JAG and Military Life Questions...Your Comments and Wisdom are Appreciated

There is a tremendous amount of information on the internet about somethings and a lack of information about other things. I thought I'd toss these questions out there in case someone happened to know. Any advice you have can be left in the comments. Lay it on me!

Help me, Yoda...show me the force.

1. When do we move?  He won't get orders until November and we'll meet with the travel office after that. Just looking for educated guesses as I know it can vary. I'm just trying prepare myself. AF Jag used to have two weeks between COT and JASOC but it looks like hubs will finish COT on a Friday and report to JASOC on the following Monday in Feb. I know people have blogged about moving during this two week window. I've also heard of people moving before COT begins and others while the spouse was away. I would appreciate a ballpark idea as well as what your timeline experience was with this.

2. Do lots of people move while the spouse is away at COT and JASOC? I suspect it will be more difficult in some ways but easier in other ways. I'm pretty independent and self-sufficient so it will work out either way.

3. What did you find yourself lugging around that you wish you'd donated? Just wondering if it's on my "OMG...can't forget to pack that" list.

4. Will they let me pack my opened spices if I vacuum seal them and then store them in a seal-able container? I'm very attached.

5. If we find out we're staying CONUS I want an SUV with ample cargo room. Good plan? Will it make moving me and the dogs easier? We live in an area with minimal (less than 1 inch) of snowfall each year. All wheel drive is very appealing since there will be traveling done over the next several years. 

6. How much food should I send with him to COT? Any thing you or your spouse wish you had while there? How about supplies or comfort items?

7. Base housing? We think immersing ourselves in the culture will be a good experience. We'd like to do base housing. What was your timeline and experience getting into it.

8. We've been married for almost ten years. We've got stuff for days and a house full of furniture...and three chihuahuas. I'd like to hang on to a respectable amount and donate or sell the rest. From your experience in base housing, will a 0-2 with a wife and no kids get a two or three bedroom? Is there a long wait?

9. Did you inventory your house? Is there a good way to do it? It seems a lot like climbing Mt. Everest to me. (And I wouldn't climb Mt. Everest if it were made of chocolate and cash.)

10. I'm thinking about ditching the older mattresses and getting new once we move. No sense moving old mattresses around. The cost of moving the weight vs. the actual value of the mattress or taking something I'd rather have. We'll really have to reduce our household goods to get below the weight. Happy anniversary to me! (He'll be gone for our 10th anniversary. I want a nice present...something sparkly.) Good idea or am I over-thinking it (the mattress, not the present)?

Thank you for reading this and sharing your wisdom!

L

JAG Base Assignments

The hubs received a email about Air Force JAG base assignments. In the past they would offer new officer candidates an option of two bases. The Air Force has stopped offering two base choices and now only gives you a take-it-or-leave-it base. While I am disappointed they have removed a choice, I do see their point of view. There just aren't that many openings available. I suspect it is also a way to find out which candidates are serious and eliminate some of the fence-sitters. Go big or go home, right?

I've been looking at this as a great adventure and I really don't care where we are assigned so long as the hubs enjoys his job. My sense of wanderlust is the stuff of legends. I'm not sure why the military lifestyle didn't appeal to me sooner. The idea of moving every 2-4 years is so perfectly aligned with my personality it's comical. I think it would be interesting to live in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest (or is it just the Pacific northwest?), the desert or anywhere overseas. I've never been to North Dakota. The weather is supposed to be dreadful but I think it can be as good or as bad as we make the situation. I'd love to live somewhere with mountains, four seasons and measurable snow fall.

I grew up near an Air Force base and it's the one base I have absolutely zero interest in ever seeing again. My avoidance of the area borders on hostile. I still have friends and family there and I try to visit occasionally. The visits usually involve a good sense of humor, patience, beer and less than 24 hours in town. There is also the part about avoiding all ex-boyfriends. "Anywhere but there" is the mantra I've been using every time we talk base assignments. Please keep your fingers crossed. Ugh! Been there, done that. It's just one base out of many so I'm hoping for the best since the odds are with us.

My family is smart and they can work email and buy plane tickets as easily as I can. We did pick bases close to my brothers because I'm a good sister and no fool when it comes to living near the kitchens of my sisters-in-law. (Awesomely good cooks!) Most of the choices on our dream sheet are places we've never lived and many places we've never seen. 

A few months ago I added all of our dream sheet bases to the weather app on my phone. It has been interesting to follow their weather and see the photos that people have posted about the weather. It has given me the chance to see how the weather differs from where we are now. I'm really jealous of the current conditions in quite a few places. Many places with notoriously bad weather aren't like that year round. Just looking at the high and low temps today helps ease the upcoming culture shock as I know about long springs, crisp falls and snow plows in their natural habitats.