Cherry Point – BAH, Basic Allowance for Housing, Rates, 2026
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Congress authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on 9 July 1941, with an initial appropriation of $14,990,000 for construction and clearing of an 8,000 acre (32 km2) tract of swamps, farms and timberland.
Actual clearing of the site began on 6 August 1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Construction began in November just 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Cushman served as the Marine Corps representative supervising construction by the Navy Civil Engineer Corps and later served as the first commanding officer of the air station.
MCAS Cherry Point looking Southwest from 7,000 foot altitude, September 19, 1942
On 20 May 1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps’ first aviator, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees.
Cherry Point’s primary World War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. The air station also served as a base for anti-submarine operations, with an Army Air Forces (22nd Antisubmarine Squadron) and later a Navy squadron each being responsible for the sinking of a German U-boat just off the North Carolina coast during 1943.
Cherry Point’s contribution to the Korean War effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units.
During the Vietnam War, Cherry Point deployed three A-6 Intruder squadrons to the Far East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel.
In Operation Desert Storm, Cherry Point was a major contributor to the victory in Southwest Asia by supporting the deployment of three AV-8B Harrier squadrons, two A-6E Intruder squadrons, one KC-130 Hercules squadron, one EA-6B Prowler squadron, and headquarters detachments from Marine Aircraft Group 14, Marine Aircraft Group 32, and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Cherry Point Marines and Navy Corpsmen participated in strike missions and follow-on operations in Afghanistan and its surrounding region during Operation Enduring Freedom, which was initiated on 7 October 2001.
On 8 September 2007, the headquarters building (198) was gutted by a fire. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Headquarters Building was on 29 July 2009, with completion planned for sometime in 2011.
What is the Cherry Point BAH?
Basic allowance for housing (BAH) at Cherry Point is the military entitlement given to many military members. It was previously called Basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) and is administered by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO).
How does BAH work at Cherry Point?
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is calculated based on several factors, primarily the location of the military member’s duty station, their pay grade, and whether they have dependents. BAH rates are determined annually by the Department of Defense and are intended to cover a portion of the housing costs for military personnel. The rates can vary significantly from one location to another, reflecting the cost of living in that area. If the military member has dependents, they typically receive a higher BAH rate to account for their larger housing needs. BAH is not taxable as income.
Eligibility factors at Cherry Point
Basic allowance for housing is given to members so that they can provide housing for themselves and their dependents (usually spouse and children). BAH is given when the member or their dependents do not occupy government quarters or barracks. BAH is non-taxable money paid on a monthly basis. There are 3 factors for determining the amount of BAH:
Marriage Status
In the United States, as of 2018, the U.S. military required its members to produce marriage documentation.
Pay grade
This is essentially synonymous with rank, the higher the grade, the higher the BAH.
Dependents
There are 2 types or BAH, with dependents and without dependents. The rationale behind this is that a single person doesn’t need as much room as a couple or a family.
The following do not affect the amount of BAH:
- The number of dependents (a member with a spouse and no children and a spouse and one or several children receive the same amount of BAH).
- The actual amount paid for rent.
- The size of the unit (unlike other calculations like HUD’s FMR)
Location affects BAH at Cherry Point in North Carolina
BAH is intended to match the average monthly rent at Cherry Point, thus more expensive regions (they are indexed by zip codes) to live allocate more BAH. Depending on the status of the assignment (such as temporary duty, or an unaccompanied assignment) the BAH may be calculated where the dependents actually reside.
Who can qualify for BAH at Cherry Point?
Reservists
Reservists who are activated, even if they are housed by the military during their mobilization, are still paid BAH on the assumption that a reservist still may have the civilian obligations (like a mortgage) that BAH is designed to offset.
Veterans
Veterans who are full-time students taking advantage of the Post 9-11 GI Bill are given an allowance pegged to the BAH with dependents rate for an E-5, irrespective of their rank or dependent status.
Service members
A service member who is married makes substantially more allowance money than a single member. Reports of soldiers marrying for the extra pay are not uncommon.
Every location in the U.S. has a BAH, including those without a significant military population. Non-military areas are combined with similar priced rental markets based on U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) data, and then use same RDN BAH source data available for similar areas. These comparably priced groups are called “County Cost Groups” (CCGs). There are 39 CCGs in the U.S, consisting of half of all counties (about 1,500) containing less than two percent of the uniformed services’ population eligible to receive BAH.
2026 Enlisted Rates for Cherry Point BAH Calculator
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2026 Warrant Officer Rates for Cherry Point BAH Calculator
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