1998) para 3.2.1 found at http://www.epublishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI36-2906.pdf.
Members must “provide adequate
financial support of a spouse or child or any other relative for which the member receives
additional allowances for support. Members will also comply with the financial support
provisions of a court order or written support agreement. AFI 36-2906, para 7.2. Upon
receipt of a complaint of non-support by a family member, the member will be required to
prove financial support and the member may not receive BAQ at the with-dependent rate if
not providing financial support to their spouse or children or the Air Force may recoup the
BAQ for periods of non-support. AFI 36-2906, para 3.2.3. In addition, DFAS will cooperate
with the family member to implement involuntary collection of support through garnishment
or statutory allotments.
COAST GUARD
The Coast Guard has established the following support requirements in the absence of a
court order:
6AMW/JA, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida Current As of July 2012

Situation
Spouse Only
Spouse and one minor or handicapped child
Spouse and two or more minor or
handicapped children
One minor or handicapped child
Two minor or handicapped children
Three or more minor or handicapped
children
Level of Support
BAH DIFF plus 20% of basic pay
BAH DIFF plus 25% of basic pay
BAH DIFF plus 30% of basic pay
16.7% (1/6) of basic pay
25% (1/4) of basic pay
33% (1/3) of basic pay
See COAST GUARD PERSONNEL MANUAL Section 8.M.3. (CIM 1000.64 1998) found at
http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/1000-1999/CIM_1000_6A.pdf. For this scale, BAH
DIFF is defined as the difference between the BAH with dependents rate and the BAH
without dependents rate as calculated for the member.
Conclusion
Each servicemember owes financial support to his/her dependents. In the
absence of a court order or agreement of the parties, the military departments
mandate that the member provide support. This support can be waived in certain
limited circumstances such as abuse or desertion, but generally the military
responds to valid claims of non-support. Again, this pamphlet is not a substitute
for obtaining competent legal advice and representation in each specific case.
The material in this handout represents general legal advice. The law is continually
changing; although the information in the handout was current as of the date it was drafted,
some provisions in this pamphlet may have changed. It is always best to consult an
attorney about your legal rights and responsibilities regarding your particular case.
6AMW/JA, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida Current As of July 2012