volunteering to go to korea

mamiichula45 · November 2011

me and my husband are thinking about him volunteering to go to korea im torn bc we could really use the money but he would be missing so much he would be gone for 6 months and come back on leave for a month and then go back for 6 more and after that we can pick w.e base we want to go to i would be living with my parents which would be good for them to c my son grow up what do you guys think

panicked228 · November 2011

Have you thought about doing an accompanied tour? You would have to stay at least 2 years and up to three years, but it is amazing. I lived there for two years and I wouldn't change it for the world. Command sponsorship is a long process, but it's worth it IMO. Also, you are not guaranteed base of preference when you leave Korea. It used to be that way, it's not anymore. They will put you where they need you.

mamiichula45 · November 2011

my husband said we wouldnt get seperation pay which if he went would be the main motivation and i want to make sure that everyone knows that i dont want to offend anyone cuz i know many would die to have there husbands home and that i appreciate everything that you and your husbands do i got a attacked on another post i posted so i feel like i need to put a disclaimer i thought this was a website to give and get advice not attack each other

panicked228 · November 2011

Let me give you some advice about The Bump. Some boards are all puppies and rainbows, but most are full of awesome, snarky women who will tell you what they think regardless of what you want to hear. Don't take it personally. Also, capitalization and punctuation are required unless you want a bunch of responses about how they can't understand what you're saying.
We just got back from Korea. The pay there is much more than we get here in the States. Separation pay isn't all that much more really.

mamiichula45 · November 2011

thanks girl

shanaboo1 · November 2011

I agree with the pp. Have you and your husband been through a long tdy or a deployment yet? I would also recommend the accompanied route, but ultimately you and your husband have to do what is right for your family. If you are going to live back home with your family, I am sure you would save most of your BAH along with the separation pay and that would be a serious amount of money.

Good luck figuring out what works best for you.

F15Wife · November 2011

Personally we would never volunteer for my husband to be gone for a year. Your base of choice is not a guarantee!! I would much rather him be told he has to go and know that it is just what it is than to volunteer to my put my kids through that for a year.

Airmans Wife · November 2011

We would not volunteer for my husband to be gone wether it's a tour or a deployment. We are in Asia right now (not specifically Korea), but I have heard good things about Korea in general. Have you thought about an accompanied tour? If it was us we would go that route. Separation Pay is only $250 a month (at least in the Air Force), so to us that is not worth my DH being gone for a year. You actually make way more money if you would go with him there. Where we are it is insane the amount of COLA we get, so I am sure Korea would be the same!!

Ilumine · November 2011

mamiichula45:
me and my husband are thinking about him volunteering to go to korea im torn bc we could really use the money but he would be missing so much he would be gone for 6 months and come back on leave for a month and then go back for 6 more and after that we can pick w.e base we want to go to i would be living with my parents which would be good for them to c my son grow up what do you guys think

First, please use proper grammar and punctuation. This is not a snark at you, but more of a general bit of information. People will respond better when they can read and understand what YOU are saying/asking.

Second, there is NO guarantee that you will get your base choice for doing a year in Korea. My DH was a Senior when he did his 2nd unaccompanied tour in Korea. We were rerouted 6 months into his tour.

Third, your DH is in the military. You WILL have TDYs, Training and Deployments that will seperate you for long spans of time. That is life, do not use the seperations as one of your criteria when making decisions on your future.

Fourth, living with your parents has both its positive and negative aspects. Only YOU can know if YOU can live at home as an adult.

Fifth, you can always look at seeing if you can do this accompanied. But the odds are pretty slim. But if he DOES go unaccompanied, why not visit HIM out there?

Finally, just like point #4, Internet Strangers cannot tell you what you should do. We are all different, with different backgrounds, needs and futures in the military/civilian world. What works/ed for me would most definitely NOT work for you in your current time.

Ilumine · November 2011

F15Wife:
Personally we would never volunteer for my husband to be gone for a year. Your base of choice is not a guarantee!! I would much rather him be told he has to go and know that it is just what it is than to volunteer to my put my kids through that for a year.

I am not knocking you, but this is VERY short sighted.

Granted, your DH might not be looking at making the military a life-time career, but even for a short termed enlistment, you can/should do some strategic planning. Going to Korea could mean not being deployed to Afghanistan. It could be the difference in getting crosstrained.

And if your DH does want to stay, having a deployment or unaccompanied tour to Korea, Africa, etc. is most definitely helpful for promotions.

And since your DH has chosen a profession that will take him away from you and the kids, isnt better to try to plan these seperations (to the best of yoru ability when you are in the military), then have them sprung at a really inopportune time?

F15Wife · November 2011

Ilumine:

F15Wife:
Personally we would never volunteer for my husband to be gone for a year. Your base of choice is not a guarantee!! I would much rather him be told he has to go and know that it is just what it is than to volunteer to my put my kids through that for a year.

I am not knocking you, but this is VERY short sighted.

Granted, your DH might not be looking at making the military a life-time career, but even for a short termed enlistment, you can/should do some strategic planning. Going to Korea could mean not being deployed to Afghanistan. It could be the difference in getting crosstrained.

And if your DH does want to stay, having a deployment or unaccompanied tour to Korea, Africa, etc. is most definitely helpful for promotions.

And since your DH has chosen a profession that will take him away from you and the kids, isnt better to try to plan these seperations (to the best of yoru ability when you are in the military), then have them sprung at a really inopportune time?

Thanks for your insight, but friend, you are not telling me anything I don't know. In fact, we have been in the military for 14 years now and I've done my fair share of deployments and TDY's and oh by the way he's done a fantastic job of climbing the rank ladder.

In my husbands career field NOTHING will get him out of a deployment to afghanistan. So again, I would never volunteer for any kind of deployment or TDY. His job is demanding enough and he's gone enough.

Emilia0101 · November 2011

Each family and marriage is very different. I would go into the choice will all the correct information. As the PP's have said the separation pay is very limited, and living with you family can be very hard as an adult. My husband has been in for 10 years and has never been on a remote so this year he is volunteering. Our reasons are 1) we are ready to PCS 2) Promotion options 3) with 10 years left to go I would rather have him go on our terms rather than on someone else's time frame.

Best of luck with your choice

mylesmomma · November 2011

My husband is over there right now. Just as a heads up unless he's an E7 or higher families and spouses arent able to go over there. Apparently there is a housing shortage. Not sure if that makes a difference for you guys or not?

Jram85 · November 2011

My dh is there too and the tour is unaccompanied so I'm living at home wkth my mother to save money. His tour has been a year and he is coming home soon. GL with whatever you decide.

LemonLover33 · November 2011

mylesmomma:
My husband is over there right now. Just as a heads up unless he's an E7 or higher families and spouses arent able to go over there. Apparently there is a housing shortage. Not sure if that makes a difference for you guys or not?

I know when my brother was there two years ago he got command sponsorship but decided it was best not to move them there. But, since he was an E-6, he had to find an apartment off base. This obviously could have changed in the last 2 1/2 years. He was at osan-si. My husband would kill to go to korea but he is not allowed.

myllissann · November 2011

I guess it also depends on what service your husband is in. My husband and I were dual military (Army) stationed in Yongsan, S. Korea for 4.5 years and even had my son there. The COLA and hazardous duty pay will probably equal the family separation pay if you guys do end up getting command sponsored. I have heard that in the 2 years since we came back to the US, they have clamped down on the command sponsorship due to lack of infrastructure to support the families over there. They at one point opened the command sponsorship to everyone no matter what and then realized that they didn't have the space (schools, housing, childcare etc.) to support that initiative. As a PP stated, if your husband is E7 or above, it shouldn't be that big of a hurdle to get into a command sponsored slot and is well worth the effort to get one. The separation pay isn't really that much and there isn't a guaranteed assignment on return anymore for the Army unless you are in a small MOS like my husbands and have a close relationship with your branch manager. That's the only time I've seen a return assignment guaranteed. That or you were a first termer and reenlisted from Korea for an assignment. Which I don't think applies to you. Think long and hard before volunteering for an overseas unaccompanied tour. It may not be worth the small amount of compensation they are offering.

walkerb4 · November 2011

mylesmomma:

My husband is over there right now. Just as a heads up unless he's an E7 or higher families and spouses arent able to go over there. Apparently there is a housing shortage. Not sure if that makes a difference for you guys or not?

This. Army is still being stingy about accompanied tours to Korea, so if her husband is Army, she may not have the choice to go.

pesci12 · November 2011

I am with you on this. My DH is on his 3rd deployment and has been TDY at least two dozen times. I am prior active duty, so I am very familiar with how the process works. Not volunteering for an unaccompanied tour is not going to hurt him with promotions and base of preference afterwards is not a guarantee. They send you where the military needs you.

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