New Navy Wife Has MANY Questions!

[Courty311]

Ok, I'm new to the whole Navy thing. My husband just left for basic training on March 16 and is going into the nuke program. We will be heading to Charleston, SC after he is done with basics and I have a lot of questions about the area there plus housing situations. We were told by several recruitors that we would be able to have a house off-base when we moved but mere days before he left, they said no, we would have to live in on-base housing during his A-school. Since then, we were told that the housing there is now privatized and we would likely be able to have our own house. Is there anyone out there who has been through this before that can tell me what to expect? How long does it generally take for wives to be able to move with their husbands and what is housing like? ANY information would be sooo much appreciated. Thank you so much in advance!!

[ratlabber34]

thank you, this is really helpful.

[Anti M]

The housing allowance is called BAH, Basic Allowance for Housing. It is calculated by the zip code where the spouse resides. Yes, they get it while in boot camp, however, it takes a few pay cycles to kick in. That's why so many people think they don't get it in boot camp, because of the delay. They will get it eventually, prorated from their first day of active duty.

Base housing varies from base to base. We always chose to live offbase and pay our own bills out of our BAH. Each base has a certain amount of housing set aside for different paygrades. The waiting lists are long, although now and then you can get in quickly.

[EMC (SS)]

To try and answer your question if you are not living in the same area the BAH will be based upon where the Sailor is, not where the spouse is (there is an exception to this rule if the Sailor is assigned to an arduous sea duty). The Sailor will have to maintain 2 residences on one BAH, you don't get paid twice for your life decisions. This is generally referred to as Geo-Bachelor status. Sometimes (again a lot of factors) they allow the Sailor to live in Geo-Bachelor Barracks.

Junior Sailors (E-4 and below) have priority for housing assignment everywhere. The size of the housing that you will be moved into will be based upon availability and number of dependents. In some locations you will NOT be authorized to live anywhere but in housing (certain overseas stations, training commands, under E-4).

Some housing is still Navy controlled, but most is privatized now. Some is located physically on base and some is off base but near it instead. Sometimes because housing is privatized, you can get a deal on your contract with housing. Make sure you ask if there are any deals when putting together your lease with housing. You can get information based upon the base that you are going to be stationed at by looking up the base on the CNIC website. Again I recommend that you always talk to the local Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) before making any decisions.

[wordmountain1]

Im new to this in a way I was a Sailor wife until he completed his time of eight years. We lived in Charleston South Carolina and loved it. Had our son there. Ironic thing is he leaves Nov. 7 for the USN.

 

[FLNavyMom]

You can visit this page for ideas and you can even click on the state of choice and get info for that state.

However EMC is on point.

http://www.militaryhomestoday.com/MilitaryHome/Index.aspx

[CryptoDad]

Do you realize that you are responding to a discussion that is 5 years old?  ;)

[Baby J's Mom]

My husband just left for A school on Saturday, Nov. 14, when will our son and I be able to join him...in other words move with him.