April 2009 

Campaign 2009:

1.  Stateside sections who are participating in the Retiree Solicitation program will be receiving response forms from Retirees with donations and allotments.  This form has been redesigned this year.   For those new to the Retiree response forms, please enter the client ID which can be found on the front, top right-side of the form.  The client ID is three capital letters-two numbers-four numbers (i.e.: ABC-12-3456).   In Samaritan, change the SSN field to client ID by using the drop-down.  Once the client ID is entered, all the fields will populate for you (saves a LOT of typing).  Finally, complete the allotment or donation amount.

On the back side of the returned response form is the allotment information. If you receive an allotment form and the box is checked to renew this allotment annually, please enter the information into your program, THEN FORWARD THE ALLOTMENT FORM TO HQAER, ATTN: Susan.  You can hold onto these until the end of Campaign and send them all at once.

2. Approval to conduct the AER Campaign outside the March 1 - 15 May dates requires the approval of your Installation Commander.

3. Process cash and checks in the normal manner and send them to the Baltimore lock box address as in previous years.  Please enter checks as you get them.   

4. Allotments for the 2009 Campaign will run from June 2009 through May 2010. Minimum monthly allotment is $1.00/month.  ALL allotments must run at least 3 months but no greater than 12 months.

5. Each section is responsible for writing "Thank You" letters for contributions of $250 or greater. Please DO NOT WAIT to do this!  Two weeks from the time you enter the contribution until sending out a thank you letter should be sufficient time.

6. Certificates of Appreciation will be sent to every section by the end of April.  You will receive the quantity requested in your 2008 After action report.

7. After Action reports should be sent to HQAER as soon as possible after campaign 2009 ends based on your totals at that time.  Please include supply requests for 2010 campaign in your report. (Certificates of Appreciation, DA form 4908, Tri-fold brochures and posters)  The supplies you are sent each year is based on this information.

8. Once Campaign has ended, if you get additional allotment forms, cash or check contributions, PLEASE CONTINUE TO PROCESS THESE.  DO NOT turn away donations no matter what time of year they are given! Input them into Samaritan program and process everything no matter when you receive the donation. 

Cashing AER Checks:

AER account manager at SunTrust Bank, Lisa Schreiber has approved that the $5.00 fee to cash a SunTrust check for a non-account holder will be waived for AER account.  There will be a message added to our account to let the tellers know.  They were very open to helping the Soldiers cash our assistance checks without fees and keeping them from using other check cashing options.

 Update AER Staff Listing: 

E-Pay Online: 

In order for Clients to use this program they must register on the AER website www.AERHQ.org.  At the home page under   you will click on the link listed below. 

AER Online Loan Payment
 

Assistance:

AERO’s are reminded to periodically check the AERO Section Reference Manual (SRM) for updates and policy issues.   Three recent changes concerning categories of assistance have been placed in the SRM.

1.   The Army no longer has a category of leave called Ordinary Leave under Emergency Conditions.  It has been replaced with Ordinary leave under Other situations.  Clarification has been placed in the SRM, page 26, and reads: There are many instances where, in the Soldiers opinion, an emergency exists but the situation does not meet the Army criteria for granting emergency leave.  When a Commander recognizes such a situation exists and enters in the remarks section of DA Form 31 “That approval for ordinary leave is in accordance with parameters of para 6-1(f), AR 600-8-10” then AER assistance is authorized.  This could be a situation involving a grandparent (not in loco parentis), aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, or nephew.

2.  On 10 March 2009, the Army announced guidance for Paternity Leave.  This is an authorized category for AER assistance and placed in SRM on page 27, and reads:  Paternity Leave, Soldiers granted paternity leave may seek AER assistance for required travel and related maintenance expenses such as transportation, lodging, and food.

3.  Additional guidance has been provided for situations not covered in AR 930-4 and SRM.  On page 33 under Others and reads:    Countless situations, or scenarios, exist in which Soldiers may seek AER assistance for resolution.  It is an unrealistic effort to attempt to identify all the various categories and situations in which AER funds may be utilized to help Soldiers meet their immediate needs.  AERO’s approach to casework should be to look for ways in which to say “Yes” when a Soldiers request is reasonable, realistic, and passes the common sense test. An example would be a Soldier requesting AER assistance for immigration or passport fees.  This situation is not covered in AR 930-4, or the AERO Section Reference Manual, but the circumstances and need for financial assistance is understandable.  Should the Soldier not have the funds to obtain these items it could result in a family separation.  This separation may contribute to additional financial burdens, or hardships, placed upon the Soldier resulting from maintaining two separate households. 

Samaritan:

Assistance Case Data Entry:

It’s been reported that most sections have problems when trying to input Puerto Rico addresses.  The system defaults to USA as the Country. In the example below, if you change the Country to Puerto Rico, the PR address should validate and you should be able to load your case information.  Note: THIS IS ONLY VALID FOR PUERTO RICO ADDRESSES ONLY