The Air Force in June will start collecting a $400 overpayment made two years ago to 526 basic trainees.



But contrary to an earlier email from an Air Force finance official that said a partial payment plan was not possible under the current system and airmen would have to repay the $400 in one lump sum, the Air Force is now allowing airmen to make their payments in four installments of $100.



In an email, Oscar Balladares, spokesman for the 502nd Air Base Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, said that all basic trainees receive a partial payment in the form of a $400 EZpay card within their first few days to cover their personal costs while their personnel and pay records are created. Once that is done, Balladares said, the Air Force is supposed to deduct the amount of that card from their paycheck, but that didn't happen in the case of those 526 trainees.



Balladares said that an ongoing financial audit at Joint Base San Antonio found that the military pay voucher had not been reconciled with the pay system.



But because the $400 was a partial pay advance, Balladares said the existing law and policy does not allow the Air Force to forgive the payments.



The overpayment was originally reported March 31 by former airman Tony Carr on his John Q. Public blog. Carr published a March 28 email from Lt. Col. Jessi Schaefer, commander of the 502nd Comptroller Squadron, that said the Air Force "explored, and eliminated, the possibility of creating payment plans for the individuals involved to avoid a single payment of $400. The pay system doesn't provide the option of splitting partial payments into smaller, incremental payments."



But in the email to Air Force Times, AETC said a partial payment plan has now been authorized.



"We deeply regret the financial hardship this oversight has caused our airmen," Schaefer said in the email from AETC. "They need and deserve time to prepare for this unexpected situation, so we've been authorized to delay corrective action until June and to provide an option for an extended payback over several months. In addition, the airmen's comptrollers, command team and wing leadership were notified and are assisting in every way possible to seek assistance and reduce the financial impact."



Of those affected trainees, Balladares said 418 are still on active duty or in the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve. The other 108 airmen have since separated from the Air Force.



The 502nd Comptroller Squadron contacted the active-duty airmen and gave them the option of either paying the $400 back in full by having it deducted from their mid-June paychek, or repaying it on a monthly installment plan of four $100 payments starting in June if that will make it easier to handle the repayments. Guardsmen and reservists will have similar options.



The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will collect the overpayments from the remaining 108 separated airmen through their standard collection processes, Balladares said.



The Air Force notified affected airmen, as well as their wing commanders and the comptrollers servicing them, at the end of March, and followed up with them on April 10 and 11 to tell them about their payment options.



"Each members' wing commander and command team is engaged with helping agencies such as the Air Force Assistance Fund, local charities, and the banks or credit unions on their installation to assist the airmen who are impacted the most," Balladares said.

