TA deployment

BaobabAmy

I'm in the TA, and am off to Herrick next year. The call-up is 4 months (2 weeks predeployment training, 3 months out there, 2 weeks annual leave on return). My personal situation is that I live on my own, with a mortgage and 2 cats. Family live over 2.5 hours away.

People have mentioned the fact that the army have to match my civilian salary. Do they also have to match my civilian PLUS TA salary? (as I get on average £300 per month from this second income source, so not inconsiderable).

It's also been mentioned things like they would pay for someone to look after my house/garden/cats while I'm away for 4 months, but I'm not sure if this is acurrate. How can I find out about my entitlements as a member of the TA who will be compulsorarily mobilised?

Many thanks!

oddbod19

BaobabAmy wrote: »

I The call-up is 4 months (2 weeks predeployment training, 3 months out there, 2 weeks annual leave on return).

Presume you must be in a specialist role, as normally called up for 10 mths, with 3 mths predeployment training, 6 mths in theatre and 1 month potl.

BaobabAmy wrote: »

Do they also have to match my civilian PLUS TA salary?

No, as this would be the Army paying you twice. You will now be getting a full time wage from the Army rather than just for the days you put in at the TA.

BaobabAmy wrote: »

It's also been mentioned things like they would pay for someone to look after my house/garden/cats while I'm away for 4 months

No

BaobabAmy wrote: »

How can I find out about my entitlements as a member of the TA who will be compulsorarily mobilised?

No such thing as compulsary mobilisation, it is all voluntary now. (Yes you will be compulsary mobilised however you volunteered to be, not the same as a few years ago where brown letters just turned up on the doormat and you have 4 weeks to sort your life out) This is something you should have looked into before volunteering. Ask some other members of your unit who have already been on tour.

ComedyMonkey_2

I felt compelled to register in order to correct this misleading post. The best thing to do is check with your unit (say your Platoon Commander), SABRE, and at RTMC. Make sure you have all concerns and financial arrangements sorted by the time you leave RTMC. My bold.

oddbod19 wrote: »

Quote:
Originally Posted by BaobabAmy
I The call-up is 4 months (2 weeks predeployment training, 3 months out there, 2 weeks annual leave on return).
Presume you must be in a specialist role, as normally called up for 10 mths, with 3 mths predeployment training, 6 mths in theatre and 1 month potl.

Originally Posted by BaobabAmy
Do they also have to match my civilian PLUS TA salary?



No, as this would be the Army paying you twice. You will now be getting a full time wage from the Army rather than just for the days you put in at the TA.
Wrong. You should receive a salary from the Army that matches your civilian pay (up to around £180k or some such for non medical personel) plus you TA pay for the last year. It may take some time to filter through. Ensure you have all the recent pay statements/P60s/P45s with you at RTMC.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BaobabAmy
It's also been mentioned things like they would pay for someone to look after my house/garden/cats while I'm away for 4 months

No
Misleading. If you can show you have been financially disadvantaged by mobilisation then they will consider each item on its own merits.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BaobabAmy
How can I find out about my entitlements as a member of the TA who will be compulsorarily mobilised?


No such thing as compulsary mobilisation, it is all voluntary now. (Yes you will be compulsary mobilised however you volunteered to be, not the same as a few years ago where brown letters just turned up on the doormat and you have 4 weeks to sort your life out) This is something you should have looked into before volunteering. Ask some other members of your unit who have already been on tour.
Wrong, and a dangerous thing to say. The preffered policy is for 'intelligent mobilisation' in which people volunteer for duty but are mobilised under the compulsary section of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 but people can still receive the brown envelope of fate right out of the blue.

As for benefits, your best bet is to get yourself registered on www.armynet.mod.uk in order to read the Reserve Forces Act, the latest DIN/AIBs etc, and access the forums. Important to look at how many bounties you have had, I believe that if >=3 then you can claim LOA (or whatever benefits there are now) although maybe not if away for such a short time.

It is also worth browsing The Army Rumour Service at www.arrse.co.uk and check out the wikipedia and TA forums on there. The last link I will give you is www.sabre.mod.uk which should have plenty of info for you as well.

Best of luck with your tour.

snoopy77_2

hi guys, felt exactly the same as Comedymonkey when i read Oddbod19's reply.

So that its not a 50/50 debate I can confirm that Comedymonkey is 100% accurate with his advise. I have just gone through it so can speak with authority on this.

Point of warning though on Civvy pay - they are only interested in your last 3 months pay slips and not so much your P60 anymore. They want to know what you actually working NOW and not last year. So dont get your call up papers and take 3 months unpaid holiday from your civvy job as you will end up with your military rank in pay. Oh and of course any pay rises etc are added on. The call out pack explains all this, try and get a copy from someone that has or is deploying.

If your cat is placed in a cattery the army will pay - (they will check though).

If you have a mate that checks on your house once a week for a tenner or so then the army will pay for that and any essential maintenance.

You will get LSA (this has replaced LOA), for less than 400 days away from your duty station this is about £6.50 per day. There is also the operational allowance which is about £12.50 per day.

As ComedyMonkey said Armynet (RTMC Site) and ARRSE are great sources of info - however never take all advise as gospel.

All the best Snoopy

Alias_Omega

Its sad to say, but another thing to consider is taking out life insurance, and making a will to reflect this.

ComedyMonkey_2

It is certainly a smart move, take time to investigate various policies that cover life and kit insurance for soldiers on active service (check out the forces discount website for a start). RTMC will probably have a rep from Pax/Naafi but I'd check out the alternatives. RTMC may also provide a basic template for a will.

tocsin

On wills, etc. There is a callout gratuity (£495 when I was) - funnily enough, it was just sufficient to pay for updated wills, and (important for those on long tours or WIA) powers of attorney.

surreysaver

ComedyMonkey wrote: »

but people can still receive the brown envelope of fate right out of the blue.

Like to see them try...

Kneeb

Did this at the start of the year. Also only did the short deployment as I was working at the Bastion Hospital.

We knew in April 2007 if our names wher ebeing considered for call up in Dec2007, so having been out on Telic 1 my first move was to work every day possible, and get in as many TA days as possible. Paid off at RTMC as they had to give me a big daily top up. Also dont forget you unit can refund Council tax with an allowance as well.

Bought myself a pretty good lap top off Amazon while there. Arrived in 7 days and then just returned to the website, followed the links and had the VAT refunded. Work so well bought a camera too.