This allowance is payable only to members with families. There are two types of FSA - Type I (equivalent to BAQ-S) and Type II ($75 per month). A member may be entitled to both types simultaneously. FSA Type I is paid to a member whose family members are restricted at the new OCONUS duty station and government quarters are not available at the new duty station.
FSA Type II (sometimes referred to as FSA-R, FSA-S and FSA-T) is designed to compensate married members for added expenses incurred because of enforced separation from their families for each of the following circumstances: being restricted (FSA-R) from moving the member's family to a new duty station; deploying away from the ship's homeport (FSA-S) greater than 30 consecutive days; or deploying on temporary duty (FSA-T) away from the permanent command for 30 consecutive days or more.
FSA-R may be paid to members enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member (EFM) Program and who are ordered to move to a new duty station without their dependent(s) at the EFM Program Manager's direction. FSA-R is not paid to members who voluntarily separate from their families for personal reasons (spouse employment, school stability, etc.). See MILPERSMAN 2620350.
In the case of joint military couples (with dependents), unlike BAQ, FSA-Type II may alternate between members based on the same dependent(s).
Effective Sept. 24, 1996, one member of a joint military couple (without other dependents) is now entitled to FSA-Type II when they meet the aforementioned Type-II criteria. For more information on FSA, consult Chapter 27 of the DODFMR.
