Much to the relief of airmen and dependents living on bases, the Air Force said yesterday it would pay an allowance to be used once per mold-to-mold housing move, or from one base to another base as during a PCS. Though the mold-to-mold allowance (MTMA) comes with stipulations, a single instance of denial has yet to be logged, officials said.

Scott Air Force Base has served as the test location for mold-to-mold move allowances for the past nine years, or about three PCS cycles. Built originally in 1917, the base has Colonial and Georgian-style homes, ranch duplexes built in the 1960s, apartments built in the 1990s, and two geographically separated neighborhoods of post-millennial homes. 

“Probably the neatest thing for our kids was getting to experience mold from both the early 1920s in the Georgian homes at Scott, then Japanese mold when we PCS’d to Kadena, then modern mold when we came back to Scott and had a chance to live in the newer homes,” said Col. Ben Kensington, who is now stationed at Scott for a staff tour. “The allowance has helped us replace non-washable items like fabric couches and clothes, and the kids have such a unique and nuanced expanse of respiratory issues, we feel so lucky to be in the Air Force where housing is really varied.”

He added: “Military kids are fortunate to be exposed to things other kids don’t.”