OVERSEAS HOUSING ALLOWANCE FOR GUAM: A NEW WAY FORWARD
Abstract
In 2012, the final AAFA report findings revealed Guams military leadership had some serious problems to address with its current Overseas Housing Allowance program. Around 2010 and prior to the final release of the AAFA report, investigators began an aggressive campaign to fix what seemed like a systemic pattern of OHA fraudulent activity across all ranks and Services. Also discovered were other challenges with the OHA program which included unfairness in allowance distribution, excessive program expenses, problematic housing system administration, and an inadequate Reserve Finance Pay system. These findings prompted a greater in-depth review of existing regulations, instructions, and processes. Directly linked to the OHA issues learned, were the rising pressures for an alternate housing option, making BAH a very attractive possibility for Guam. The purpose of this research was to determine if Guam would be a good candidate for BAH. To justify the recommendation of BAH, an evaluation framework is used to compare the current OHA program to the newly proposed BAH solution. The two housing programs were compared using independent variables measuring retention, cost effectiveness, ease of administration, and equity for recipients. The results of this research found the BAH housing alternative demonstrates significant cost savings to the government, simplicity in ease of program administration, and equitable distribution of housing allowances for Service members. A BAH construct would be beneficial to DOD, Service members, and their families.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1041197
Entities
People
- Veronica M Reyes
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College