Marriage questions! Needing suggestions!

[emmiec]

Hey all!

Okay, so my fiancé is PACT airman and is in training at Pensacola right now. He is currently on hold and doesn't start classes until January 6th. We will be getting married once he comes home on leave. He has duty station orders to Norfolk, Virginia and I plan on moving there with him ASAP. What all is involved as far as paperwork and getting off base housing? I'm wanting to get as much done as possible before hand so that I can move there faster and get settled in to Norfolk.

 

Another question I have is when he emailed his duty station they said his ship that he will be on is currently deployed and has been since July 23rd. And they said that they will most likely fly him out to the carrier once he gets to Norfolk. Do they really fly people out when there is very little time left on the deployment? If they do would it be best for me to wait to move?

 

Thank you for any insight you guys might have!  

[Anti M]

They do indeed fly them out.  Waiting would depend on whether or not you'd want to stay in VA without him for an unspecified amount of time. Stay flexible, you can't be sure until he's on the plane!  

You can't do a thing about the Navy paperwork until you're married, and then he has to enroll you into DEERS before you can do anything else.  

Paperwork... you can do that at any military base, not just where he is.  Use the RAPIDS locator to find the nearest facility to you.  He will need your marriage license, your SSN and ID, possibly your birth certificate (order a certified copy, just in case).  He then can enroll you in DEERS, then Tricare, and then get your ID card.  You need that ID card for your medical.  A power of attorney would not be a bad idea in case you have to get your ID card without him present.  

He then puts in for BAH, that usually is done at the same time.  That can take a few pay cycles, as long as eight to ten weeks, to show up in his pay.  Because he is in school, he'll get it for your current zip code.  Once he goes to VA, you;ll get it for there unless he can get it authorized for where you are.  It gets tricky. You may have to provide proof of where you live, so think about that, just in case.  

[meagan5220]

Yes they can send him out. I had a friend and her husband got sent out literally 3 weeks before the ship returned... they had even sent a good chunk of sailors home to start their leave as they were sending her husband out. And just because at that time there is little time left there are always extensions and things happen. As far as paperwork for housing Anti M pretty much summed it up. But if you aren't planning on living in base housing you can rent an apartment, townhouse etc as you wish. I would definitely reach out to the housing office in Norfolk they will look over your lease and make sure its all up to par as far as keeping you guys protected. You cant do much with the military until yall are married. He can do some things, but there isn't much to do for a married couple while he is still a single sailor. If yall have the money and the bah and you can afford to go to Norfolk and look around for apartments It wouldn't be a bad idea. My husband was so glad I had moved before the end of his deployment and gotten a house so when he got home from deployment he just walked off the ship, got in the car, and 30 minutes later we were home, not at a hotel, or rushing to find somewhere to live we already had something.

[Anti M]

Absolutely right about the housing office looking over the lease, be sure it has the military clause which lets you break it if you get housing or he gets new orders, and so on.

[meagan5220]

So many people don't know about that! I am so glad I did, while I have rented before they called me and explain specific parts of my lease that were different than normal leases. And one thing I found is that in Norfolk area (I am a little bit north of Norfolk) that some of the property managers will actually insert clauses in the lease that can waive your rights under the military relief act. Like under our first lease we waived part of his rights under that act, but it was the part that mostly applies to single sailors that might be gone and not receive a notice about a lease violation in time to fix it before the normal legal time limit. Which the housing office explained to me wouldn't matter as long as we didn't violate our lease in the first place, which I don't do. lol

[Emily-aaronsgirl11]

While we're discussing the Military Clause...

When I signed my lease with my landlords, I learned that the military lease can go both ways, for the landlords and the tenants. If our landlords would happen to get orders back here, they could give us a 30 days notice to be moved out so they can have their home back, and then of course if we get orders out, we can give them 30 days notice before we leave. Had it not been for the fact that her husband is supposed to be on his last duty station and they are planning on trying to sell the house again right after we leave, I would have been concerned. 

[meagan5220]

interesting! I never knew that but it makes sense!

[Lily_ter'swife]

Also, if you arent on his orders, the navy will not pay to move you/your belongings.  It takes a bit after marriage and paperwork to get on his page 2.  Also, when you get your ID, make sure to ask (if applicable) which doors to go in, any special instructions... When I went, they didnt tell me I had to ring a door bell. So  I had to walk around the whole building and ask the recruiters what and where i needed to go, and they didnt really have a clue.  What should have taken 15 min, took like 45 min with me waiting for someone to notice me.

AntiM,

I never had to have a POA to get my ID card.  I just went to the center and they did it.  no questions asked. But maybe MN is different than other places?  I ended up going to the Army Reserves location and they brought me in, looked at my paperwork, and took my pic, printed and viola.

[Anti M]

Some of the facilities can be very strict, and require more than the basic signed form/ID and SSN.  I have seen posts here where the poor new wife can't get a card easily.  Personally, I think it some pencil pusher overreaching their authority, but there's not much which can be done if a new spouse runs into that situation.  Better to have a POA and not need it than not have it and do without the ID card.  

Does that make sense?

[meagan5220]

Yup all  ID centers are different, and within the centers you will find different people that do it differently. The first one I went to they wouldn't even change my maiden name to my married name because I hadn't gone to the social security office yet and officially changed it. Even though I was going to make a trip to it the next day. Most typically will change it for ya.