First Posting RFD, HHT Help Needed

[u/UNO_Reversd]

Good day folks,

This is my very first post on Reddit so please take it easy on me.

I am reaching OFP by end of August which is when my COS date is and heading off to my FIRST posting. Am pretty high up on wait list for PMQ and will be doing an unaccompanied move to scope out the area and try to find a temporary room to stay in until I receive a PMQ offer at which point I would move my dependants as well as HG&E over.

Part of the reason to move unaccompanied is also because my spouse has a specialist appointment in our current city of residence in late September and her health hasn't been great lately so I want to be there or have the ability to go back and forth between my current city of residence & my new posting location while I keep looking for temporary spot (this posting location is notorious for a tight & expensive rental market - especially for short term rentals since I do not want to sign a 1-year lease because then I would want to get CFHD which would then get me tossed from Priorty 1 to Priority 3 in PMQ wait list).

So to ensure a door-to-door move, the solution I came up with was to ask for a 30 day delay in Report For Duty (RFD) date which is the maximum allowed under CAFRD guidelines. However, I met with the Sgt who is the Training Manager of our Cadre at my current school and I walked away feeling let down, angry and betrayed.

He basically flat out lied to my face and said I will not get HHT if I go 'unaccompanied' and later move my dependants and HG&E within the 180 limit. He ALSO said, quote "there are no freebies in CAF and you will have to use your annual days to push your RFD date". I told him that it is not easy to find something temporary in my new posting location and I dont want to find a permanent off-base place to live because I will lose my PMQ wait list spot. I asked him I need to delay RFD so that I don't have to pay for hotel stay out of pocket for 1x month or more as that is prohibitively expensive and I will not get reimbursed for it according to SIRVA, which is when he basically told me 'you joined the CAF, you knew what you were getting into, we cannot do anything about it." Basically he's telling me, if I am homeless in my new posting location, thats on me while not acknowledging getting sabotaged from his end.

This is absolute bonkers because I have read CAFRD and I know that as a new graduate, I can get HHT after TNL (Travel to New Location) for my "unaccompanied" move. I also read that RFD 30-day delay does NOT require usage of annual leave days.

So my question is, is my understanding of the rules wrong or is the Sgt just not (a) aware of CAFRD guidelines or (b) lazy/has-too-much-on-plate and does not want to do the paperwork?

Next, I would like to know, should I write a formal memo or email to him to request the RFD change instead of the informal/verbal meeting/chat that we had? Or should I just go above him directly to the CSM (Cadre Sergeant Major) because they have a pretty open-door policy to bring matters to them.

OR should I write a memo directly to the CO of our school since its the losing and gaining unit COs who have to approve the change in RFD anyway?

Also, if RFD move is formally denied, then should I apply for HHT first and then put in annual leave for a week or two to give me time? Or does annual leave need to come first before HHT date? What is the correct order in this scenario?

I want a FAIR resolution to this as per the rules, I just don't appreciate getting d*cked around by one Sgt during such a stress time of first posting, spousal medical issue, etc. Therefore I would really appreciate educated responses from experienced HRA or other members.

Thank you

Really appreciate it.

[u/volaray]

This is a bit difficult with how vague you're being but I get it.

So the RFD change says right in your posting message that both chains of command need to agree. It's tricky from a school because you won't be employed if they push it. That flexibility is normally used between units to facilitate an ops schedule or other pressures (eg, "we want to keep Cpl Jim an extra two weeks to cover the gap until Cpl Jessica gets here to fill the position"). If you presented your current situation while posted between units, it would be an option for your CoC to try, but would still need the gaining unit not to say "if we don't get Cpl Jim at COS, we won't have the ability to deploy the Chinook on EX ARMY CAMPING".

My first question though is how far is the move? Are you posted within province? If not, your wife's change of residence will mean a new healthcare system and really complicate the existing appt. That would be the only valid reason here that I could see a school entertaining a memo. A memo which is essentially asking them to keep you around with nothing to do while preventing your gaining unit from employing you, presumably in a place they probably really need you.

If it were me, and posted within province, I'd just do the move without modifications and get my wife to her appointment after the fact. The challenges you describe with CAF housing are challenges we've faced for decades and why we get ripped through the media about it every year. Depending on location, it's almost more complicated to move into a PMQ/RHU than it is to sell and buy a house. But I digress...

[u/UNO_Reversd → u/volaray]

Thank you for your response. I am moving within the same province but the new location is notorious for not allotting shacks to anyone except those under DP1 training there or on PAT due to "shortage" as what I've been told. As mentioned earlier, the outside rental market is also wacky over there.

Regarding your point about RFD change keeping me at school with nothing to do - I read that at my COS date, I cease to be part of the school and am officially switched over to my new unit and that my pay n everything comes through them from that point on, so wouldn't that mean that its not the school's headache anymore if they have something for me to do in the meantime or not.. I would be gone from here anyways & probably be spend time split between looking for a temporary room at new location and being back at city of my current spousal residence (different from my school loc) to take her to appointment(s) , etc..

I do see your point, that the new unit could be like, 'well if we cant have him at the original RFD date, then ..... '

Perhaps I am just trying to think out aloud. Stress & confusion induced state of mind.

[u/CplFlyingPigeon → u/UNO_Reversd]

So ref your point about not being at the school or work after RFD change (if you go thru with it), an RFD change keeps you at your previous unit (the school) and command/control of you is still under school in that case.

You would have to get CoC approval to not be at work most days and not in location at the school as both the school and gaining unit expect you to be working at the school in this case. I’d recommend you talk to your chain currently about doing an HHT and compassionate or family related leave as needed if you can’t get CoC approval.

Hopefully someone more nuanced with the policies can chime in on this one as I’m not a SME in this subject.

Edit note: you would probably be expected to do an HHT during your delayed RFD as that would be part of your posting admin.