From staff reports
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, in a Department of Defense media release, recently announced immediate and long-term actions to help strengthen the economic security and stability of service members and their families.
Recognizing the extraordinary pressures that military families are dealing with secure affordable housing, the Secretary has directed the Department to review the prospective 2023 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) tables to ensure calculations reflect the unusually dynamic fluctuations in the housing market: including automatic increases in BAH for active duty Service members in the 28 Military Housing Areas (MHAs) that have experienced an average of more than 20 percent spike in rental housing costs this year above this year’s BAH rates. These automatic increases will go into effect in October 2022.
Two of those Military Housing Areas are Beaufort County’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
“Supporting our Military and their Families is a top priority for Beaufort County,” Beaufort County Public Information Officer Chris Ophardt said in a release. “Inflation has hit the lower ranks hard and pinched all military families. Many local businesses offer military discounts, and Service Members should remember to ask retailers and businesses.”
Beaufort County Veterans Affairs Department assists the County’s veterans and their dependents in obtaining their fullest Department of Veterans Affairs and state of South Carolina benefits including VA Compensation and Pension, DIC/Widow Pension, Home Loan Certificate of Eligibility, Dependent Educational assistance as well as resource/referral to other divisions within the Veterans Administration.
Visit Beaufort County Veterans Affairs at https://bit.ly/3CgzP1z for more information and to make an appointment.
