Guard and Reserve BAS
Do members of the National Guard or Reservists qualify for BAS? The Basic Allowance for Subsistence or BAS is a military benefit paid to servicemembers while serving on active duty. According to the DoD, BAS is designed “to offset the cost of food for service member” and is rooted in military tradition when “the military provided room and board (or rations) as part of a member’s pay” according to the DoD official site.
BAS offsets the costs of meals for the service member alone; it is not for family members. All enlisted members get full BAS, but pay for their meals, including those provided by the government at the dining facility. Officers may qualify for BAS, but there may be additional considerations.
Members of the Guard and Reserve who are not on active duty typically won’t be paid BAS unless they are called to active duty. Those who are called to active duty should discuss their pay and benefits options with their unit orderly room or base accounting and finance office.
BAS For Guard/Reserve Members
BAS is intended to help pay a portion of the cost of food for the active duty service member, so its payment levels are the same as the USDA’s food cost index. BAS is adjusted annually based on the percentage increase in food prices, as identified by the USDA.
This, Defense.gov notes, “is why the increase to BAS will not necessarily be the same percentage as that applied to the increase in the pay table, as annual pay raises are linked to the increase of private sector wages.” Army.mil notes that all active duty troops regardless of status get BAS, “except those in basic training or a similar status where BAS entitlement would not be appropriate.”
BAS II
Some on active duty Guard/Reservists called to active duty may qualify for BAS II, which is described as “is the monthly rate that may be payable to enlisted members on duty at a permanent station and assigned to single (unaccompanied) Government quarters, which do not have adequate food storage or preparation facilities, and where a Government mess is not available, and the Government cannot otherwise make meals available.”
BAS II rates are “twice the rate of standard enlisted BAS and must be authorized.”
BAS Isn’t the Only Benefit For Active Duty Guard/Reserve
National Guard and Reserve members on active duty may qualify for a variety of benefits if their active duty service duration meets the requirements of the specific benefit.
What do we mean by active duty? Those scenarios may include active service on Title 10 orders for full-time duty, such as, but not limited to, a unit deployment during war, including travel to and from such duty, OR full-time National Guard duty (Title 32) -which is full-time duty, such as responding to a national emergency or responsibilities as an Active Guard Reserve, where you receive pay from the Federal government.
Depending on how long you serve as an active duty member of the Guard/Reserve you may qualify for VA benefits, tax breaks, or other compensation for your active service.
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
