Delaware National Guard

ID Card DEERS & RAPIDS
To take advantage of your National Guard benefits, YOU and your family members must have an identification (ID) card. The benefits authorized by the ID cards will vary. Family members who are eligible for ID cards include the members:

Spouse (and some former spouses).
Unremarried widow or widower.
Children at age 10 and unmarried children under the age of 21 (including adopted children).
Children under age 10 may be eligible for an ID card if they are not living with a family member who is eligible for an ID cad, or under special circumstances, such as living with a sole parent.
Unmarried children between 21 and 23 who are attending college full time.
Unmarried children over 21, if incapable of self-support due to a physical or mental incapacity which existed either prior to the 21st birthday, or between the 21st and 23rd birthday while a legal dependent as a full-time college student. This must be established in DEERS and they must be dependent upon the Guard member for more than one-half of their financial support.
Under certain circumstances, other family members can be certified as legal dependents and be eligible for ED cards. They include unmarried illegitimate children, parents or parents-in-law, or an unmarried person in the service member's legal custody for at least 12 months. Ask your personnel or legal assistance officer for advice on this matter.
You will need to prove eligibility to get your family's ID cards verified, so have these documents available:
Marriage certificate. (Clear photocopy is acceptable.)
Birth certificates of children. (Clear photocopy is acceptable.)
Certified copy of court order for adoption.
Certified copy of court order establishing paternity (for illegitimate children).
Certified copy of death certificates.
Certified copies of divorce decree.

DEERS (Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System)When the service member and his or her family apply for an ID card, each family member will complete a DEERS form. The DEERS system verifies that you and your family are eligible for medical care (if you were called for active duty or active duty training for more than 30 days).

PAY AND ALLOWANCES

Basic Pay
The amount of basic pay is determined by the length of time in the service, by rank and promotions and increases received. All active duty personnel receive basic pay. Military personnel may also receive an allowance (partial reimbursement) for specific expenses such as food or housing.

Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)
BAS is a non-taxable allowance for food. Officers receive this allowance regardless of grade. Enlisted members may receive this allowance based on the availability of government mess (dining facility), or if authorized to mess (eat) separately when government mess is available. Normally, enlisted members who are living in government quarters are required to eat in dining facilities on the bases and therefore would not be entitled to BAS.

Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ)
BAQ is a non-taxable allowance for housing. The amount of BAQ is determined by rank and by whether or not there are family members. This allowance partially reimburses military personnel for their housing expenses if they live in civilian communities. A member with dependents who lives in government family-type quarters is not entitled to BAQ. A member without dependents who lives in the barracks receives partial BAQ.

Variable Housing Allowance (VHA)
Guard members called to active duty for less than 140 days are not entitled to the Variable Housing Allowance (except for contingency operations). VHA supplements the BAQ when the cost of housing in a certain area is higher than the BAQ. Most service members living off-base in most stateside communities receive VHA. The amount of VHA received depends upon housing costs in the area in which a service member is stationed.

Clothing Allowance
The monthly clothing allowance enables enlisted members to care for and replace their uniforms. Officers receive an initial allowance to purchase military clothing but do not receive a replacement/maintenance allowance. An extra clothing allowance may be authorized for special requirements or types of duty, but this would be very limited.

Special Pay
Pay may also include additional pay for dangerous, highly skilled, or undesirable assignments. For example, flight pay is a special monthly pay to pilots, crew members, and flight surgeons.

Hazardous Duty Pay is a special monthly pay for certain hazardous duty, including demolition work and parachuting.

Hostile Fire / Imminent Danger Pay - This pay is for service members serving within an officially declared hostile fire/imminent danger zone. This pay is set at the same rate for officers and enlisted members. It is not paid unless declared by Congress.

Pay Withholding

FEDERAL INCOME TAX - Service members pay Federal income taxes on their basic pay, on their proficiency pay, and on other special pay. Generally, allowances (BAS, BAQ, VHA) are exempt. The service automatically withholds the appropriate amount form each paycheck.

STATE INCOME TAX - Service members on active duty pay state income tax only to the state of their legal residence, regardless of where they are stationed. For most states, the service automatically withholds the appropriate amount from each paycheck. Non-military income is taxable in the state in which it is earned. Because state laws are varied and complicated, you should discuss your situation with the Legal Assistance Officer.

SOCIAL SECURITY TAX - Only basic pay is taxable for Social Security. The service automatically withholds the appropriate amount from each paycheck.

AUTHORIZED ALLOTMENTS
To help service members take care of their financial responsibilities, the military allows them to make allotments after they are on active duty 180 days. Allotments are portions of pay specifically set aside for a person's family or for such expenses as insurance premiums. Therefore, a service member may ask that parts of each paycheck be sent to specific places and to specific people for family support and to pay debts. For instance, Guard members can make allotments to spouses, to the bank, or finance companies, to life insurance companies, and even to the Internal Revenue Service to pay back income taxes.

To set up allotments, a service member may use existing bank accounts or open special accounts to receive the funds. Automatic payments may also be arranged through a bank or credit union.

Money may be set aside for the following allotments:
a. Purchase of U. S. Savings Bonds
b. Premium payments for the Service Member's Life Insurance
c. Loan repayment to the Army Emergency Relief, Air Force Aid Society, or the American Red Cross
d. Money sent to family members or relatives. (Money may be toaddresses, or to their financial institution, or sent to their home)
e. Charitable contributions
f. Payment to a financial organization for an account in the service member's name. (One or two allotments of this type are allowed)

GARNISHMENT OF WAGES
The Federal law allows garnishment of military wages to pay for child support or other obligations. In other words, military pay is subject to legal process; once there is a court order directing a person to pay child support or alimony, the military can withhold part of his/her salary to cover these payments. Local laws will be followed to decide how much money, if any, will be withheld, up to the maximum amount allowed by the Consumer Credit Protection Act (between 50 and 60 percent).

Some states do not allow garnisheeing the wages of the head of a household except for non-support of family members. However, in those states not allowing pay to be withheld, Federal law allows garnishment for past amounts owed, as well as current amounts owed. So, if a service member has not paid court-ordered support for several years, and is mobilized, the person who is owed the support, can (if he or she is told the law) garnishee the service member's pay. The military will withhold part of the