Military Nesties
JulienC
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Schweinfurt, Germany
My husband has orders to Schweinfurt, Germany and I was wondering if anyone has ever been stationed there? I am concerned that we won't be able to PCS together because the waiting list for housing is 3 to 4 months. Does that mean when he reports there in March, my son and I are likely not able to go until later? I'm stressing out a little because we live in WA state and I have no family here to help me. I know eventually I will need help because prior to leaving I will need to drop off our vehicle at a port so it can be shipped to Germany. But then I have no vehicle to get back home and depending on when our fly out date is I'm still going to need a vehicle to get around so I can feed my kid, take him to school, get to the airport etc. Plus I have the house to worry about and getting everything ready to go. I don't know if I can handle all of that on my own. It doesn't seem like the Army is really thinking much about me or my son just as long as my husband gets there safe and sound. We will be shipping our Ford Escape, is that a good vehicle to ship or will it be too big? Also, will I have to be command sponsored even though we've been married for 7 years? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Re: Schweinfurt, Germany
I've never been to Germany, so I can't answer your Germany-specific questions, but I have PCSed overseas.
First, are you stationed at a post now, or is this your first military move? If you are stationed at a post, I think you are offered a certain number of hours at the CDC (daycare) for your kid while the movers come and pack you, etc.
Second, did you talk to anyone about shipping your car yet? I think from WA they would ship it via truck to NY and then put it on the actual ship to Germany, in which case the truck may pick it up from your house. If not, I imagine you'll still need a car to get around between then and when you leave and some rental companies like Enterprise will pick you up and bring you to their office to get the car. You could arrange with the to meet you at the drop-off point and take you to get your rental.
You will have to be command sponsored and so will your LO. All dependents have to be command sponsored no matter how long you've been married. You will have to fill out a bunch of paperwork so they can make sure that they are capable of meeting all your needs at the post in Germany. I remember I had to fill out a medical clearance and if I had had any chronic conditions that couldn't be treated where we were going, they wouldn't have sponsored me and I couldn't have gone.
Unfortunately, you and your son are not the Army's first priority. Your husband is. It sucks and it makes life difficult, but that's how the military works. There's a lot of effort required from your and your H's end to make sure that everything gets done for you. When I complain about my H always says "If they wanted me to have a wife, they would have issued me one".
Try to get your Tourist passport as soon as possible, and once you have orders in hand, get a No Fee offical passport as well, for your and your son. you will need both. Also, Try to get Command sponsered and EFMP completed as soon as possible. That will help move things along. I think that once you are command sponsered, then you can call the goverment travel agency and make arrangements. If there is housing avaible, then you can get it, if not consider living off post. Your car is fine, just remember that the roads and parking are narrow. you might leave with a few scratches and dents. I have never been to the WA, but being from MI the closes vehicel shipping place was in Missouri. Once you have orders, then your husband can arrange for the shipment of household goods.
I enjoy living in Germany, it is lots of fun, Good luck.
Command sponsorship (and the no-fee passport) is what gives you the visa to stay longer than a tourist, so, yes, it's pretty much necessary. It has nothing to do with how long you've been married.
The army isn't going to leave you homeless even if there is a waitlist. I'm guessing there's TLF or else off base housing.
Personally, I wouldn't want a car that big. Granted, I've never been to Germany, but Europe in general has small roads. I certainly wouldn't have wanted a car that big in Japan. But, I'm also frugal enough that I'd take a car I'd paid off over hunting to find something else. I'd at least try to figure out if I could sell the car in Germany for a decent price, so that I could change my mind later. They'll only ship 1 car, so keep that in mind. I paid OOP to ship my 2nd car to Hawaii, but it was picked up from the driveway since it was transported by truck to the port. My guess, from researching Hawaii, is that there are something like 6 dropoff points in the country, and I think Seattle is one of them, so it should be fairly easy for you.
Pretty much, you can't do anything until you have orders, though. It sucks, but there's nothing you can do. Definitely get the EFMP paperwork started as soon as you can. It can take quite awhile to get all the pieces together, even if you have no exceptions.
You will get a number of days in TLF (temporary housing) and if you have not found anything, thre will be a list of long term hotels for you that stay, within a reasonable military agreed upon rate, until you do find someplace.
if you end up not liking the German house AND your lease is done, they (Army) will move you back on base for free (but that is if you started off downtown first).
you will need to get your SOFA Passport AND a regular passport. SOFA allows you to stay in Germany, as a dependent of an ADSM, past the normal 90 days travel visa would. If you want to travel throughout Europe, you will need the regular passport (yes, I have been stopped and questioned using my SOFA passport because I handed over the wrong one).
Yes, you can bring a larger car. While there are smaller, historic towns that are tight, especially in places in Italy, for the most part, the roads are quite big enough to drive pick-up trucks on. And given the lack of snow-plowing and salting, SUVs are a welcome sight in the winter. PLUS, it is REALLY easy to buy a German beater (and actually recommended to have two cars).
Even if you live on base (I do not and am VERY happy that we don't), it is very isolating to only have one car. How will you see the sights if you only have one car?
TMO will be packing and unpacking your house. Their office will also have the instructions on how to ship your car via military. Now for us, we paid to ship my car ahead of time. It was arrived 2 days after we did. DHs car, that was shipped via TMO arrived one month after we did.
Finally, this is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to your family...as long as your willing to get out there. My DD and I have travelled all over Europe, with and without DH. We jut got back from Ireland and will be heading to Italy in a couple of months. Because of the wonderfulness of Space A, I even have been back to the States for FREE 5 times in the last 2 years.