CANFORGEN 97/08 LDA FAQs

[421_434_226]

If any postings to a field unit prior to 01 Apr 07 counts I should be sitting at approx 90 points, although not much chance of going back to a field unit being in the Air Force now. Oh well can't lose what I did not have.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

It works the same way for Reg&ResF (except for the NavRes - they are in a world of their own & I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing).

The MPRR and the UER are two different things.

What is listed on the MPRR is the member's posting/assignment history. That is:
- Postings,
- Attached Postings;
- Operations.

Within your UER (the Unit Employment Record!!), there are four (4) different coloured sheets onto which are recorded:

1.  Qualification Record Sheet (This sheet identifies your promotions and other qualifications)

2.  Miscellaneous Entries Sheet (This sheet identifies quals with no specific codes such as "Life Skills", "Spill response", annual BFT, Annual PWT)

3.  Qualification Summary Supplemental (This sheet identifies specific "Trade" qualifications)

4.  Employment History Record Sheet (This sheet records all of your employment History throughout your career. It records all information about postings, including exercises and change in rank or position. Each section you worked in, each ex you participated on, each tasking you did from "start date" to "end Date"). <--- It is SOP to review this file with your supervisor to ensure it is updated, and I suggest to you, that if you have never been asked by any of your supervisors to sit in for a "UER Review" that you approach them and ask for one - sooner rather than later.

Div Notes?

 

[armyvern]

Div Notes?

NRIMS

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I have a hard enough time with Div Notes, what a PITA, I don't think I even want to know what that one is....

 

[helpup]

Back after a Soggy weekend.

Bit of confusion to my question last Friday.  I was wondering how they were going to allocate the points for figuring the level that each person would be at.  I know the directive is 10 Days Field time = 1 month, one month equals one point, 3 points in a year...ect.  I was wondering or under the impression that they would be trying to sort out how much previous Field time we had. ( personally I thought that would be a dead end road as the records are not accurate enough for that ) Unless your George who has every pay statement he ever got, starting with the stone tablet.  Anyhow I now have that sorted out and sorry if I missed something already posted.

But by happenstance I had the Chief in charge of the project over for dinner last night ( Friends of my wife ) So here is a bit of a update on the allowance.
-Do not expect this to kick in until April 09.  ( they are pedal to the metal to meet that date now and expect a Canforgen in a week or two on it. )
-Any time in a Field unit that meets the criteria will count 1 point per month there. as long as you spent at least 10 days of that month it will count.
-It of course stops when your deployed
- Reserves do not get it yet if a reservist is attached to a Field unit they will get it ( i.e work up Trg )
-your Retro will be 2 years ( plus or minus depending on when it comes out ) and it will be at what your current point level is at.
-The allowance and retro will be taxed of course but care should be taken since in many cases the lump sum will put you in a higher tax bracket and not enough tax may of been removed.
-Anyone posted or attached to a Field unit meets the requirements to receive the allowance.
-Clerks can expect a briefing/ Q&A session before to long ( I will give dates once I get them ) This will be done to the Major Bases, Gagetown, Valcartier, Pet, Kingstong ( I asked about that too ) in the First week, and out West the Second Week.
- There will be a general Brief / Q&A done at that time by the chief. 
- He will ( if he remembers) try to get me a advance copy of the program and it's implementation to vet for FAQ from my troops.  I will ask if he minds if I also use this Forum to get more FAQ's.  I already went over some of them that came to me at the time. 

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Seems straight forward enough...

One question...(I am in the 'blue' world now...) are people still receiving FOA until Apr 09, or when was the cut off date that FOA ceases?

 

[armyvern]

Back after a Soggy weekend.

Bit of confusion to my question last Friday.  I was wondering how they were going to allocate the points for figuring the level that each person would be at.  I know the directive is 10 Days Field time = 1 month, one month equals one point, 3 points in a year...ect.  I was wondering or under the impression that they would be trying to sort out how much previous Field time we had. ( personally I thought that would be a dead end road as the records are not accurate enough for that ) Unless your George who has every pay statement he ever got, starting with the stone tablet.  Anyhow I now have that sorted out and sorry if I missed something already posted.

But by happenstance I had the Chief in charge of the project over for dinner last night ( Friends of my wife ) So here is a bit of a update on the allowance.
-Do not expect this to kick in until April 09.  ( they are pedal to the metal to meet that date now and expect a Canforgen in a week or two on it. )
-Any time in a Field unit that meets the criteria will count 1 point per month there. as long as you spent at least 10 days of that month it will count.
-It of course stops when your deployed
- Reserves do not get it yet if a reservist is attached to a Field unit they will get it ( i.e work up Trg )
-your Retro will be 2 years ( plus or minus depending on when it comes out ) and it will be at what your current point level is at.
-The allowance and retro will be taxed of course but care should be taken since in many cases the lump sum will put you in a higher tax bracket and not enough tax may of been removed.
-Anyone posted or attached to a Field unit meets the requirements to receive the allowance.
-Clerks can expect a briefing/ Q&A session before to long ( I will give dates once I get them ) This will be done to the Major Bases, Gagetown, Valcartier, Pet, Kingstong ( I asked about that too ) in the First week, and out West the Second Week.
- There will be a general Brief / Q&A done at that time by the chief. 
- He will ( if he remembers) try to get me a advance copy of the program and it's implementation to vet for FAQ from my troops.  I will ask if he minds if I also use this Forum to get more FAQ's.  I already went over some of them that came to me at the time. 

And, of course, don't forget that the two years retro total ... will have also have the field pay you DID receive during those 2 years deducted from it as well as the taxes etc that you mentioned.

 

[helpup]

Your right Vern the FOA paid during that time period will be deducted from the retro and that is part of the reason why the date got pushed back ( again this is from talking to the chief ) But talking to him about it we both realized that it wont be that bad as say you went to the Field a total of 4 month during that time ( days here and there and or solid time ) But your LDA level is paid monthly and 12 months out of the year.  So you will still be seeing a sizable amount. 

Oh another point that was brought up.  Cbt Arms wide ( and or if you are now in a differant element you might have to ask for it in a month or so) There will be a questionnaire going out to all that will need to be filled out.  Along with your MPRR that gets turned into the clerks ( who have now been suitably briefed and somewhat trained on the new system ) who will go over it and input it.  For the most part it will be straight forward but for those who have a medium amount of time in and or have been posted allot it will more and likely have discrepancies that will have to be looked at in depth.  He does realize that there will be times that the army can't verify, but his point of view on that, is being flexible once the in depth records search is one.  So rather then a big argument with your RMS Clerk ( and it not being their fault ) it may come down to " right signer the Stat Dec".  Just a point though he was musing about that not stating policy. 

He is heading back to Ottawa today and with luck I will get the package this week. 

 

[helpup]

Seems straight forward enough...

One question...(I am in the 'blue' world now...) are people still receiving FOA until Apr 09, or when was the cut off date that FOA ceases?

I don't know the exact dates for the Cut off.  My unit still takes the FOA information and pays it out.  That is being tallied against the retro amount as Vern pointed out.  FOA is still going to be around as other trades do hit the Field for Trg and not to mention the Reserves right now are not entitled to LDA unless they are working for a Reg Force " entitled" unit.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

I don't know the exact dates for the Cut off.  My unit still takes the FOA information and pays it out.  That is being tallied against the retro amount as Vern pointed out.  FOA is still going to be around as other trades do hit the Field for Trg and not to mention the Reserves right now are not entitled to LDA unless they are working for a Reg Force " entitled" unit.

You sure on that last part?

We are entitled to LDA at the Casual Rate according to my CC.

EDITED TO ADD:

According to CB1 205.335

205.335 – CASUAL LAND DUTY ALLOWANCE (CLDA)
205.335 (1) (Entitlement) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a member who is not entitled to an allowance under CBI 205.33 (Land Duty Allowance) or category 2 or 3 allowance under CBI 205.385 (Joint Task Force 2 Allowance) is, when the member performs duty in the field, entitled to Casual Land Duty Allowance at the rate of:
(a) $24.71 for each complete 24-hour period of that duty; and
(b) $24.71 for any remaining period of that duty that is of six or more hours duration.

205.335(2) (Limit) The total amount of Casual Land Duty Allowance payable in a calendar month to a member shall not exceed the highest monthly rate set out in the Table to CBI 205.33 (Land Duty Allowance).
205.335(3) (Limitations) A member is not entitled to Casual Land Duty Allowance when in receipt of:
(a) an incidental expense allowance under the Canadian Forces Temporary Duty Instruction;
(b) an allowance under CBI 10.3.05 (Hardship Allowance); or
(c) an allowance under CBI 10.3.07 (Risk Allowance).

Also not withstanding this also applies,

205.33 – LAND DUTY ALLOWANCE (LDA)
205.33(1) (Definition) The definitions in this paragraph apply to this instruction.
“accumulated eligible service” means any period during which a member was posted to a field unit or serving in a position designated by the Minister for the purpose of this instruction to the standard established in orders or instructions issued by the Chief of the Defence Staff. In addition, periods of service prior to 1 April 2007 with a field unit will also count toward eligible service calculation when determining level of Land Duty Allowance.
“field unit” means a unit, whose primary role is combat manoeuvre and training for operations or combat support and combat service support to the combat manoeuvre units. Canadian Forces personnel in these units can expect, as part of their normal duties, to be exposed to austere environmental and work conditions for extensive periods of time on a regular basis. These units will be equipped with field equipment, vehicles and stores for this role.
“posted” means posted to, attach posted to, called out or serving on full-time service.

205.33(2) (Eligibility) A member of the Regular Force or the Reserve Force on Class “B” or “C” Reserve Service posted to a field unit or any such unit designated by the Minister, or serving in a position designated by the Minister for the purpose of this instruction, is entitled to Land Duty Allowance at the monthly rate set out in the Table to this instruction for the member’s accumulated eligible service, unless the member is in receipt of category 2 or 3 allowance under CBI 205.385 (Joint Task Force 2 Allowance).

 

[helpup]

The reserves are not going to be entitled to Full LDA but casual LDA, your right, It is going to take me a while to stop thinking of Casual LDA as anything other then FOA.  But as stated if they are working with a unit that gets "full" LDA then they are entitled to it.  Once I get the briefing package I will point form it and present it for FAQ's.  They would really like to get a handle on that before they start their briefings.

 

[CountDC]

You will also find that much of it should be listed on your MPRR.  If you were deployed on an OP or major Exercise, it will show up on your MPRR. 

now that one kills me - SHOULD is certainly the operative word there.  Can't even count the number of times I have had to search through pers files, pay records and have the member provide proof because something was missing from the MPRR/PERS. For some reason that I fail to understand there are some people out there that would/will not always publish an attach posting into the system nor would/will the member submit it for correction on their MPRR confirmation. The answer when I have asked is always the same - I didn't think it was that important!!

Advice to all:  Check your MPRR and make the corrections, submit it every month and go up the chain if you have to as these things do affect your career and future pay. Also review your pers file itself to make sure everything that should be there is and things that don't belong are removed. MPRR review should be done as often as possible (can be checked in EMAA), pers file yearly. Waiting until you are on a tasking out of country is not the time to deal with this stuff.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

now that one kills me - SHOULD is certainly the operative word there.  Can't even count the number of times I have had to search through pers files, pay records and have the member provide proof because something was missing from the MPRR/PERS. For some reason that I fail to understand there are some people out there that would/will not always publish an attach posting into the system nor would/will the member submit it for correction on their MPRR confirmation. The answer when I have asked is always the same - I didn't think it was that important!!

Advice to all:  Check your MPRR and make the corrections, submit it every month and go up the chain if you have to as these things do affect your career and future pay. Also review your pers file itself to make sure everything that should be there is and things that don't belong are removed. MPRR review should be done as often as possible (can be checked in EMAA), pers file yearly. Waiting until you are on a tasking out of country is not the time to deal with this stuff.

Tell me about it, it took me abit more than a  year to get MOD 1 of PLQ added to it. That was after I provided the course report and MITE Code.

 

[helpup]

And that was the point I made earlier when I was under the impression they were going to try and base the LDA level off of the history of FOA each person had.  The system is not set up for that and they are not doing that.  But as was pointed out even sorting out a persons MPRR for accurate time in a Unit and all the postings, deployments and the like leaves allot to be desired.  It is a individuals responsibility to keep up on it especially well before they come out with the tables.  RMS Clerks are going be busy enough handling the normal inquiries let alone people who have left it until the last min. 

 

[CountDC]

And that was the point I made earlier when I was under the impression they were going to try and base the LDA level off of the history of FOA each person had.  The system is not set up for that and they are not doing that.  But as was pointed out even sorting out a persons MPRR for accurate time in a Unit and all the postings, deployments and the like leaves allot to be desired.  It is a individuals responsibility to keep up on it especially well before they come out with the tables.  RMS Clerks are going be busy enough handling the normal inquiries let alone people who have left it until the last min. 

reading this I thought of something else people should be aware of.  If your information is not correct it can take awhile to correct.  I have had members on out of country taskings that it took 3 months (half their task time) to get their points calculation correct. Hard to provide required documents that are sitting home while you are somewhere in Africa (and your spouse does not know anything about that file in the back of the cabinet under the hockey gear with a piece of paper amongst the other 100 plus pieces). There are 4 main sources clerks can (and should) use for compiling the data - pay system, peoplesoft, pers file, mbr.  For mbrs that have kept on top of things it usually took only a few minutes to calculate the points and enter the info into the pay system.  So - make a choice, get your allowance started correct and right away or wait for it - up to 3 months or maybe even more (depending on the clerk, their load and where you are placed in their priority list, at the time they were high priority for me).

 

[Mil Cop]

Let's try another fly in the ointment...I was in 3 RCR during the infamous 10/90 period.  We were in the field a lot but it's UIC is not listed as one of the recognized ones.  Since it was a 10/90 (I was 10 vice 90) do I have to somehow retrieve the dates we were in the field or what?    ???

Also, I know you don't get LDA money for deployments overseas but do you get the points for being part of the unit?  I added up my points my points from my MPRR and after doing almost 14 yrs with field units I still only managed to get 66 points! This means some newby is one level below me with his one point - nice. 

Still, feels kinda nice to be treated like I'm air force! 

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Are you still in an organization that will be getting this full time field pay?

 

[Mil Cop]

No, not still with them.  The whole idea got shut off as a massive flop.  Currently in Kingston with a unit that does qualify so that's a good thing. 

Here's another question though...both 3 RCR and MP Det Petawawa have changed their UIC's - how would you query a UIC that no longer exists to see if they qualify?

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Yes  I do know that 10/90 was shut down.  I was just wondering if you were in a different unit that is collecting field pay (which you have said does).

 

[Cdnrednk]

I'm at 2 Fd Amb, have been there since late June of 2008. We have filled out a form for back pay for "Land Duty Allowance" wich is basically 297 a month for being in a field unit. We are being back payed I beleive for the last 2 years, but for me it will only be since June... Either way, it's still a good chunk of money. I keep hearing rumour dates for when we should get payed... Like the Mid March pay as to we may never get it.
Can anyone give me any idea as to when we will get it? My guess is March since we start getting it every month come April.