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Title 10 Money Kit

Your orders may end on the date on your orders as written, or be extended on short notice. These are the protections you already have and what to do now so a late change doesn't hit your wallet.

— — —Orders end
If you're extended

First 72 hours

  • Get a copy of the amended orders as soon as they're cut. Everything below keys off them.
  • Send the amended orders to your civilian employer. Your USERRA job protection carries through the extension.
  • Send them to every creditor you've claimed SCRA relief with, so the 6% cap keeps running.
  • Check myPay on the first payday after your end date. If pay, BAH or allowances drop, go to the pay-problem steps below the same day.
If you're released as scheduled

Before and after demob

  • Get back to your civilian job on time. After more than 180 days of service, you have 90 days to apply for reemployment: by 90 days after release.
  • Haven't filed SCRA letters yet? You still can, up to 180 days after release, and relief is retroactive.
  • Ask your readiness office about TRICARE transitional coverage (TAMP). Involuntary mobilization usually qualifies you for 180 days after release.
  • Check your final LES closely. Demob pay errors are common, and AFAS covers pay problems.

SCRA interest-rate cap

50 U.S.C. §3937

Debt you took on before your orders is capped at 6% a year, fees included, while you're on active duty. Lenders must forgive interest above 6%, not defer it, and apply the cap retroactively.

Covers
Credit cards, car loans, personal loans and mortgages opened before your orders were issued
Doesn't cover
New debt opened after your orders were issued
How to claim
Written request plus a copy of your orders to each lender. The base legal office has a free sample letter.
Mortgages
The cap continues for one year after your service ends

Deadline if released as scheduled: send your letters no later than 180 days after release (180 days after release). If extended, the clock starts at the new end date.

Air & Space Forces Aid Society

afas.org

The Air Force's own relief society. Guard members are eligible regardless of duty status, so you stay eligible after demob.

Falcon Assistance
Fast, interest-free loan up to $1,500. Usually no budget review. Repaid over 2–15 months by bank ACH.
Standard Assistance
Interest-free loan, grant, or both, sized to the need. Covers rent and living costs, car and home repair, emergency travel, medical, and pay or allotment problems.
$500 off your loan
Finish the free online Financial Lift-Off course and AFAS credits a one-time $500 toward a loan received on or after 1 Jan 2026.
How to apply
Online at portal.afas.org, or at any Military & Family Readiness Center

What AFAS isn't for: ongoing support, such as covering a monthly drop in civilian pay for the length of an extension. It's built for a specific emergency: a missed payment, a broken car, a pay gap.

Other relief funds

Use these when AFAS doesn't cover the whole need, or when a grant would help more than another loan.

Grant · up to $2,500

VFW Financial Assistance

Formerly "Unmet Needs." For activated Guard whose hardship comes directly from a deployment, a military pay error that isn't their fault, or a pending medical discharge. On home-station orders, a pay error is the usual way in. It's a grant, and VFW pays the creditor directly.

vfw.org · 1-866-789-6333
Grant · up to $2,500

American Legion TFA

For members on current Title 10 orders with children under 18 at home. Covers shelter, utilities, food and medical. Start at a local post before your orders end; Legion membership isn't required.

legion.org · local post
Emergency relief

NDNG Foundation Emergency Relief Fund

For North Dakota Guard members and families hit by a sudden emergency: accident, illness, fire, theft or disaster. Paper application mailed to P.O. Box 5511, Bismarck, ND 58506-5511.

ndngfoundation.org · (701) 791-3000, opt 8
Grant or 0% loan

National Guard Relief Foundation

Run by EANGUS, but membership isn't required. Current, retired and former Guard members can get a hardship grant or an interest-free loan for housing, utilities, medical bills and similar costs.

ngrelief.org · 800-234-3264

Only if you deployed forward: Operation Homefront (E-1 to E-6 on Title 10 orders, deploying to a hostile-fire-pay zone within 90 days or back from one within 180 days) and the Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund (Minnesota service members who served in a combat zone). A home-station activation usually won't qualify for either.

Which fund to try first

Start at the top. Most needs stop at AFAS; the later steps cover what's left.

Loan or mixedGrant, no repayment

  1. Did your military pay stop, drop or post wrong?

    Yes
    Report it to the orderly room or finance todayBring your LES and orders. On the AFAS application, choose "pay or allotment problems." A pay error that isn't your fault also qualifies for a VFW grant of up to $2,500.Then continue below for the bill itself.
    No
    Go to the next question

  2. Is the amount you need $1,500 or less?

    Yes
    AFAS Falcon AssistanceFastest option. Interest-free, usually no budget review.
    No
    AFAS Standard AssistanceInterest-free loan, grant, or both, based on a budget review.

  3. Did AFAS cover the whole need?

    Yes
    DoneTake the Financial Lift-Off course for a one-time $500 credit on the loan.
    No, or you can't take another loan
    Go to the next question

  4. Do you have children under 18 at home?

    Yes
    American Legion TFAGrant up to $2,500 for the children's needs. Start at a local post before your orders end; it needs current orders.Still short? Continue below.
    No
    Go to the next question

  5. Was it a sudden emergency: accident, illness, fire, theft or disaster?

    Yes
    NDNG Foundation Emergency Relief FundMail the paper application to Bismarck.
    No, or still short
    National Guard Relief FoundationHardship grant or interest-free loan at ngrelief.org.
Do these alongside any step
  • SCRA letters to any lender charging more than 6% on debt from before your orders. This lowers the bill instead of funding it.
  • Free financial counseling from Military OneSource or the readiness center if the gap will last more than a month or two.

If your pay breaks

  1. Document it. Screenshot the LES and pull a copy of your current or amended orders.
  2. Report it the same day to your unit orderly room or finance. Pay fixes move faster with orders in hand.
  3. Call your creditors before a payment is due. Tell them you're on military orders and send an SCRA letter if you haven't.
  4. If a bill can't wait, apply to AFAS under "pay or allotment problems." Falcon is the fastest route under $1,500. If AFAS doesn't cover it all, work through the fund list above.
  5. Get free counseling from Military OneSource or the readiness center's personal financial counselor if the gap will last.

Who to call

AFAS headquarters703-972-2650Questions about eligibility or an application
American Red Cross1-877-272-7337Processes AFAS requests if no military installation is within 50 miles
VFW Financial Assistance1-866-789-6333Grants for pay errors and deployment hardship
NDNG Foundation(701) 791-3000, opt 8Emergency Relief Fund. Also info@ndngfoundation.org
National Guard Relief Foundation800-234-3264Grants and interest-free loans
Military OneSource800-342-9647Free financial counseling, 24/7
Wing legal officeBase directorySCRA letters and USERRA questions

Not near an Air Force base? Army Emergency Relief, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance offices can all process an AFAS request. Full guide, calculator and all benefits: activation.theintelligence.company