I am stationed in Germany and getting married to Latvian national will i get OHA?BAH?

Question

I am not command sponsored because we deploy in April and I don't want my wife to be left here in Germany alone. Will we get any allowances if she stays in Latvia til I come back from Iraq? Thank you

Answer 1

paying housing to spouses living OCONUS is problematic. she would NOT be entitled to OHA based on where she is living, only based on your duty station, which is Germany. HOWEVER, if you did not live off base , you don't qualify for OHA.

You MIGHT get lucky and get all the paperwork squared away for FSH during the deployment, but don't expect anything else, ESPECIALLY if tou have not gone through the proper channels to get married to a FN. and if you have a Clearance, Lord help you when your Security Officer finds out.

Answer 2

any time you marry a foreigner (especially a third country national) there is a ton of paperwork and redtape BEFORE you get married in the military. i have a friend who married a girl from the philipines without going through the proper channels while stationed in japan. she not only couldnt live with him and got NO benefits.....but when he PCS'd to Italy she got deported back to the Philipines. You need to go to your personnel office in Germany and pick up a marriage packet from them and get that stuff done ahead of time because there is no guarantee that the military will ever help her to be with you as long as you are enlisted otherwise. Ther personnel office will be able to tell you more.......however I know that if you are at an overseas base and married to an american and your spouse returns back to the US during your employment you are only entitled to single rate COLA during her absence and if its more than 3 months shes gone you have to surrender your house if you live on base....if you are getting OHA or BAH you lose it until she returns ( when we were in Japan i came home while my husband was deployed, had to get permission to come and had to be back before the 90 day deadline) I'm not sure how it works with a TCN but im sure its similar rules......the only ones that can answer that question are your personnel office though.

Answer 3

Get your Command Sponsorship. If she goes back to Latvia and something happens to you in Iraq, it will be that much harder for the Army to notify you and for her to come see you if you are wounded. Does she have an ID card yet? Is she enrolled in DDERs? Do you have a power of attorney for her? If not do it now.

Answer 4

That is why you have a admin section, to answer and apply for benefits. Use them.