I Love My Army Soldier - Forum & Chat Board | First Army Move --- HELP!

Okay, I'm a new army wife (Yeah!), The hubby is getting ready to graduate AIT and then its off to .....WHEREVER! I've moved alot in my life but I have no idea how this "Army Thing" works. Will the military pay for it or will they move us themselves? Where will we live when we get there (especially if there's a wait for housing)? Will we be able to take our stuff with us or will we have to go back to get it later? ect. I JUST NEED INFO, EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLE TELL ME ABOUT HOW THIS WORKS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! Please and Thanks.

 Yes, if he is done AIT the gov will move you to your next PCS. If you want them too. You could do a DITY move but that is up to you  (DITY do it yourself) or even  partial DITY moves. I have done full DITY's, full gov moves and partials. Personally I like the full gov moves because they will hold your stuff till ya can find a home. With DITY's it's you your gear all the time. Yes I suppose you can make some extra cash by doing a full DITY, however, I am not getting any younger and neither is my back, sholder, elbows, knees, and my sofa seems to get heavier every year I have a birthday.

 Now PLEASE, DON'T DO what every young new spouse does, and that is freak out and sign a contract for an apartment that they saw on craig's list or websites like that. And then when they get there it is in poor shape or in a bad neighborhood. Once you and Your hubby find out where he is going DO find the offical Website for that post. And look under lodging get the phone number for the "hotel" or lodging on that post and stay there. If you have pets you might need a hotel off post or look up  kennels so you can drop them off while you stay on post. DO Take a couple of days at the new post before he has to sign in to get to know the post roads and the town next to it while you look for your new apartment/house. (it's not just a job it's an adventure)

Do try not to over spend, and Do remember to pack: Band aids, Blister blockers, zit cream, Midol, Imodium, Ibuprofen, Tums, (you will be eating out allot) Simply sleep, (you have had allot of coffee)Handwipes, toilet seat covers, toothbrushes toothpaste, floss, Decongetstant nasal spray (trust me) one small can of Lysol, 1 roll of toliet paper, hair ties, and shampoo. oh yea and possibly Dramamine. Keep all of those things handy. I keep all of those things in an old but clean tackle  boxes. When Chase comes home with orders First thing I do is go for the tackle boxes and start making sure everything is fresh or needs an update, like with kids I added themometers and kid meds, because PCS fact of life, someone is going to get ill so be ready. I also like to take my own pillows too. Take DVD's and Ipods, and entertanment sometimes I have had to wait for Cable in new quarters for 2 weeks. So be prepared for that. I gotta Run, Keep asking good questions this was fun! ((Hug)) Cindy 

Not sure if this post is late or not...

I've lived both sides - I was enlisted for 4 years in the 90's and now I've been married to an Army officer for almost 2 years.

The Army does pay for the move. He should be getting direction from someone about who to contact. My husband is an officer so I am not sure if it is different for enlisted but he had a liaison at the new post that we were in contact with a couple months beforehand. Once I knew where we were going, I started looking up places to rent online that were near the post. One of the best sites through the military is ahrn.com and militarybyowner.com. These are houses for rent. There will probably be a wait for housing. Housing is nice because you have no bills except the phone, cable, etc. When you live off-post though, you can have a bit of extra income depending on your rent due to his allowance (depending on his rank).

I would think that your husband should have had his orders already. I got them about 2 months before graduating AIT and I went to Germany. I got married the day I graduated AIT and he couldn't come over for almost 3 months. I had to wait for the p'work to go through and then get housing before they would pay for him to come over. Either that, or he would have had to find a place and pay for it and his plane ticket out of his own pocket. We didn't have the money at the time to do that.

If you are moving overseas, then it is different. Your goods will be shipped and won't arrive for about a month or so, including your vehicle. I believe you can only bring 1 car but am not sure as I did not own 1 at the time and just bought 1 there from another soldier going back to the US.

A lot depends on when you get married also - especially if he's going overseas. If you got married before he enlisted, or during the time he's been in and you are added as his dependent in his military file, then you'll go with him (overseas). If you recently got married and are not his dependent yet, then you may have to wait until the p'work is complete to join him overseas or pay for a ticket yourself to go with him. He cannot get housing unless his file states that he has a dependent.

I would call ahead to the post and book the room (lodging) for the time when you know you'll be there. It will be much cheaper to stay there and you'll get to know the post. If you live off-post, it is best to live near it as that is where he'll be working and you'll probably want to shop at the commissary (tax-free).

Another suggestion would be to have your husband invite over guys from his unit who are married (so you can meet other Army wives) and women from his unit (probably those who are lsomarried) so you make new friends and don't get lonely. This way, you'll feel more involved in his life and get tips from other spouses who have lived this life for awhile.

go to futuresoldier.com and click on spouse handbook and it will telly ou everything you need to know. need anything just ask