Why do some people think thay you have to pay for your uniforms durnig Basic Training?
Just wondering, I see lots of answers from individuals saying your pay is deducted for uniforms. You are given an allowance of aprox. $1200 to pay for your initial issue. It varies service to service and Females receive more for certain items.
2008-02-15T15:21:59Z
Mike; You are exactly my point. You did not have one penny taken out of your regular pay for your uniforms. You signed a form, baicly a W-2 stating you received $1200 worth of uniforms. In addition to your pay!!!
2008-02-15T19:17:32Z
Rawbert: You didnt read or understand my question or comments. You are given an allowance, equal to your initial issue, then you get a clothing allowance for maintenance and replacement. You do not pay out of your pocket for your initial issue. You are taxed on the amount as pay, because it is an allowance. Im Retired AF. Now please answer the original question. Why do you think you have to pay for uniforms.
2008-02-16T11:06:50Z
Ok, No one seems to answer my original question, they just want to argue the facts. I know you do not pay for initial issue, I just wanted some ideas on why people think that you do. There will be no 10 points for anyone.
Anonymous2008-02-15T15:18:12Z
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Because you actually do have to pay for them. You had the correct info from the start. We are issued uniforms in Boot Camp or Basic but $ is taken out of your first pay check for them. And then once a year you will get an allowance to maintain them. The old free uniforms days are gone. In fact so is the 3 free meals a day too. Because we pay for that as well. You either get COMRAT's and buy your own food. Or they take that money give you a "meal card" and thats what you use at the Galley or meal hall..............................................
I also do not know if anyone here is still answering this question or not. But Dennis F does not seem to be able to admit when he is wrong. He emailed me back after I emailed him about fixing his statement to me against what I had said about him being wrong and telling him how so. He emailed me back saying he would not fix anything that was not broken and told me some info that did not match up. Well I just looked at another question he answered for someone today and he stated he was "Retired AirForce" ....That explains a lot since things tend to change in the military and not stay the same and perhaps things have changed since he retired. Also keep in mind different branches might do things a little different as well. But Dennis does not seem to be able to comprehend that. So if he said something negative against you, take it with a grain of salt. Mike----------------------------------------------------------------------------- No 10 Point's!!!! Who gives a damn. You say that your "just wondering why people think that you do" .....Well we have told you why we think or "know" why we do and you have refused and rebutted every answer we have given you with Anger none the less. I know that because you said to me that your getting angry with it all in an email. And I know others have emailed you as well on this because we have spoken about it to each other. It just seems to me like your a person with over 2000 points and think that you must be right about everything. Just an assumption I know..........We have given your our answers as to why we think we do. And you have refused them. I don't think anyone cares about your 10 points!
All I know is that when I went into Basic in 1990, the first four uniforms were issued to us and every year we got a clothing allowance of around $300+ to buy new uniforms.
But money was taken out of our paychecks every month for the Mess hall. It was only a little over $30 a month. If you looked at your pay-stub closely enough you could see all the things they did take out of your pay.
Because you only get that money, perhaps once a year, if that, and you have to pay out of pocket for any amounts over that you spend on buying new uniforms and cleaning of uniforms. Unless you NEVER wear an item, it's going to get worn, and you're going to have to continue to get new ones.
If you gain or lose weight while you serve, it's the same story. You are to have well-kept, properly fitting uniforms at all times.
Not everyone is entitled to that. My husband joined the AF 4 years ago and they gave him a $250 "gift card" to buy his uniforms with. That $250 was then taken out of his first check. He also gets about $400 a year in a clothing allowance to buy new uniforms. We never sw $1200. In fact, we pay quite a bit out of pocket for his uniforms because he goes through them like water while working on the flightline.
My son pay was docked $350 as a debt payment when he went through Basic after Basic he came home to finish his Senior year of high school, and went every month for inactive duty, except when the Government decided no duty due to budget cuts. At the end of his senior year he left for AIT for Airborne training, and now at parachute rigger school. He had another $350.00 taken out after arriving at AIT as a debt training. So, we have first hand knowledge that he does have to pay for uniforms. He also pays separately when he needs new boots or shoes. He has never received a clothing allowance or any paperwork stating that he would have one. I know because he was only 17 when he signed and we read the contract. Here is hoping he does not have to pay another $350. for rigger school. They overpaid him for Basic, took him a year to pay that debt back leaving him barely enough to buy gas each month to get to duty. Mom would like him to have enough to pay for his car payment each month, a car that he needed to get back and forth to inactive duty, that we were positive he would have a monthly pay check to cover. Also had to pay for life insurance they two months that the government decided he could not work. Thank God we could help but has left us without a safety net. This Mom has enough bills of her own to pay.