NAVY WIVES ON N4M

I received my husband "form letter" yesterday. Does anyone know when or how I can get our military ids?

PANDABUGZ when did your husband leave?( thanks for the info :)  )

The ID paper work will come with your insurance and DEERS info :) once you get that, they have a number you can call to see the closest location to get your ID , or the nearest base has it. Its best to call b/c some places you need an appointment :)

My heart goes out to those with loved ones in Washington today. You'll be in our prayers.

Considering this whole government shut down situation occuring, am i still going to be able to sign up for benefits? Ive had an appt to register for DEERS for about a month now and its for this Friday. I dont know if going will be a waste of time or not now... anyone have any ideas?

@abuon18 They closed at 4pm today so I didnt get to call them in time. :(

I'm sure one of the more experienced people will chime in, but they should go over all of that with them. I got the papers for my ID card (which is basically the DEERS ID card also) and our dental form (signed already by my husband, but I had to fill out the rest and sign us up)- I got all of those papers with my "form letter," if I'm remembering correctly. But, to answer your question, they should tell him that you guys are eligible. I have no idea why his recruiter would tell you you're not if you're married? Even if they didn't have you in the system yet and they sent him with all of your forms of ID so he could put you in the system, that would make you eligible.

With the gov't shutdown, a lot of those offices have been closed though, so you may have to wait until they reopen to enroll.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share some good news and ask a few questions.
GOOD NEWS: My daughter and I are accompanying my husband to A school once he is done with Boot Camp! He found out a couple of weeks ago that his A School (I.T in Pensacola) is going to be 23 weeks. 
QUESTION: I've looked into off base housing for Corry Station (NTTC) and I have not been able to find any apartments. We would rather an apartment since we will not be living down there for very long (5-6 months max). If we have the Navy move us, will they move us to our first duty station, or would it be a better to move ourselves? Will he be able to get leave to help us move down? We're about 5-6 hours away from there. Any advice on this would be great thanks!!

He is correct they will have everything you need their. You will  still require a visitors pass and extra Identification. Just call the base ahead of time and they will tell you what you need to bring and where you need to go, you can also set up your health care as well (i was able to set everything up on the same day.

I would definitely call first.  I'm in the middle of that process myself.  My local base only allows walk-ins two days a week, otherwise you need an appointment.  They also did want me to bring a copy of the form.  

Definitely call. If there is one thing I have learned... different bases require different things and have different procedures... I have gotten a new ID at 3 different bases and they all had slightly different rules and whatnot.

I think the professional shipment is for the active duty sailor but idk for sure. I would suggest either having him go in to the HHG department or calling yourself to double check because I don't know personally that's just what I have heard.

What do you mean explain the different type of shipments? Either you can move yourself or you can let the Navy do it. I let the Navy do mine. It was just easier. Make sure if you do it yourself you keep every single receipt and weigh ticket. Everything is needed or they will take that money back from you.

Once you contact the personal property office you will get counseling on the different types of move.  If you let the Navy move you, which is the easiest, also do a PPM - personally procured move - for anything you carry in your vehicles.  There is an allowance of 400 pounds for the spouse's professional books, papers, & equipment, but there is also an allowance for the service member's professional stuff, which includes uniforms.  You may or may not need to use this - it depends on your overall weight allowance and how much stuff you actually have.

AF bases are typically tighter with security that I have seen.

Lily oh gotcha! You can do what ski-nanny suggested, and that is to do a partial PPM which means they move most of your stuff and then you pack what you are going to need in your car and take it with you. Just make sure you have that in a separate area (like already in your car along with expensive jewelry, important documents, etc.) so they don't get packed away.

as far as getting your stuff moved early your sailor needs to go into the Personal Property Office and see if you can get moved early. I am pretty sure they wont move you until he has checked out of his current school but I could be wrong. He also has to have hard orders on file to even get that stuff processed. Idk if he does or not but that's a requirement. You can always move all your stuff into storage for a month if needed and they will move your stuff from storage to the next duty station. Just have your sailor ask where the Personal Property office is or where to set up a move for Household Goods and they can tell him if he can yalls stuff moved early or not.

also you can typically rent stuff out at your new duty station, you just have to contact fleet and family and they will rent you out basic stuff like pots and pans, etc until your shipment gets there.

well if you are driving then you can do a partial that way. It would probably be better for him to drive with you, because they will pay for mileage for him and you and then pay a per diem for both of you while driving... He really will have to go in and ask if he is planning on flying and you driving. There are certain rules about when they will and wont pay for a ticket and from where. If he doesn't have a hard copy of his orders or they aren't in bupers nothing can be done to move. If they don't have them they wont set up a move to anywhere because it wont be authorized. The best thing to do would be to have your sailor go and ask them these specific questions pertaining to your situation. There are certain situations when you can move early, like I moved early during a change of homeport but the ship was on deployment and they wanted half the families to move during deployment anyways so they allowed it. But leaving school to go to a duty station is different because they have to authorize a move before a sailor has checked out of the command. I know it seems like they don't have time, and my sailor didn't find time honestly until I freaked out on him. There was nothing I could do and if he didn't make time and figure it out we would be out a lot of money, or I wouldn't be able to move with him at the right time. Its just as simple as that. My husband made time once he realized all he had to do was go down and ask a few questions and walk out. Typically the people at the personal property office don't have a lot of people come in because they try to get everyone to do their move online on their own. I would say the best option is to ask him to go down and ask, they might talk to you if you come in but when I was going to have to go alone to talk to them they told me if I didn't have a POA concerning a govt move they couldn't talk to me.

a partial just means most of it the movers take and the rest goes in the car with you on your move. You weigh the car before and after loading it up and they reimburse you for that weight in your car.

Contact your local Family Fleet Readiness. They were amazing with our move. They showed us how to set it up online. Also, my husbands orders were for June and our stuff didn't get moved until July. And if we hadn't found a place yet, they would store it for us, no charge, until we did find a place. I don't know if that is Norfolk or Navy specific. The Navy usually sublets the moving as well, so you can put aside what you want to move, instead of trying to do a partial. The gentlemen asked us what stuff was going and what wasn't. You can also try to do a do-it-yourself move. Also, they may ask your husband if he wants a plane ticket or if he's driving when he gets his orders. 

Yes the Navy will store your stuff for 90 days, and then if you still need it after that its a case by case basis or they charge you if they feel like you don't qualify for extended storage. A partial move means you set the stuff aside but you get money for moving it yourself instead of the company moving it.

The Navy will pay for a ticket for him after his schooling from his school command to his next duty station. but if he decides to come home and reroutes then the extra will be on him.

Does he have a hard copy of his orders at all? When he gets there he needs to go to PSD asap to see about if they will refund him at all for the moving expenses. Save all receipts, print a screen shot of the BUPERs site being down. etc. Anything that you might need to show what you moved and why you did it the way you did.

Idk anything about mil housing in Norfolk.. I know some of them are older and some had some mold issues but its specific housing units so you can easily google that information. You can also google the information about reviews of each community.

Keep every single receipt, gas, snacks, dinner, hotels. Make sure you weigh the truck before and after if you use a truck and keep the paperwork. Also keep any and all paperwork the moving company or truck company you use gives you.

As far as thanksgiving there is really no way to know. If he has to work he has to work. Typically its duty section only for holidays. But he wont know for sure or know his duty section until he checks in. My husband worked Christmas last year. and many other holidays. Except the worst, hope for the best.

My husband is in boot camp right now. He will start A school in January in Great Lakes as well. Does anyone have info on moving there? Is it an option to live on base while he is in school? When would we be able to move there? What paperwork is involved? Also anyone currently living there, any advise on daycare would be greatly appreciated! 

My husband told me he will be there for around 7 months. However, after reading this site and others, I have found my husband was wrong on a lot of things. lol.

What is a PSD, I haven't learned all the acronyms yet. 

Thanks! I really appreciate the help, lately I could use all I can get lol.

Hello to all wonderful Navy Wives!! I am also a Navy Wife...missing my husband tremendously who is currently on IA. I am so lost without him by my side and trying to find ways to get through each day. He has been in 16 years, but we have only been married a year and a half so this is all new to me. Thanks for any and all suggestions everyone might have!

Lily, if you didn't stay at the Navy Lodge and there were openings there or at Gateway within a 50mile radius, they won't reimburse you. We found out the hard way too.

Temporary lodging is for when you are at the new duty station if you are waiting to find somewhere to live. Per diem is what you get for the days of driving. They give a certain amount per mile for the spouse and the active duty member and then a certain amount per day for driving. Then on top of that he has to apply for DLA which is the dislocation allowance. He unfortunately will have to go handle these issues himself. PSD typically will not talk to a spouse. Write down a list of questions and tell him to get his booty down there and not leave the office until he gets answers or gets someone working on getting him answers. If the person he asks doesn't know have him ask for someone higher up. Did you guys put in for money in advance? There is a part on the Mypay where he can look at any travel vouchers he has pending or that he has gotten recently I believe.

I got a call tonight from my husband from bootcamp It was right at 5pm PST and he only had 5 minutes so our call was pretty brief. I was so surprised to be hearing from him since I hadn't seen anyone else receiving calls from that division that I didn't know what to say to him.  He has only been gone 2 weeks. He sounded tired and said that it was hard. I was so happy to hear his voice that I couldn't stop crying, which made me feel awful because I could tell it was making it difficult for him. Any tips on how to keep from becoming a blubbering mess when those few calls come in? I have such a great support system at home for me but he doesn't have that. He's by himself and has to deal with the separation from friends and family alone. Me crying on the phone, even if it is from happiness, isn't going to help him.

Thanks SailorsWife. I wrote him a letter last night and promised I would be better next time. I'm not usually emotional, he has only seen me cry twice in the 8 years we've been together so it is hard for him to know I'm crying. I'm hoping that his next call will come soon but until then I'm writing him a ton of letters.