Some US Navy sailors say they’re being forced to take out loans after months-long delays in receiving their pay as they struggle to keep up with living expenses.
The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which lends money to Navy members and their families, said it’s seen an increase in loan applications in recent months.
One source told told Military.com that the troubles began when officials began consolidating personnel and customer support detachments four years ago, leading to staff shortages.
The Navy launched MyNavy Career Center in September in an attempt to streamline services.
‘Shutting down dozens of processing centers took that transaction load and dropped it in one building’s worth of people,’ a petty officer, who asked not to be identified, told Military.com.
‘Our only means of communication with them is through [MyNavy Career Center, or MNCC], which isn’t always great because it’s [mostly] civilians with a knowledge database … all they can do is look up tickets and give a status.’
Society vice president Gillian Gonzalez told an industry publication that she recently helped one solider who’d gone without pay for three months because of an enlistment extension and pay error.
Despite his command post working around the clock to resolve the issue, the sailor ran out of money while waiting to be paid, Gonzalez told Military.com.
She said the relief society cut him a $2,500 check to help.
‘This is happening a little bit everywhere,’ she told the outlet. ‘It doesn’t seem to hit one geographic area more than another.’
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It’s not known how many sailors are taking out loans, or how that compares to previous years.
Another sailor claimed on Reddit in July that she had not received any basic housing allowance for 16 months and resorted to sleeping on friends’ couches.
‘My command admin admitted ‘several mistakes were made’ when submitting my paperwork and that’s why it’s taking so long,’ the woman wrote.
‘Every time I go to admin they tell me they’re too busy to check on my status or call [personal support detachment] for me and that they’ll get around to it e… (Read more)
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