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!!

[Courty311]

Yeah my husband's A school will be 20 months in Charleston SC. We are very excited to move further south because we live in PA now and I'm tired of cold yucky weather! He's only been gone just over a week and it's been very hard on me mainly because I don't know what to expect as far as the move. We've gotten 4 different answers in the 3 days before he left! It was stressful. Him being away has been hard just because I'm so used to having him there all the time, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Good luck to you when he leaves! We just got "the box" with all of his civilian clothes that he wore when he left and that was hard but it's nice to have his favorite hat at home to remind me of him! lol

[EMC (SS)]

Ma'am,
First the general Navy standard for moving family members along when going to training commands is 14 weeks of in class training. So if your school's in class time will be longer then this then the Navy will arrange to move the Sailor's family with them.
We have a group of staff specifically for Indoctrination of newly reporting personnel here at NNPTC. They will assist your husband in making arrangements for you to join him. He will initially be flying down here on his own straight from boot camp. He can arrange your housing before you arrive to make it smoother transition. They also have a spouse indoctrination tour that you can take run through the indoctrination office and the command ombudsman.
I recommend that everyone who is new to the Navy move into base housing. This is for several reasons: first all of your housing costs are taken care of for you (including utilities) with the only things coming out of your pocket will be phones and cable/internet; second you live on a secure installation with other people going through the same experience that you are; third it will save you money on transportation costs (especially if you have only one car and need to take your husband to and from work); fourth you are within walking distance of the commissary (super market), medical facilities, movie theater, rec center, gym, FFSC, Navy Exchange (think walmart), two parks and numerous safe walking trails.
That being said, can you decide to move out to town? Yes. However the areas that your BAH will put you into will either be fairly undesirable or will include a decent drive to get to work.

I highly recommend that you get in contact with the local FFSC (Fleet and Family Support Center) prior to arriving in any area and get information from them about what to expect and advice on the area if you plan on living out in town as they have people who live in the area and can tell you what areas to specifically avoid. Below is a link to their website:

https://www.nffsp.org/skins/nffsp/home.aspx

There is also a Navy sponsored website for every Navy base. The one for Charleston is:

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/charleston/index.htm

Fair winds and following seas,
EMC (SS)

[Courty311]

Oh my gosh, THANK YOU!! :) These are all the things I've been wondering about. I'm definitely ok with living on base. I think the benefits are tremendous! We've just been getting so many different answers to things, it's been hard to figure things out!! You have helped so much!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[ratlabber34]

Thank you very much from Oak Harbor, WA.

[Courty311]

BB13 thank you! I am very excited to see what the coming months bring us after he graduates BC. I have been researching the program a little bit and I have been told the same thing... that it's very demanding and requires a lot of discipline. I have no doubt my husband will do wonderful and though I know it will be stressful, I know we can handle it. :) I am so excited to get to Charleston.. I've heard so many great things and it will be nice to see a new area for a while!

[jcow27]

It looks like you've gotten some good answers to your questions. My husband just finished Nuke School and it was extremely demanding - they cannot bring the material home to study either so they spent a lot of time at the school outside of normal working hours. Charleston is a great town and the housing area provides easy access to the support facilities - although it's not close to downtown Charleston. Take advantage of all the new spouse information and services available (Fleet and Family Support services is a great place to start). Congratulations to you and your husband - the Navy life has been great so far!

[LadyE]

Hi Courty311 --

Don't know how the whole navy housing thing works, but for what it's worth, here's my advice: my son was stationed in Brunswick, ME prior to him and wife getting married (she lived in NY at the time). He was living on base prior to their marriage (I visited several times and stayed at the CDQ...nice facility), but when they decided to get married, he searched and found a nice 2-bedroom apartment off base (about 15 miles out), she moved up to ME, then they got married on base (with his colleagues and his CO as witnesses). I know that he went to the naval housing dept., filled out some forms, one of which he gave to landlord, and housing took care of the rest -- I didn't hear about any problems he encountered (other than trying to find a place suitable for them and one close enough to base).

Chances are that's what's keeping you and hubby from living together is that he is in A-school, but I would contact your naval housing dept. directly and get answers from them. One thing I've learned from my son being in Navy is if you want real answers, you have to go straight to the source; it might help, if husband hasnt left yet for A-school, for him to make the inquiries (carries more weight in the beginning when the one in the military makes inquiries...once "dust settles", spouses can take the lead -- at least from what I've heard from my son)

World's a little different from military life and civilian life, but you just have to keep at it and not be discourage -- military life is always testing you...you've gotta show them you can keep up and can handle anything coming your way -- hope this helps!

[Cathryn (son is in Pensacola )]

Well I have a son who is in the Navy new and married and I think my son said depending on availability of housing will play a huge role if they can be together or not while in school ... My son Graduates on April 23rd. He is going to Pensacola for his school. I have seen housing on bases from my sister and her husband and they were like apartments, but staying on base saves alot of money , so you can save for your future personal home. I hope you guys get to stay together during his schooling. Also if he is Nuke program you might not be allowed to stay with him, my son was going to do the nuke (submarine) and changed to IT Specialist because he could of been away for 6 months without any contact with us and my son they are very strict in school as BC ... But write your husband and ask him he should know in BC my son knows everything already for his schooling . They mostly write home on Sundays so mid week or Thursday keep an eye on the mail box..... Congrats and I hoped I helped a little bit....

[formersalior]

ENC gave you the best information that you can have at this point.

I know it is hard to waite however as I am sure that you are aware the NAVY moves at a slower pace.
Your husband will get to his A school and the ball will start to roll slowly. They will give him BAH that a housing allowance for your family. They will have to get that into the system before they can move you if it isnt already.
They will have to make plans to move you from your current location to his. This will take some time remember the is a whole class with him and all of those family need to move as well. This is a huge move for the Navy to move a entire classe family. The Housing Office will have to plan how many to move and new homes to move you into. Someone has to move out of housing before you can move in. Not everyone will be moving in at the same time but there will be quite a few families at once.
You will do this again when he get done with school to the permante command you will be station at.

I suggest you get into a Wives Club each base has one and it will help you to learn the Navy and all it details. These clubs have women like myself that have been doing this for awhile and can help you out with all your questions. I been a salior for 8 yrs and a navy wife for 7 yrs. I got alot of my questions answered there when I was just a new salior myself, I now help other saliors and there wife.

[Kathy]

My son also went through the Nuke training in Charleston from Boot camp. He and his wife were able to get base housing and they found it very benificial. He enjoyed the short commute. She enjoyed the closeness to base for shopping and base facillities. They lucked into a 3 bedroom place for just the two of them. I also agree with EMC's comment below. For your first duty station, it really is nice to be on base. I'm a Navy Wife [26 years] and I found it very helpful to be on base for that tour. Get involved with your Navy community and you will truly enjoy your Navy experience. Best wishes!

[jamesandelda]

Is it true that you can receive monies for housing if your spouse lives in a different city while away in basic training?
Or, even living outside the base once they get to school? Or does that come with time served? If you choose to live outside of base, you pay your own rent, etc right? If you live on base are you guaranteed housing?

[Kathy]

I really don't know about housing allowances while the sailor is in basic training. My husband and I weren't married yet when he did that and I don't recall if my son got any or not. Once he is through with Boot Camp and is at his official school or duty station, he should be eligible for BAH [Basic Allowance for Housing] which varies according to his pay grade and location of duty station. Here's a link showing the current rates: http://images.military.com//ContentFiles/2010-bah-with-dependents.pdf
If you live on base and the housing is privatized, this amount just goes straight to them instead of your hubby's paycheck. And yes if you live off base, you are responsible for all of your expenses including rent, water, gas and electric, etc. On base, you would just have to pay for your phone, cable and internet if you wanted to have any of those.
Housing on base is not always guaranteed. It depends on availability. Some times you can get a place right away and other times, there will be a waiting list. It really varies according to location.
Hope that helps to answer your questions.