Airmen must revalidate dependents by Dec. 31

  • Published
  • By Capt. Erika Yepsen
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON --  By Dec. 31, every Airman will be required to provide their servicing finance office with documentation for all dependents as part of Air Force audit readiness efforts. This one-time, Air Force-wide recertification process will allow the Air Force to validate Airmen's basic allowance for housing entitlements, ensuring every dollar of the $5.4 billion the Air Force spends annually on BAH is fully auditable.
 
"When we say the Air Force is not audit compliant, that doesn't mean that money is missing or being misspent," said Doug Bennett, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial operations. Beginning this month and continuing through December, Air Force finance offices will contact Airmen across the total force by email to notify them of their responsibility to provide dependent documentation. Their finance office will tell them exactly which documents are required. Additionally, Airmen who recently provided documentation may not be required to do so again. Airmen should wait to be notified by their finance offices rather than bringing in documentation unsolicited, Bennett said. Waiting to receive notification will eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort for some Airmen.

Once notified, Airmen will have 30 days to provide the required documents to their servicing finance office or have their housing allowance status reduced to single-rate. Deployed Airmen and those on extended leave or temporary duty will be given special consideration in meeting the 30-day deadline.

The Air Force currently retains dependent documentation for six years, which is insufficient to meet audit readiness requirements. This one-time revalidation will ensure Air Force compliance with audit requirements, Bennett said.

"America entrusts the Air Force not only to spend taxpayer dollars wisely and efficiently, but also to account and justify that expenditure," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III in a recent memo. "Preparation for this important and legislativelymandated effort rests in the hands of every Airman, not just the financial community." (Air Force News Service)