Army Currently Screening For Basic Needs Allowance Eligibility

According to a new Army issued guideline released February 27th, the Training and Doctrine Command has begun screening soldiers to decide eligibility for a new Basic Needs Allowance. This is designed to help low-income families make ends meet, and has already taken affect at the Advanced Individual Training center, according to Army spokeswoman Heather Hagen. With information regarding those who could enter the program releasing by the end of the month.

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According to MilitaryTimes,

As for other soldiers, “Our intent is to send a list of soldiers that should be prioritized for screening to the major commands by the end of the month,” said Army spokeswoman Heather Hagan.

Information was not available on the number of soldiers who have been identified so far.

Mandated in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, the allowance serves as a safety net for military families to help combat food insecurity. It goes to troops whose total family income is less than 130% of federal poverty guidelines, which in addition to income are based on household size and location.

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While last November this sort of project was attempted, only 85 service members were identified as meeting the requirements to join. Though after looking at those results and the poverty guideline data, the Military has received blowback resulting in this new attempt. This new attempt comes with new guidelines to more accurately calculate solider data though one issue the team determining this info faces is total household income and not being able to calculate in. When this data releases at the end of the month we will see if this new attempt did any better than the previous try at accurately pinpointing those who need help making ends meet.

Gwen Stokes