{"id":170714,"date":"2025-06-17T06:41:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T10:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=170714"},"modified":"2025-06-17T06:42:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T10:42:35","slug":"army-misuse-of-enlisted-bas-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=170714","title":{"rendered":"Army Misuse of Enlisted BAS Fees"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nThree Lies in One<\/em><\/p>\n

Over $151 Million Taken from Soldiers’ Paychecks for Food Costs Spent Elsewhere by the Army<\/h3>\n

The money is collected in what amounts to a tax on troops — taken from their Basic Allowance for Subsistence payments, roughly $460 per month that is automatically deducted from the paychecks of service members<\/em>
\nBy Steve Beynon<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Army is repurposing more than half of the money it collects from junior enlisted soldiers for food, according to data reviewed by Military.com. The numbers suggest that a large portion of those funds are not going toward feeding soldiers, a diversion of resources coming at a time when troops increasingly struggle to find nutritious food on base.<\/p>\n

The money is collected in what amounts to a tax on troops — taken from their Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) payments, roughly $460 per month that is automatically deducted from the paychecks of service members who live in barracks and is intended to help cover food costs. For junior enlisted troops who earn about $30,000 annually, the cost can be consequential.<\/p>\n

2024 financial records provided by the service from 11 of the Army’s largest bases show that more than $151 million of $225 million collected from soldiers was not spent on food. Given that the Army operates 104 garrisons, the true amount of unspent funds is likely far higher.<\/p>\n

“It’s just returned to the big pool of Army funds, and it’s used someplace else,” one service official with direct knowledge of the situation said during an interview that was arranged by the Army public affairs office, referring to redirected BAS money collected from soldiers.
\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\nIn November last year, the publication reported pervasive food shortages at Fort Carson, Colorado. Soldiers were fed meals that were just a slice of toast and lima beans, troops told Military.com.<\/p>\n

The Army has a nutrition policy on what it is supposed to feed soldiers, though it’s rarely followed and in some cases outright ignored. The service has invested in so-called kiosks, which are cheap alternatives to major dining facilities. Instead of cooked meals, soldiers have access to grab-and-go snacks and prepackaged sandwiches akin to the quality of prepared meals at a gas station.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Military.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Doubt this is limited to the Army. I recall paying fees for the pleasure of staying at some really sketchy barracks and wondering where that money was spent, ’cause it wasn’t used for window screens or insect control. Thanks to a Usual Suspect for the link.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three Lies in One Over $151 Million Taken from Soldiers’ Paychecks for Food Costs Spent Elsewhere … Army Misuse of Enlisted BAS Fees<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":170715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[198,406],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-army","category-guest-link"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=170714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/170715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=170714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=170714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=170714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}