Military Families
TheLovingWife
member
Advice for a possible soon to be military family...
TheLovingWife
member
My DH is in the process of applying to AF OTS and he his leaning towards enlisiting if he does not get accepted as an officer. We currently have an 18month old and are expecting another in Fed. I am looking for adivce from anyone who has joined the military with a family already started.
What was is like when DH went to basic training? Does the military help you move to your first duty station? and any other advice/thoughts would be great!
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Re: Advice for a possible soon to be military family...
DH had already been in for while when I met him, but I can try to answer your second question. The military does move you to your first duty station. While he goes through his initial training you'll stay where you are most likely, but when he gets assigned a permanent duty station they'll move you to wherever that is.
My H did a 6 week training away from home last spring and it was rough because our DS was so little. It's tough to be the only parent around for that time, but you'll still be wherever you are and I assume that you have friends and/or family around to help out. GL!
1. Get your military ID asap
2. Apply for Tricare family plan/ look for providers in your area
3. Get a Power of Attorney before he leaves (have him get one for you)
4. If you have time, look into taking COMPASS, which is a class offered on all bases, for military spouses/ family members. The class covers everything you need to know for making that transition from civillian life to military life easier. I liked it especially because it covered the common military terminology, to etiquette on how to address a chief vs an officer, to where on base to go for what.
Thats all I can think of at the moment... good luck to you and your hubby!
I say go for it.....DH has been active duty for 14 years and 6 of those were enlisted before he commissioned. We had a 1 year old when he commissioned. I stayed in California while he went to OTS is Alabama. The military then moved us to our first duty station which was NAS Pensacola, Florida.
We love the military life!!!!!! Especially in the economy it's nice to have complete stability IMO.