My boyfriend of 5 years enlisted in the Army this year.We have decided to be married and he wants me to move fom Ohio to Washington.I know there is a lot of paper work and issues to become a military spouse. What is base life like? What benefits are offered? PLEASE NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS!Just helpful advice.How do I prepare for becoming a military spouse and base life?Once you are married, your husband (dh) will need to take a copy of the marriage certificate (you should get several copies) to the closest base and have you entered into DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System). once this happens you are able to get a Military ID card, you will be signed up immediately for Tricare Standard (medical - with co-pays and a yearly deductible), and be able to use all the military facilities including Commissary, Exchange, Gyms, Pools, etc.. He will also have to sign you up for United Concordia which is dental insurance (about $11 a month for singles, $28 for families). If you are not with him at the time of him entering you in the system, then he will need to get you a Power of Attorney (POA) for you to go to the closest base and get one yourself. Once you have gotten your military ID card you can then sign up for Tricare Prime. This means there is no co-pay or deductible but you do need to get approval before seeing anyone. you wil also be given a Primary Care (PCM) either at the base or out in town if you choose to have a civilian. Before you leave home you should make sure you have a copy or two of your birth certificate and update your passport (or get one you never know when you will need it).
If he is stationed in Washington then as soon as you are married he can sign up for military housing if that is where you want to live. Or you can be off post anywhere near the base. For this you will get a Housing Allowance (BAH) and it is to pay for your rental %26amp; all utilities. He should also give your information to the FRG (Family Readiness Group) so they are aware of who you are. That if needed they can contact you. This group will have the most up to date information when the command deploys.
You should mak sure that you have joint accounts, car insurance, etc... as well.
When you arrive at the base you should go to the Family Center and sign up for the Spouse 101 class, it will give you teh best information on what you can do as a military wife. There is also online groups that can help you out as well like military.com forums, cinchouse %26amp; even yahoo groups.
I have been married to my dh for almost 12 years and we have been together for 14. To be honest I find some things are no different than being a wife to a person not in the military. Your home and life is what you make of it. If you are negative about it then you will have a horrible time. You have a chance to go places, see things you may not have had the chance before to see, meet friends that can last a lifetime or friends who can help you just go through this deployment or base. But you will learn and grow so much in your own way and be a better person about it.How do I prepare for becoming a military spouse and base life?
It will be a challenge, especially when he is not around. However, the good part to this is the family support groups or whatever their title is now. You will not be the only spouse feeling depressed, alone and confused if your other half is not present at home station. You will be exposed to others who feel the same as you and enduring the same experiences.
Base housing is improving but you may not live on base or post for a while, depending on vacancies and available housing. The post exchange and commissary are available for merchandise and grocery shopping. I recommend you view the Fort Lewis web site http://www.lewis.army.mil/ and scroll through the links on the left side of the page. There is information on housing, schools, medical and other bits of info for newcomers.How do I prepare for becoming a military spouse and base life?The sense of community that you will have on base is very good. There is everything that you would have off base right there,except some of the higher end stores and such.
Base housing can be kind of shoddy, but you can usually get problems fixed in a decent time frame. You will make life long friends. My parents (career Marines) still exchange Christmas cards with people they haven't seen since the 70's!
There is always some kind of waiver to get around some of the BS rules and regs. All you have to do is find it, and fill out the proper forms. Make friends with someone in personnel, and they can guide you through the fun and games.
One thing to be prepared for though is that while you are NOT a member of the service, you will be expected to do things. Spouse parties, volunteer work and such. As the wife of a low ranking soldier, you will be low man on the totem pole. But it gets better.
Good luck.
Ok, well im a kind of new army wife, got married about 1 year ago. Hope this helps... your life might change in several ways but it wont affect u unless u let it affect you. Base life is not so different you will just have the opportunity to make new friends who will be living the same kind of life you do, which is someting good. About the paper work, well isnt that an issue you have to deal with when you get married? I just can tell you I wouldnt change my life for anything. The benefits of being there besides the friends part i just told you would be the facilities you will have. For example life in base you can have several social events organized by military wives or for military families etc. If you ever need soemone to talk to you can add me ill be glad to help you! Just remember sometimes ull find it hard... u also have to apy full attention to the rules of what u can and cannot say because if I may say this some people in there can be very mean and can try to pull u down by waiting for the time ull mess up, also u may feel lonely sometimes this is very normal (my husband is currently deployed so I get that feeling often) and well another last thing will be the feling of change, cause I repeat ur life will change, not only cause ull get amrried (thats a huge change), but ull get married to a military man. Its great though! Good luck!How do I prepare for becoming a military spouse and base life?Being a military spouse is what you make of it. Base housing is only for couples with kids and there is a waiting list for mostly all bases. Base life is also another thing that is what you make of it. There is always other spouses that will always reach out to help the new person so don't worry about not making any friends or needing help with certain things because that's what some of other spouses live for to help other spouses. It's like that's what they were put there for. And most bases have everything on it so you want have to leave or everything is right outside the base. I'm a military spouse and I am happy as long as I with my husband that's how I make the best out of being a military spouse. Oh yeah and join some support groups online and off. MilitarySpouseClub07-subscribe@yahoogrou鈥?/div> How do I prepare for becoming a military spouse and base life?
my freinds step dad is in the army and her family had to move to the base, her mom read a few books about what you cant do, how u'll live, everything she needed to no... hope i helped
Congrats on getting married. And welcome to the family. I love being an army wife and I love living on post. Living here is like living in a bubble, I am safe, no one can bother me. I have friends among neighbors, but I also know that no matter what I need, my needs will be met, by friends, neighbors, or the Army. Right now, our division is deployed, so just us wives here (ok ok yes there are husbands here with wives deployed) and we stick together. So when you are far away from your blood family, you still have family.
I am sure you already know about medical, dental, PX, commissary benefits. Yes, there is alot of paperwork to fill out. Yes, some of the housing is crappy, but the Army has privatized many of the housing and new housing is being built. Here at Ft Stewart they have built 2 new housing areas and torn down 3 old ones. It is growing and changing, just have to be patient.
And lastly, being a military spouse means you will spend time alone. Even if your husband doesnt deploy, there are still schools and field exercises. If he does deploy, be ready for a year + of being apart. I am currently going through my 3rd deployment with my husband, and all is fine. It is our "other" normal while he is gone. You will understand that one day.
It is a GREAT life!! Welcome to it!
If you have more questions, please feel free to IM me or email anytime!How do I prepare for becoming a military spouse and base life?
The of a military base as a gated community. There are benefits in the military unmatched anywhere in the world. Medical care, dental, optometry, the safety of always knowing there will be a roof over your head and food on the table. First to be served during any natural disaster. Price medical care for yourself at age 40 and see what that is. Upon retirement you will get extremely discounted medical care and one of the best retirements in the World unless you happen to marry Bill Gates or a CEO of an oil company. My wife has been an Army wife for 14 years and she is very happy. It is a very secure lifestyle. But there are a few catches. Iraq, Afghanistan, NTC, JRTC, ANCOC, BNCOC, WLC, and other crap that will separate you. It is all worth it.
I dont no but the movie we were soldiers showed how spouses lived on bas the movie is rather really good to. an congradulations on getting married
Living on base is really no different than living off base.
If he hasn't completed his basic and AIT training you might want to wait and see where he gets stationed. Unless he has Ft. Lewis in his contract or his already stationed there.
Benefits for a spouse included medical/dental, shopping at the PX and commissary (no sales tax), if he reenlist for it you can get his GI Bill.
Being a spouse is not that bad. It has some rough moments with deployments etc but if you are strong the marriage can make it.
First off get involved in the family rediness group. This is the group of spouses who get together every month and talk about issues from deployment of the spouse to party planning. Next more than likely you will not be living on post you have to wait for on post housing. The commisary an the PX are great no taxes on items and great deals. Just remember to support you spouse with deployments and descions he makes. It will probally take at least a year to get on post housing but the Army will give you money for rent every month and money to eat with.
I spent 14 years as an Air Force wife and loved base life. Everyone treats you like family plus the base has lots of family activities. The health benefits are great- it costs almost nothing to have kids etc. The downfalls are you spouse usually has to put in lots of extra projects and time with work and he may be deployed a lot too. Also depending on the base, some base housing is in shoddy shape.
You could consider buying a new home off base with your VA loan then even if you sell a couple years later, as long as you pay off the loan with the sale, you can reuse the loan again. More and more couples are using this option anymore. That way it feels like your home, not rental.
its like this you will not see him for the first six weeks while you sit in a trailer off post why because the housing is first come first serve and goes from general down to a new private then there the welfare office why because the pay is such a low scale that almost every soldger qualifies for food stamp cards medical treatment fine at the post hospital but it can be as busy as a E-R in NewYork on any given day or night why negative comments because i watched my friend marriages tear apart because we were in an alert mode inthe airbourne at Ft Bragg and his wife messed around witht eh nieghbor my best dates were with other soldgers wives that left them to go to the field or the overseas without them
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