ChristianMilitaryWives

FROM: Operation Military Kids

LES 101: What it tells you and
why you should examine it every payday

By: Claire Shackelford

When my husband first joined the military I had so many new names, acronyms, and forms thrown my way that I was sent into information overload. I had a very hard time prioritizing what item of business should be taken care of before another. Fortunately, I had a very wise and experienced Army wife who shared a sage piece of advice with me. I want to pass that along to you.

She said that as soon as the essentials were taken care of (such as making sure all of the information in DEERS is correct and housing is nailed down) to be sure to comb over my husband’s LES every single payday.

If an error is made and the military overpays your spouse, did you know they can and will take it back out of a future paycheck once the error is found? I have talked to a few wives who had not kept up with their husband’s LES and then the find out that there has been an error and the military will be taking a chunk of an upcoming paycheck. It has happened to some families, and much to their own financial chagrin.

Here are some pointers and basic information that will help you use the LES to keep yourself informed:

1. Always know your spouse’s base pay and your BAH pay. The only time this should fluctuate is during training, after a PCS (adjustments for cost of living), and other normal raises and allowances. Always investigate any unexpected increase or decrease in pay. Be sure it is not an error. If you are not sure about an increase, never spend the money. Always set it aside until you are certain. Two things to remember: 1. If the Army owes you money they will pay it back in small increments. 2. If you owe the military money they normally take it out in one huge chunk! It’s better to have that extra money sitting in savings so that when it’s time to pay the military piper you are not left flat!
2. If you are missing money on your LES report it immediately. Be sure to take the name of each person you may have to talk with, and be sure to get specific information such as when you can expect to see the money you are owed reflected on your LES.
3. Know what information is on your LES and what it tells you. Following the LE displayed below is a key to help you understand what each line means (image fromwikipedia) Continue reading beyond the picture for a detailed description of each item on the LES:

Here's a link to a large image of an LES. I had it posted here but it's messing up the format of the post. Feel free to open it in another tab for reference if needed.

(The following information was found on www.dfas.mil)
Field 1 NAME. The member’s name in last, first, middle initial format.
Field 2 SOC. SEC. NO. The member’s Social Security Number.
Field 3 GRADE (or rank). The member’s current pay grade.
Field 4 PAY DATE. The date the member entered active duty for pay purposes in
YYMMDD format. This is synonymous with the Pay Entry Base Date (PEBD).
Field 5 YRS SVC. In two digits, the actual years of creditable service.
Field 6 ETS. The Expiration Term of Service in YYMMDD format. This is synonymous with the Expiration of Active Obligated Service (EAOS).
Field 7 BRANCH. The branch of service, i.e., Navy.
Field 8 ADSN/DSSN. The Disbursing Station Symbol Number used to identify each disbursing office.
Field 9 PERIOD COVERED. This is the period covered by the individual LES. Normally it will be for one calendar month. If this is a separation LES, the separation date will appear in this field.
Field 10 ENTITLEMENTS. In columnar style the names of the entitlements and allowances being paid. Space is allocated for fifteen entitlements and/or allowances. If more than fifteen are present the overflow will be printed in the remarks block. Any retroactive entitlements and/or allowances will be added to like entitlements and/or allowances.
Field 11 DEDUCTIONS. The description of the deductions are listed in columnar style. This includes items such as taxes, SGLI, Mid-month pay and dependent dental plan. Space is allocated for fifteen deductions. If more than fifteen are present the overflow will be printed in the remarks block. Any retroactive deductions will be added to like deductions.
Field 12 ALLOTMENTS. In columnar style the type of the actual allotments being deducted. This includes discretionary and non-discretionary allotments for savings and/or checking accounts, insurance, bonds, etc. Space is allocated for fifteen allotments. If a member has more than one of the same type of allotment, the only differentiation may be that of the dollar amount.
Field 13 +AMT FWD. The amount of all unpaid pay and allowances due from the prior LES.
Field 14 + TOT ENT. The figure from Field 20 that is the total of all entitlements and/or allowances listed.
Field 15 - TOT DED. The figure from Field 21 that is the total of all deductions.
Field 16 - TOT ALMT. The figure from Field 22 that is the total of all allotments.
Field 17 = NET AMT. The dollar value of all unpaid pay and allowances, plus total entitlements and/or allowances, minus deductions and allotments due on the current LES.
Field 18 - CR FWD. The dollar value of all unpaid pay and allowances due to reflect on the next LES as the +AMT FWD.
Field 19 = EOM PAY. The actual amount of the payment to be paid to the member on payday.
Fields 20 - 22 TOTAL. The total amounts for the entitlements and/or allowances, deductions and allotments respectively.
Fields 23 through 30 contain leave information.
Fields 31 through 36 contain Federal Tax withholding information.
Fields 37 through 41 contain Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) information.
Fields 42 through 47 contain State Tax information.

Field 48 BAQ TYPE. The type of Basic Allowance for Quarters being paid.
Field 49 BAQ DEPN. A code that indicates the type of dependent.

• I - Member married to member/own right
• R - Own right
• A - Spouse
• C - Child
• W - Member married to member, child under 21
• G - Grandfathered
• D - Parent
• K - Ward of the court
• L - Parents in Law
• S - Student (age 21-22)
• T - Handicapped child over age 21

Field 50 VHA ZIP. The zip code used in the computation of Variable Housing Allowance (VHA) if entitlement exists.
Field 51 RENT AMT. The amount of rent paid for housing if applicable.
Field 52 SHARE. The number of people with which the member shares housing costs.
Field 53 STAT. The VHA status; i.e., accompanied or unaccompanied.
Field 54 JFTR. The Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) code based on the location of the member for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) purposes.
Field 55 DEPNS. The number of dependents the member has for VHA purposes.
Field 56 2D JFTR. The JFTR code based on the location of the member’s dependents for COLA purposes.
Field 57 BAS TYPE. An alpha code that indicates the type of Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) the member is receiving, if applicable. This field will be blankfor officers.

• B - Separate Rations
• C - TDY/PCS/Proceed Time
• H - Rations-in-kind not available
• K - Rations under emergency conditions

Field 58 CHARITY YTD. The cumulative amount of charitable contributions for the
calendar year.
Field 59 TPC. This field is used by reserves.
Field 60 PACIDN. The activity Unit Identification Code (UIC)

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If you experience any problems with your LES address them immediately. Be sure to take the name of the individual you talk with. This helps if there is any conflict in information shared.

I'd like to take this post to recognize the winner of our Newlywed Valentine's Day contest! The requirements for participation were simply to write a post about a memorable date that the CMW member had had with her husband.

The prize was a "Date Night" gift basket valuing over $100!! The basket included candles, popcorn, sparkling grape juice, a girly bath set, a Blockbuster gift card, a couples devotional book, an audio playbook of The Five Love Languages, a book with creative date ideas, and a specially donated leather-bound journal copy of The Love Dare and the movie Fireproof! A SPECIAL thanks goes out to The Source Bookstore for their donation of the Love Dare and the movie! Thanks also to Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry and Military One Source for some of the other donations!

The winner was chosen by putting all of the names in a bowl...my hubby drew the winner.

And the winner is....

 

Brandon's Girl

(Written by CMW Newlywed Member Meagan Eskew)

From My Utmost for His Highest: “Taking the Initiative Against Depression”

“The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive — only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exultation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, his inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things — things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way in an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepened it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.”

Wow. Ok God. I get it.

I have been struggling with depression lately – being away from all I’ve ever known, feeling alone, not sure at all everything I need to do here, being in a spiritually deprived environment. And most of all, making myself feel guilty for not being happy – I mean, I am oh so happy to be with my husband again, and being able to spend almost every day with him here. However, I haven’t been truly happy all the time like I feel I should be. I’ve struggled with this daily since my arrival…. Loving being with my husband and feeling extremely blessed because of this, but also feeling unhappy for being away from my friends, family, job, church, etc. and trying to figure out this new way of life.

I knew this “depression” would be a reality to face – I felt somewhat prepared and thought I knew how to handle it…. stay positive, stay in God’s Word, pray, focus on your husband, stay busy, it could be worse, on and on and on… all great and true things. However, I still have struggled and didn’t understand why.

Our long-planned trip to Italy was light on the horizon. Hope. Something to look forward to, to get away from all I’m dealing with, and to finally be able to just enjoy being with Austin… Don’t get me wrong – our trip was absolutely amazing I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel with Austin, and see things we never thought we would be able to see. It provided much needed time for us – a get-away. However, for some reason I still continued to struggle with feeling depressed… even standing under an unbelievable, beautiful cathedral, holding hands, taking pictures, eating gelato and pizza… I still felt that I wasn’t as happy as I could be.

Over the course of our 4-day weekend, Austin and I had a lot of ups and downs. I felt myself getting sucked farther into a hole… and I finally felt God’s grip on me, using Austin to reach out and get to the bottom of things. Deep and meaningful conversations followed, and I feel like I finally let go and let Austin completely take care of me, trusting him fully, and refusing to let the doubts that Satan has been using to take hold of me anymore and get in the way of my relationship with my husband. I know I am not perfect, and there will be many times where one or both of us will put up that wall of defense again, or will misunderstand each other and not try to find out what the real problem is…. However, I feel that we have grown leaps and bounds this week, and I am beginning to feel the climb back to the top.

A simple comment made by a friend yesterday really made everything click for me…. His wife was contemplating quitting her job, and his thoughts on it were that she is a much happier person on the days she doesn’t work, and coming home to happy wife is the best thing ever. Even if he’s had a completely horrible day at work, coming home to a joyful wife made everything better.

I’ve heard this my whole life… but it never made so much sense to me. I see so clearly how my attitude and the way I handle things – from the way I greet my husband when he walks in the door, to simply having a smile on my face while I cook dinner, or even having a good attitude even after another delay with housing – how I let things affect me, has a huge affect on him and our marriage.

God is working… I love it I’m finally seeing how things are working together for good… While I realize that the struggles and my circumstances have not changed, and I will continue to face more unknowns and frustrations, I know that God is using them and working out my walk with Him through them, as well as strengthening my walk with my husband. Another Genesis week… and it’s beginning with me. Austin came home to a happy wife yesterday, and it made all the difference in the world. Even after a frustrating day of more housing delays, it was a good day. The circumstance did not change, the frustration did not change, and I still shared this with Austin… however, the way I went about it – not immediately “going off” when he got home (“you’ll never believe what happened today!”) not going on and on about it, and not complaining or voicing my concerns about something that he can do nothing about. I shared with him what happened, what my concerns where, and asked him his thoughts about it. We came up with a plan of action, made a decision, and that was it. We ate dinner, watched a movie, talked with his mom and grandma on skype, and had a wonderful evening together…

I am finding the joy in the every day things – not because I’m trying to stay positive, or because I’m trying to get myself out of a depression, or because I’m trying to make my husband happy, or I feel like I have to – I am finding the joy in welcoming my husband home, in holding his hand, in eating dinner together, in cleaning our room, in picking up after him, in laying out his clothes, in every little thing, just because I can. Because I am seeking my joy in Christ and Christ has blessed me with these everyday things – to experience joy. I have been seeking Him and asking for answers… how to handle this, how to communicate better, how to be happy, how to serve and respect my husband, how to be not depressed anymore…

It was in my depression that God showed me how to find my joy again… Arise and eat. Do the everyday things with my husband and realize the fullness of life that I have been given. I have a great capacity for joy and exultation, and I am loving embracing this new-found joy and sharing it with Austin.

Attention Ladies! We have a winner for our Valentines Day, Yankee Candle contest.

Rose from our Fort Bragg CMW Chapter went up to a complete stranger ((Mike)) and asked him to draw a name from our ziplock baggy full of names who entered the CMW Valentines Day Contest.

Mike was a great sport, and helped us out... Thank you, Mike!

AF Keli has won a $25 to Yankee Candle.  Congratulations, Keli!

The Scent of a Godly Woman

I'd like to take a moment to make you aware about the fact that CMW is endeavoring to raise up groups of Christian military wives that meet in small fellowships, all over the country.

One of the groups that has been started is our group at Fort Knox. Fort Knox Christian Military Wives Fellowship is open to all Christian military wives in the Fort Knox, Radcliff, and Elizabethtown area. The group exists to provide Christ-honoring fellowship, prayer time, fun, and moral support to military wives of all ages. It is a ministry of the organization Christian Military Wives (christianmilitarywives.com).

Our get-togethers are always going to be spiritually-minded. We are not a group for gossip about other women or tear down our husbands. Ladies I would ask that at our meetings you refrain from un-Christian behavior and language. We are trying to establish monthly (and possibly bi-monthly depending on schedules) fellowship times and meetings.

If you are interested in joining our group and meeting other ladies in the Fort Knox area for fellowship, there are a couple of different places you can find us:

1. Here on CMW. If you haven't yet become a member on our website, please do so! (christianmilitarywives.com) Once there, you can find us under the "groups" tab at the top, or simply follow this link: http://www.christianmilitarywives.com/groups/profile/103

2. We have started a group on Facebook, to make it very simple to find new members and make it easy to include everyone in all of our events. You can find the link to our group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=188530807080&ref=ts

I hope that you will check out our group!

Thank you!