Stationed Overseas

Why You Simply Must Go Overseas When Your Spouse Gets OCONUS Orders

Why You Simply Must Go Overseas When Your Spouse Gets OCONUS Orders

Why You Simply Must Go Overseas When Your Spouse Gets OCONUS Orders “Well, I don’t have to redo Basic, and I leave for Germany in two weeks” was what my husband said to me when I picked him up from MEPS in November of 2005. I was pretty speechless. I knew that Europe was a possibility but to hear him say this was happening was a bit of shock. I was pretty excited about this though. For one thing, my best friend was living in Austria and my mom had been able to live in Germany as a DOD teacher …

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Having a Baby Overseas

Having a Baby Overseas

Having a Baby Overseas If on my wedding day you would have told me I would have a child in a different country, I would not have believed you. However, my 2nd little boy was born in Bavaria, in a German hospital with a German midwife and OB. Thankfully my mom came to stay with us since my husband was deployed. He ended up missing the birth by three days. They sent him home on R&R, but the little guy just couldn’t wait. I enjoyed giving birth in Germany, but the time after I gave birth was tough and lonely. …

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How PCSing Overseas Will Change You Forever

How PCSing Overseas Will Change You Forever

How PCSing Overseas Will Change You Forever We got on the train headed for our new home in Schweinfurt, Germany. I had never been to Europe before. I hadn’t even been to Canada. Only parts of Mexico back in high school. I was in another world, but one that looked similar to my own. As we got on that train, filled with German businessmen and women, I realized something that stuck with me during our time overseas. That no matter where you live or where you grew up, people are people and just trying to do the best they can …

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What You Need to Do When You Are Overseas for the Holidays

What You Need to Do When You Are Overseas for the Holidays

What You Need to Do When You Are Overseas for the Holidays Christmas 2008, my friend and I took our kids out to the local Christmas Market. We lived in a small village and even they had a small Christmas market. I love how the Germans do Christmas. They go big. Every town square is decorated. Most towns and villages have their own Christmas markets and you can tell the whole country is ready to celebrate. We spent 4 holiday seasons in Germany and each one was so magical. If you are lucky enough to be overseas for the holidays, …

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Learning to LOVE Belgium

Living in Belgium

Happy to have this guest post by Christina on Living in Belgium. Please visit my Duty station guest post page for posts on other locations or more information about how you can write a guest post about where you have been stationed. Learning to LOVE Belgium It’s no secret that any PCS can be an adjustment. I mean you pick up your whole life every couple of years and head off to somewhere new. New friends, new job, new house…basically a whole new life. I was pretty prepared for military life since as a teenager I moved MANY times and …

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Living in Rota, Spain

rota, spain

Happy to have this guest post by Lizann on Rota, Spain. Please visit my Duty station guest post page for posts on other locations or more information about how you can write a guest post about where you have been stationed. Naval Station Rota, Spain If you get orders to Rota, Spain, consider yourself a Golden Unicorn: it is one of the hidden jewels of the Navy. This small base located in the Southwest corner of Spain is home to several ships, and sailors stationed there will get accompanied orders for their families to move with them. There is also …

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What To Expect At MCAS Iwakuni, Japan

Living at Iwakuni, Japan

Happy to have this guest post by Kelly on MCAS Iwakuni in Japan. Please visit my Duty station guest post page for posts on other locations or more information about how you can write a guest post about where you have been stationed. Finding out your family has orders overseas can be intimidating but if you’re one of the lucky ones that has orders to MCAS Iwakuni, you’ll soon fall in love with this tiny but growing base. There is plenty on base to remind you of home but fun and adventure begins as soon as you exit the gates. …

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Bloom Where You Are Stationed

Bloom Where You Are Stationed

“I hate it here.” “We just got orders there and I am scared. I have only heard bad things.” “I really don’t want to leave here and have to move there. It is the worst place we could go.” “I really just want the next three years to pass quickly so we can move somewhere else.” “This place is so boring. There is nothing to do here. I hate it.” Have you heard people say things like that before? Maybe it was you? I am not going to lie. I was so ready to leave Germany after we had been …

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Giving Birth Without Your Husband

Giving Birth Without Your Husband

  Giving Birth Without Your Husband If you walk into a room of Military wives and ask how many of them have given birth without their husbands, you would get quite a few hands. It is something that has happened to a lot of us. Despite planning, a compassionate chain of command and a lot of prayers, sometimes the dads have to miss the birth. This just comes with being a Military spouse. The reason I had to give birth without my husband was because I was due right in the middle of a deployment. He left in August and …

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Living in Hohenfels, Germany

Happy to have this guest post by LeAnna on Hohenfels, Germany. Please visit my Duty station guest post page for posts on other locations or more information about how you can write a guest post about where you have been stationed. Hohen-Hells, Germany.   Oops, I mean, Hohenfels; the Army Post in Nowheresville, Germany where the Commissary is often out of stock of the item you need most (like Pumpkin puree during Thanksgiving!), where it’s 30 minutes to the nearest big city and where you are thousands of miles away from family, friends and the nearest comforts of wandering aimlessly …

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