NBC 5 Responds helps military veteran retrieve missing retirement checks

Retired Master Sergeant Craig Shannon spent 25 years in the Air Force.

That’s also where he met his wife, Alma, a retired tech sergeant.

“One of the things that they tell you is, ‘hey, your sacrifice will lead to a better retired life,’” said Shannon.

The sacrifices were great. The Shannons were stationed apart over the years, sometimes in different countries. Their two children temporarily lived with grandparents while the Shannons were abroad.

Finally, the Shannons were ready to settle into retirement in Craig’s hometown of Chicago. Their two children attend college in Illinois.

However, Craig noticed something was amiss in August. His retirement check was missing.

“And, I looked back, and I was like, wait, there’s none for July either.”

After retirement, Craig took a contracting job with the federal government. He was laid off around the same time his retirement checks stopped showing up, so he called the U.S. government’s Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) department.

“Initially, the guy that I got, he said, ‘I have no idea what’s going on here. I’ve never seen this before.’ Essentially, he told me he couldn’t help me,” said Shannon.

“And each time I called, 45–50-minute waits, you know, and ‘well, my supervisor’s busy.’”

Craig says he called at least a dozen times with no answers.

“[I] just felt helpless because it was like nothing I could do.”

Finally, after four missed payments, the Shannons turned to NBC 5 Responds for help. One day after the consumer investigative team reached out, Craig says he got a call back.

“And sure enough, it was the branch chief of Defense Finance out of Cleveland calling and said, ‘hey, our media department received a message from NBC Chicago about your pay, and I want to get you taken care of.’”

In a brief statement to NBC 5 Responds, a spokesperson for DFAS said, “we are restricted from discussing aspects of individual accounts by the Privacy Act.”

The statement goes on to say, “Mr. Shannon’s retired pay issue has been resolved, and I recommend you discuss actions taken with him directly.”

Craig says he never got an answer as to why the checks stopped coming, other than a possible system glitch. He tells NBC 5 Responds he received his regular check, and the backpay, on December 1^st.

He’s now sharing his story to make sure it’s not happening to anyone else.

“That was really my biggest fear because I mean, God took care of us, you know, we were in a position, fortunately, you know, where he made sure that we could still maintain.”