All,
Please take the time to write your senators/congressmen on this issue.

95 Letters - Home

"Consider two Air Force majors...one is a reservist and each has 18 years of service. Both perish when their aircraft crashes on Tuesday while the reservist is on active duty (AD) status. The family of each pilot receives monthly survivor benefit payments of $2,908. Now…the same aircraft crashes on Wednesday while the reservist is on inactive duty training (IDT) status. The active duty family receives monthly payments of $2,908 while the IDT family receives $969.

Also, the AD family is eligible for other survivor benefits not afforded the IDT family to include:
1) Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance
2) Annuity calculations with a disability rating as total
3) The choice to extend SBP eligibility directly to dependent children

In January 2012, 95 letters were sent to the surviving spouses and directly to the children of deceased guardsmen and reservists across the DoD stating a “significant error” was made when accounting for their loved one's administrative duty status at the time of death.

As a result, survivor benefit payments the families had counted on for years were drastically lowered and in many cases stopped altogether.

In light of these letters many are learning for the first time of the ongoing disparities in survivor benefits for the family of a member who dies on “Active Duty” status versus a member on “Inactive Duty Training" status even when both occur "in the line of duty".

H.R. 1770 was introduced into the 113th Congress by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (UT - 3rd) on 26 April 2013 to end these inequalities for the families of our military members who made the ultimate sacrifice. It was re-introduced into the 114th Congress on 28 April 2015 as H.R. 2053.

Now...we need your help to get as many congressional co-sponsors as possible!!

For more information see the "Advocates" and "Key Documents" tabs on this website."

The DOD and Active Duty folks have turned reservists into active duty light. And as such, they need to start paying us.

Spread the word. Unless they have had someone killed in IDT status in your unit most people even reservists don't know about this!

In your scenario, the reservist dies in a military plane crash?
Or are you just saying they die in a day they are not working, in an incident unrelated to their Reserve duties?

In this scenario, it would be during a drill period. However, therein lies the rub - is there much, if any difference, between performing your job on IDT, AFTP, ADT, ADSW, or AT? It's an accounting game.

On a non-work day, no benefits would be paid.


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In the scenario I know about member was flying IDT (off schedule as that is the norm for the unit)

As we move more to TFI and Associate units you are going to see this more and more. 2 guys in the same plane one in one status (AT, AD, MPA, RPA etc) one in another (IDT) same crash same issues different benefits.

This also could apply to a car wreck on weekend drill where one person is in IDT status and another in AT or an AD member from the unit as the associate units/liaisons/and mixed commands are standing up.

Sorry... I am not following the nuances. I've never worked in a unit with Reservists, and don't understand the nuances of the various abbreviations you're using.

Exactly. You're part of the problem, nothing personal.

Half of our force (the active duty) has no idea how the reserves/Guard operate. The military doesn't teach the active duty. Unfortunately, this hurts both because in many instances the active duty unit has to budget man-days for reservist/Guardsmen. And they never ... ever ... do. And if they do, it is never enough.

http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/pr..._36-2254v1.pdf

http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/pr...afi36-2910.pdf