pcs

What To Do When You Are Feeling Homesick At Your Duty Station

At Your Duty Station

As a military spouse, you might be far from home and that isn’t always easy. Being the family member that misses everything is hard. Being the one that can’t go to the baby shower or misses birthdays on a regular basis is difficult to deal with. Being the one without having family nearby can be frustrating. As a military family you could end up in so many amazing places, Hawaii, Germany, Japan…✈️ You might end up on the East Coast when you have never been east of Utah before. You might end up in South Korea when you never even …

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The 15 Stages of a Military PCS

The 15 Stages of a Military PCS PCS season is around the corner and life is getting quite hectic for quite a few military families. Although it has been a while since our family has gone through a military PCS, I remember the process and how stressful and crazy everything can be. 1. Bored and ready to move After you have been at your duty station for two or three years, you probably start to feel ready to make a change. You know you are going to be moving this year, you want to know where, and you are ready to start the process. 2. Soft orders, start planning You hear where you are going to go. If you are happy with this choice, you are worried that will change. If you are not, you are praying it will. You still need to be patient to wait for the physical orders before any of your PCS dreams (or nightmares) can come true. 3. Orders change Your orders have changed. You assumed you would be spending the next three years in Hawaii, sorry, it's El Paso. There is still a chance they could change again, but you aren't holding out much hope. Try to just go with the flow and to not worry too much about the changes until things become set in stone. 4. Hard orders cut, it's for real Okay, you are going to this duty station. This is for real. Time to start your planning. You start asking in your local Facebook groups and Google all things about your new duty station. This is an exciting time, but then you start to feel a bit overwhelmed. 5. Stressed out with all you have to do There is so much to do with a PCS. So many lists to make. So much to get done beyond your everyday lives. Make sure to create some system for everything you have to do and all the paperwork you need. Starting a PCS binder can be a very good idea but you can also just make sure you have a safe place for everything that is easy to take with you on the plane or in your car. 6. Get organized and plan This is the stage where you decide if you want to live on base or not. If you want to live off, where you should find a house. Should you rent or buy? What about the schools? Take your time and try to relax about this part. There is going to be a lot of information out there and some of it, you can wait until after you are moved to figure it all out. Check out PCSGrades for reviews on different areas near where you will be moving. 7. Movers come, stuff goes The day has come for the movers to pack up all of your earthly goods. Make sure to get your movers some lunch and offer snacks. They will appreciate it. Don't pack your trash and make sure anything you want to take with you is safely locked in your car or a room the movers won't go in. 8. All those last minute things It wouldn't be a PCS without all the last minute things you will need to do. From cleaning out your home to making sure you have turned in all those library books before you leave. Reward yourself with a Starbucks or a cupcake after you get everything done. And breathe. 9. Saying goodbye Saying goodbye to friends is the worst. Try to say, "see you later." Make sure you are connected on Facebook, that is where your friends will now live. Enjoy the last few days you have together and remember, the military is a small world and you could get stationed together again someday. 10. Physically moving Now it's time to either leave for the airport or get in your car to drive away from your home for the last 2-4 years. Adventure awaits, and once you reach this step, you start to feel like everything is going to work out. Remember to bring plenty of snacks and make sure you leave time for pee breaks if you are driving, especially if you have small children. 11. Hotel living We were lucky, and the longest we have had to stay in a hotel was a week. Others have to stay in them for much longer to wait for housing. Try to be creative with planning your hotel stay and remember, eventually you will live in an actual house, with a real kitchen and no hotel keys. 12. Your stuff is here Yay! Your stuff in here, you have moved into your new home and life is about it get much better. No more sleeping on an air mattress and your son finally gets to play Xbox again. 13. Unpacking hell Time to unpack and unpack and then spend more time unpacking. Just get it done. All of it. You will be glad you did. 14. Make new friends Now that you are at your new duty station, time to make new friends. This can be difficult but putting yourself out there is a must. Start with just saying hi to a neighbor or going to a playgroup with your kids. Making friends will take time but once you do you will feel more at home no matter where you are stationed. 15. Relax in your new home Whether you are in a 3rd story two-bedroom apartment in Germany or have bought your first ranch house outside of Ft. Carson, enjoy your new home. This will be where you will live for the next few years. Bloom where you are stationed even if you are sad to be there. Adventures await! If you are going through a PCS right now, what stage are you in?

The 15 Stages of a Military PCS PCS season is around the corner and life is getting quite hectic for quite a few military families. Although it has been a while since our family has gone through a military PCS, I remember the process and how stressful and crazy everything can be. 1. Bored and ready to move After you have been at your duty station for two or three years, you probably start to feel ready to make a change. You know you are going to be moving this year, you want to know where, and you are ready …

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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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On Living At Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Glad to have this guest post by Rebecca on living at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. 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. Fort Huachuca is often referred to as Fort “We Gotcha,” and as the home of the Military Intelligence Corps and a few thousands students, it’s very true. It’s not uncommon to be stationed here two or three times throughout a Soldier’s career. Often underappreciate, at least the first time, Huachcua is truly a gem tucked away in the Southeastern corner of …

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PCS Prep Advice: Make Your Next Military Move Easier

Summer is Permanent Change of Station (PCS) season for us military families. Although a PCS can happen any time of the year, summer is when the majority of relocations occur. Moving is stressful, no matter how many times you’ve done it. Whether you are a PCS novice or an old pro, the following tips can help you and your family get settled in your new home quickly. Set the Wheels in Motion The first thing you should do once you know your destination and the details of your PCS is contact housing, transportation and relocation assistance offices. These valuable resources …

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Guest Post: Camp Zama, Japan Part 2

Here is the 2nd part of Jes’s post on Camp Zama.  Make sure to read part one as well 🙂 Jes  blogs at Bleu Dress and Dress Blues! We have a wonderful spouses club {again, only one, not enough people to support separate enlisted and officer clubs…that’s a recurring theme around here.  It’s not encouraged but it’s not uncommon for the two to mix freely around here}.  ZaCSA {http://zacsa.org/}, the Zama Community Spouses Association, has a plethora of volunteer opportunities and hosts numerous events throughout the year. Some of these events are held with groups of local Japanese women {their groups …

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Guest Post: Camp Zama, Japan Part 1

Jes at Bleu Dress and Dress Blues is my next guest poster.   I will be dividing her post into two because of all the wonderful information she has 🙂  Camp Zama is a teeny, tiny Army base located about 25 miles SW of Tokyo, Japan.  Most people have never heard of it, I hadn’t until we got orders {I actually have a soldier with 25 years service under his belt tell me that I was making it up because he didn’t think we had soldiers on mainland Japan, lol}.  It is home to about 10 units, including U.S. Army Japan(USAR-J)/I CORPS FWD. …

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Guest Post: Okinawa, Japan

Hey! I’m Kara and I blog over at Ramblings of a Marine Wife. In case, you didn’t notice, my husband is a Marine and we are currently stationed in Okinawa. We have 2 kids, our son is almost 7 and our daughter is 3. Our last duty station was Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. Hubby hated it, I liked it, but I’m from Missouri. However, we both agree that we absolutely love Okinawa! Okinawa is a sub-tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. It’s roughly 950 miles southwest of Tokyo and 400 miles east of Taipai and yes, it is a relatively …

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Guest Post: Goodfellow Air Force Base

Hi guys!  I am in California for vacation and wanted to have a few guest posts share with you about where they call home at the moment!  If you would like to guest post about your duty station or location, please email me at soldierswifecrazylife (at) gmail (dot) com 🙂 Hi! I’m LC and I blog over at Faith & Deployments (link: http://flightlinefightline.blogspot.com). We recently just had our first PCS from Langley AFB to Goodfellow AFB. For those of you who don’t know, that’s in Texas, inside San Angelo to be exact. San Angelo is the largest “town” in Texas …

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Guest Post: Stationed in Hawaii

Stationed in Hawaii with the military

    This next guest poster is Tricia at This Happy Home! I first “met” Tricia on a yahoo mailing list years ago.  I am still hoping we end up at the same post sometime in the future 🙂  She is an Army wife with 3 little kids stationed in Hawaii 🙂  Since they are getting ready to PCS stateside again she will be writing a few other posts on her blog about Hawaii as well. Nearly three years after arriving in Hawaii as a disgruntled pregnant army wife who did not want to be here, I’m leaving, with two …

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