OCONUS PCS from an ROTC gig

Apparently not too many people move from an ROTC position to an overseas assignment.  We've been running into challenges through the entire process.  I'm not complaining about specific people as almost everyone has been super helpful.  It's just that no one really seems to know exactly what needs to be done and who we're supposed to contact to take care of things.

Normally, a PCSing servicemember lives on or near a military installation with all the offices needed.  This is not our situation.  We live outside Erie, PA.  Our closest military installation is Ft. Drum in upstate New York.  Driving there to handle simple paperwork is not preferred.  Darrell's brigade is at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, and Cadet Command is in Ft. Knox, Kentucky.

Usually, Darrell would attend a levy briefing that brings all of the people to one location to explain what needs to happen, the paperwork that needs to be submitted, and which offices the paperwork needs to be submitted to.  Darrell didn't get a levy briefing.

Each step of the way has been extremely frustrating.  Darrell has literally spent hours on the phone, just looking for the name and phone number for the person he needs to talk to.  Examples:

* Exceptional Family Member Program - the Army doesn't want to send dependents to a place that cannot support physical, mental, or educational needs.  Therefore, all dependents must be screened by an EFMP coordinator.  We all went to the doctor and got physicals, filled out some other paperwork, and faxed everything to the EFMP office at Ft. Drum.  They looked it over to make sure it was completed correctly, and sent it to an office on Oahu.  Since none of us need to be enrolled in the program, the approval came back quickly.  This allowed our names to be included on his PCS orders.

* Once we received the orders (which of course required more paperwork to be filled out and sent to his brigade who forwarded it to Cadet Command to actually publish them), we were able to start the household goods moving process.  This is now handled almost completely on www.move.mil.  However, before you can get started, you have to create an account and get log-in information.  But before I could do that, I had to get my laptop set up to use a card reader.  That was probably the easiest step in the process.  Once we were able to log in, I had to contact their help desk to find out why it wasn't working.  Ah, my pop-up blocker was on.  Why didn't they say that might be a problem?  Ok, fixed that, and ah, there's the screen we need.  Filled in all the info, selected the appropriate Ft. Dix office to approve everything, and submitted.  Only, wait - they want us to go through Carlisle Barracks?  That wasn't a choice.  Another few hours on the phone, and Darrell finally gets a name and phone number to someone that listens to our situation and agrees to help us find the right place to send this stuff.  Ok, great, there's the right fax number.  Signed and sent.  Sweet.  Still need to verify that the dates we've selected for pack-up and pick-up have been accepted.

* Now we need to move US.  The dogs are on our dime, so I won't get into that for now.  What the Army would prefer we do is drive our POV (privately owned vehicle) to the nearest Vehicle Processing Center and then fly from the nearest airport to that VPC.  Only that's not what we want to do.  I haven't seen my California family in a very long time, and since they're in the right direction, and because we want to ship our second POV as inexpensively as possible, we're going to be driving across the country to California, visiting people for a few days, and shipping the Rav4 from the west coast.  We're in luck, there's a company that ships from Oakland, great!  We happily make plans to ship the car and fly us out of Oakland.  Only wait - the Army can't fly us from Oakland because there's no Government VPC there.  Urgh.  They want us to fly from LA or San Diego.  Not interested in that, thanks.  It's about the same cost to fly the four of us from OAK to LAX as it is to drive down there, plus two nights at a hotel (because we'd need to drop the car off at the shippers, and there's no way to guarantee we could fly the same day as dropping off the car), yada yada.  So, we'll ship the car from OAK (we're paying for this one, so we can ship it from wherever we want), fly from OAK to LAX, get our bags from baggage claim, drop them off at the desk, go through security again, and then fly from LAX to HNL.  Yeah, that'll be fun.  The finance folks on this end are saying it'll almost all be on us to pay for, but I've been assured by many who've already done it that the Hawaii finance folks will cover the drive expenses.  We'll see.  Either way, we're doing it the way we want.

* And that's just the big stuff.  There's been many other this-and-that paperwork, phone calls, emails, waiting, and frustrations involved.  Fortunately, this isn't our first move so we're aware of how it all needs to happen.  I can't imagine having to do an OCONUS PCS right out of training!

Our last winter for years

We were so excited about snow last winter.  We moved to lake effect land and the average snowfall for the area is way more than we're used to.  Here's the data for the last 15 years or so – averaging 165 inches:

1995-1996       200.5 inches

1996-1997       187.5 inches

1997-1998       126.5 inches

1998-1999       150.5 inches

1999-2000       132.5 inches

2000-2001       245.0 inches

2001-2002       114.0 inches

2002-2003       220.0 inches

2003-2004       173.0 inches

2004-2005       169.0 inches

2005-2006       136.0 inches

2006-2007       165.0 inches

2007-2008       130.0 inches

2008-2009       182.0 inches

2009-2010       139.5 inches

2010-2011       150.0 inches

Imagine our excitement!!

But then?  Last year?  94.3 inches.  Yeah.  Better than anywhere else we've lived, but certainly not 165"+, and somehow Darrell was out of town for two of the three decent snowfalls.

So far this year?  1 inch.  With nothing expected the next ten days.  One inch through mid-December??!  What's that about??

We're all hoping to get walloped this winter, as it's our last chance for snow for the next few years...  Be careful what you ask for, people say.  Hell yes, I'm asking for it!  

Bring.

It.

On.

Once we get there...

Once we get there, we'll pick up the truck from the port (hopefully it'll get there before us - Darrell is driving it to St Louis in late January) and drive to the hotel.  We've reserved two rooms with a shared door - THANK GOODNESS - and we'll be there until we get a house.  We're hoping to live on post, and there's absolutely no way to know how long it'll take.

Darrell will sign in from the airport (required) and I have no idea how quickly he'll go through in-processing.

The hotel is zoned for the same schools as the housing area we want, so the boys will start school within a few days of our arrival.  I think we're good to go on paperwork and immunizations and such.

The dogs will have arrived before we left Pennsylvania and will remain at a kennel until we get a house.  We'll visit often and hope we get a house quickly.  They won't have to stay in quarantine since we've already worked through that process - they'll be released to a pet mover company we've hired to pick them up from the airport and take them to the kennel.

My car should arrive a few weeks after we do.  Our household goods could take as long as two months.  If we're lucky enough to get a house before our stuff gets to the island, Army Community Service has "aloha furniture" we'll borrow in the meantime.  Basic beds, table, couch, dishes - you get the idea.

I've been applying to jobs for weeks now.  I've had one interview so far, but have heard nothing about that position, nor any others I've applied for.  Once we're about 30 days before arrival, I can apply for participation in the Spouse Priority Placement Program (info here).  Hopefully, I won't be too long without a job.

Upcoming move...

We're still waiting for the Army to purchase our tickets from California to Hawaii.  Until that happens, we can't finalize the plan.  For now, though, the draft plan is as follows:

Departure Day-4 - packers box up our stuff
DD-3 - movers pick up our stuff
DD-2 - my last day at work, Darrell cleans the house
DD-1 - the boys' last day at school, Darrell takes the dogs to the airport (not sure which one yet), I observe the packers taking the stuff we're sending to storage, the carpet cleaners take over in the afternoon, and we pass the keys back to the landlord (we're sleeping at a hotel)
DD! - 11 hour drive (not including stops) to St Louis, hoping to get there in time for Pantera's Pizza!
DD+1 - stay the day visiting with family
DD+2 - lunch at HuHot on the way out of town, a six hour drive to Manhattan, and La Fiesta for dinner!
DD+3 - eight hour drive to Colorado Springs
DD+4 - stay the day visiting with family, Elephant Bar for lunch?
DD+5 - 10 hour drive to Salt Lake City
DD+6 - 12 hour drive to Petaluma
DD+7 - stay the day in Petaluma, drive to Suisun City
DD+8 - stay the day in Suisun City, drive to Santa Cruz
DD+9 - stay the day in Santa Cruz, drive to Aromas
DD+10 - drive to OAK, rent a car, drop the Rav4 at the dock, drive back to Aromas
DD+11 - drive to OAK, drop off rental, fly to LAX, fly to Honolulu

The Army won't fly us straight from OAK to HNL, but we sure as heck don't want to drive down to LA after already driving across the country.  So, we'll fly from OAK to LAX on our dime.  Whatever...

It's exhausting just thinking about it.  I'm very much looking forward to visiting with family and friends I haven't seen in a LONG time, but dreading all the miles and hours and sibling bickering, and road food, and unpacking and repacking the car, and....  *sigh*

But then?  We'll be in Hawaii.  Could be worse....

Tank update

Tank has lost a lot of weight. He started looking like a beer barrel with legs - no hips, no waist, no shoulders... He's down at least 15 pounds, with probably another 10 or so to go. He's our laid back dog. A bit pushy when his dog-brother is getting attention, but otherwise he's as easy as it gets.

Our next duty station

Since Darrell was promoted, he couldn't stay in the position for which we came to Pennsylvania.  Months later, we're on orders to Hawaii.  We leave soon.  Lots left to do, and a long trip ahead of us - but who's complaining?

We're now doing a snow dance.  Last winter was rather disappointing, nothing like we were expecting moving to the snow belt.  Since this will be our last true winter for several years, bring on the snow!!

A two dog family...

On February 25th, we welcomed our latest canine friend into the family.  His name is Dozer and he had a rough life before he came to live with us.

Almost ten months later, he is no longer afraid and hasn't had an accident in the house in about a month.  He's learned how to get our attention to let him out and we've learned to crate him while we're gone.  Fortunately, he enjoys his crate, as he goes in there to lay down even when the door is wide open.

He's awesome.  Still has some issues with jealousy (when petting Tank) and food nabbing (don't leave ANYTHING w/in reach!), but we'll keep working on those.

Our boxer boy, Dozer:

July 1st!!

Quick update

Oh my gosh, it's been forever.  So, I got the job I wanted and I LOVE it (actually, I was offered both and accepted the one I really wanted.  Yay me!)  I am very much happier at work.  It's amazing how much of a difference it makes, spending your day at a job that's fulfilling and meaningful.

We're still waiting for the Army to move down the promotion list and pick D's number.  They only chose three to promote in May.  It's taking longer than we hoped, but at least we know it will happen some time this year.

Also expected some time this year - our next PCS.  It might be to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.  Still working the plan, but there's nothing they can set into place until after D's replacement arrives.  So, we wait.  If all goes well, D will be working for his previous CSM, a man he respects greatly and enjoyed working for.  And the fact that it would be in Hawaii?  Double bonus.

If it happens, I'll be sharing some major concerns with you as we go through the process.  We've PCSed many times, but never over an ocean.  That minor fact makes things much more complicated!  *laugh*

Job update

Job 1: The One I Want.  Big raise, more responsibility, super busy.  Made it to round two, interviewing Monday morning.  The way they've explained it, the top three have made it this far.  Hoping for a decision made by Friday.

Job 2: Better Than Now.  No raise, extremely busy.  Had my interview last week.  Decision to be made in mid-February or later.

More details to follow, depending on what happens.