Humanitarian Assignment (HUMS) Request

General

A humanitarian assignment (HUMS) is a special assignment authorized to alleviate a hardship so severe an emergency leave cannot fully resolve it. As a rule, all HUMS are at no cost to the government. However, in some very limited, unusual cases, the service may decide the overall situation warrants the service’s funding a permanent change of station (PCS) transfer. If so, the member will transfer under regular PCS orders under other sections of this Manual. This Article can be used to document procedures for this special situation.

Purpose

Military service includes duty involving forced, prolonged absences that inconvenience Coast Guard families. Occasionally, situations arise when the member's presence is essential to alleviate a hardship the family has encountered that other Coast Guard members do not normally encounter. Emergency leave is often sufficient to alleviate the hardship or emergency, but consideration must be given to the advisability of a HUMS or discharge due to hardship before granting extended emergency leave involving excess leave. See Article 2.A.2.d. of this Manual for guidance on approving excess leave.

  1. Members must be aware certain conditions are long term. However, careful personal management of a long-term situation can result in a member once again becoming available for reassignment. The list below shows some long-term conditions normally requiring external intervention to resolve. However, for this Article’s purposes, a member can employ military, community, state, or federal intervention services to help manage them.
    1. Visual impairment or blindness.
    2. Hearing impairment or deafness.
    3. Learning disability.
    4. Chronic illness or health impairment such as heart disease, cancer, asthma, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, diabetes, etc.
    5. Emotional or psychological illnesses (spouse and children only) such as autism, schizophrenia, etc.
    6. Physical handicaps such as cerebral palsy, arthritis, spina bifida, etc.
    7. Mental retardation.
    8. Multiple handicaps.
  2. Commander (CG PSC-EPM) considers a situation manageable once the family and member:
    1. Demonstrate the ability to manage the situation.
    2. Present adequate long-range planning for the situation WITH and WITHOUT the member's presence. For example, a member could elect an unaccompanied tour, allowing their dependents to remain in an area where adequate resources are available.
    3. Demonstrate the situation no longer significantly impedes their availability for unrestricted reassignment. (See Article 1.A.6. of this Manual.)
  3. Work-Life staff managers are available to assist a member experiencing a family hardship or emergency.

Duration

Commander (CG PSC-EPM) normally authorizes no-cost TDY orders for a maximum of six months for a HUMS because the situation involved is usually temporary. In some cases, if the hardship continues after six months, Commander (CG PSC-EPM) may authorize no-cost PCS orders for up to two years for humanitarian reasons. If it appears the member will not be available for unlimited reassignment on completing the HUMS, Commander (CG PSC-EPM) considers the hardship a permanent situation and normally will initiate discharge by reason of hardship.

Criteria

These are the criteria for requesting a HUMS:

  1. The member has encountered a severe hardship other Coast Guard members normally do not.
  2. The hardship has arisen or deteriorated excessively since the member entered their current enlistment and the cause is beyond the member's control.
  3. The problem affects the service member's immediate family, (i.e., husband, wife, son, daughter, step-child, parent, step-parent, or other person acting in loco-parentis. See Article 2.A.5.d. of this Manual for definition.) or any bona fide dependents. Normally, this definition does not include in-laws unless they are bona fide dependents but selected cases may be considered individually.
  4. No other relatives capable of providing the necessary assistance are nearby.
  5. The member’s presence is essential to alleviate the hardship.
  6. In addition to meeting these criteria, a service need normally must exist before a permanent change of station will be authorized; (i.e., the receiving unit should have a current or projected billet vacancy). It is important to note consideration for authorizing temporary permissive travel is based on the merits of the hardship alone but consideration for authorizing PCS permissive travel is based on both the merits of the hardship and the needs of the Coast Guard.
  7. These additional restrictions apply to non-rated members:
    1. The service normally will not authorize PCS HUMS for non-rated personnel. Commander (CG PSC-EPM) may authorize a member TDY HUMS for a maximum of six months for non-rated personnel. Generally, if the member’s hardship cannot or does not abate within six months, the member may request either to return to their permanent unit or a discharge by reason of hardship.
    2. Non-rated members serving on HUMS must first present clear documentation the hardship situation is completely resolved and they are available for worldwide assignment in accordance with service needs before Commander (CG PSC-EPM) will permit them to attend “A” School training.

Urgent Hardship Cases

Commanding officers should authorize emergency leave for all urgent hardship cases. Message requests for a HUMS normally are inadvisable because they do not contain enough information to evaluate and determine properly. Commanding officers should advise members if the emergency leave granted is insufficient to resolve the hardship, they should consult the nearest Coast Guard unit, which will assist them to submit a request to extend leave or, if appropriate, for a HUMS.

Restrictions on HUMS

  1. Members serving on HUMS first must present clear documentation the hardship situation is completely resolved and they are available for unlimited reassignment in accordance with service needs before Commander (CG PSC-EPM) will permit them to reenlist or extend beyond the HUMS termination date or attend class "A" School training. Members advanced to pay grades E-7 through E-9 are required to obligate for two years of active duty from the date of advancement; however, discharge will still be initiated if, upon completion of the HUMS, they are unavailable for unlimited assignment.
  2. Members who desire to extend their enlistment will send their request to Commander (CG PSC-EPM) via the chain of command 60 days before they complete their enlistment. Unless the hardship that generated the HUMS has improved, Commander (CG PSC-EPM) will authorize an extension only to the end of the HUMS. Therefore, requests should contain documentation to substantiate the hardship has improved or ended if the requested extension is longer than the HUMS.
  3. Members serving on a HUMS normally may not attend a resident service course of instruction. Commander (CG PSC-EPM) may waive this restriction.
  4. Commanding officers will report members ineligible to reenlist due to a still-existing hardship to Commander (CG PSC-EPM) 60 days before enlistment expires and ensure members separated while serving on HUMS receive their appropriate reenlistment code.
  5. Commander (CG PSC-EPM) must approve extending members on active duty in advance. When Commander (CG PSC-EPM) has authorized a HUMS, the member’s commanding officer will ensure an Administrative Remarks, Form CG-3307, entry is prepared for the member’s personnel data record to document this prohibition. Such entry does not permanently bar a member’s reenlistment or extension of enlistment, but is intended to require reevaluating those cases involving hardships of sufficient duration to jeopardize the member's future unrestricted assignment.
  6. Members may not serve two humanitarian assignments for the same hardship but may serve multiple HUMS for subsequent, unrelated hardships.

Preparing Requests

  1. Each basic request must contain:

    2. (a) A brief statement outlining how the HUMS will alleviate or resolve the hardship.

    (b) The requested HUMS locale and location of the nearest Coast Guard unit.

    (c) Dependents’ current address.

    (d) Names of both the member's and spouse's family members, listing their age, marital status, and address, with a statement about each adult family member’s ability to assist.

    (e) This statement or a full justification of the member's financial situation:

    “This unsolicited request is made for my own convenience. I realize no expense to the government will be authorized in connection with any travel authorization that may be issued incident to this request.”

    (f) A statement as to whether the member intends to request a discharge by reason of hardship if the requested HUMS is not approved. See Article 1.D.3. of reference (b), Military Separations, COMDTINST M1000.4 (series) for policy guidance.

  2. Include these enclosures with the basic request:

    3. (a) A current BAH Dependency Data Report, Form CG-4170A, Designation of Beneficiaries & Record of Emergency Data, Form CG-2020D, SLGI Election and Certificate, Form SGLV-8286, and (if the member has a spouse) SGLI Family Coverage Election, Form SGLV-8286A,

    (b) Statements from two or more persons personally knowledgeable of the situation,

    (c) If feasible, a statement from the dependent concerned about the nature of the hardship and why the member's presence is necessary, and

    (d) If illness is involved, the attending physician’s written statement. It is important this statement include the dependent’s diagnosis, prognosis and, if applicable, life expectancy described so an average person can ascertain the illness’s cause and determining factors.

Submitting Requests While in a Leave Status

While in a leave status members may submit requests for a HUMS to their district commander, logistics/service center commander, or commanding officer, Headquarters unit, as appropriate. The nearest commanding officer should assist such members. A copy of all documentation and message traffic should be forwarded to the commanding officer of the member’s permanent unit. Granting permissive travel authorization for a temporary HUMS during an emergency while gathering the documentation necessary for a permanent change of station HUMS request is appropriate. In addition to the information Article 1.B.11.g. of this Manual requires, also include the following:

  1. Leave address and telephone number,
  2. Date and place leave expires, and
  3. Estimated departure date and time from leave address to return from leave on time.

Command Endorsement

The commanding officer's endorsement will contain the following:

  1. A recommendation for approval or disapproval; if the commanding officer believes a HUMS will not the resolve the problem, they will recommend a proper course of action,
  2. Any pertinent information the commanding officer has learned by personal interview or contact that the request does not contain,
  3. Date enlistment expires or eligible for release from active duty, and
  4. Current earned leave credit and amount of leave taken in connection with the hardship.

Request to Extend a HUMS

This Article applies to all TDY or PCS HUMS authorized for less than two years. If warranted, submit requests to extend a HUMS in these cases as follows:

  1. At least one month before the current HUMS expires,
  2. The command to which the member is assigned TDY should endorse the extension request and send a copy to the member’s permanent unit, or
  3. Current information on the status of the hardship, including the attending physician’s new statement with current diagnosis and prognosis in the case, and any new facts or reasons why the extension is necessary.

Reporting HUMS Completion

  1. The commanding officer of the unit to which a member is attached for a HUMS will become familiar with the member’s situation, assist as practical in resolving the hardship, and keep informed about the case.
  2. When the conditions that caused the HUMS cease to exist or the HUMS period has expired, the command of the unit to which the member is attached will promptly have the member submit a letter requesting termination of their HUMS to Commander (CG PSC) via the member's administrative chain of command. The termination letter must contain documentation (e.g., counselor’s statement, court documents demonstrating final judgment) showing the reasons causing the humanitarian assignment have been resolved and the member is available for worldwide assignment. In case of death, no additional documents other than the termination letter are needed. At least one month before the HUMS expires, the member should request either an extension if the original HUMS was granted for less than two years or HUMS termination as described here.
  3. After Commander (CG PSC) has approved, in the report of HUMS completion, include this statement on an Administrative Remarks, Form CG-3307, entry or letter as appropriate for the member's personnel data record:
    4. “I have been counseled on the requirement of Article 1.B.11., Military Assignments and Authorized Absences, COMDTINST M1000.8 (series), about my availability for unrestricted worldwide assignment. I further certify the situation that caused my original request, described in my letter 1326 of [insert date] has been completely alleviated and I am now available for unrestricted worldwide assignment.”
  4. Because a TDY HUMS is short-term, it is not necessary to request termination. However, the member’s permanent command should report the member’s completion of the TDY HUMS and their return to the unit to Commander (CG PSC) via message traffic.

Special Instructions

  1. Commander (CG PSC-EPM) will normally issue members assigned under this Article either temporary or permanent permissive travel authorization. Permanent means the member’s permanent duty station changes to the new unit.
  2. Members issued permissive travel authorization are so authorized at their own request and for their own convenience.

    3. (a) Before accepting this permissive travel authorization, the member will sign an Administrative Remarks, Form CG-3307, entry or letter as appropriate stating they understand they are not entitled to reimbursement for any expenses including:

    (b) Members will travel in a leave status. The permissive travel authorization will not authorize proceed or travel time and will contain this statement:

    “This authorization is issued with the understanding you will not be reimbursed for mileage or any other expense in connection with it. If you do not desire to bear this expense, consider this authorization canceled.”

    (c) When Commander (CG PSC-EPM) grants a PCS HUMS, the member’s command will prepare an Administrative Remarks, Form CG-3307, entry or letter as appropriate for the member’s personnel data record stating the member must first present clear documentation the hardship is completely resolved and they are available for unrestricted reassignment in accordance with service needs before Commander (CG PSC-EPM) will permit that member to reenlist.

  3. Members may be entitled to basic subsistence and housing allowances if government messing and quarters are not available.