Help Please!!!!!!

[Mary Cat]

Matt just bombarded me online with questions about reenlistment! Apparently Obama just passed a new law where if you reenlist in the military, you don't get bonuses anymore. It hasn't gone into affect yet, but it's going to sometime soon. (this is what Matt's been told)
SO now he wants to make a decision about reenlisting within the next 2-3 days so we can make sure we get a bonus. We were already going to but what makes it difficult is we have to pick our next duty station NOW. We have two in mind but I really wanted to look more into it before we had to do this.
Ladies please please help me out
I need to know bases you're at or have been and what the positives and negatives were about them.
I'd really appreciate all the help you can give!
THank you

[Mary Cat]

And to make matters worse, the phone disappeared so he can't call me and I have to go so I can't even stay on and talk to him!
He said that the bonuses are goign to be gone in 7 days
His first sgt. got a memo from the SGM and SMA stating this was happening
I feel like pulling my hair out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kathryn]

OMG...I'm so sorry!! Unfortunally I can't help with any of that as I've never been on a base..anywhere..lol I hope the other girls can help you out!!

[Lisa]

aaahhhh i hate Obama! He needs to just stay away from making decisions about the military since he clearly knows nothing about it! Well in my personal opinion Mary lol I say WEST COAST! Go live in Cali because that's where I'll (hopefully) be!

[happilymarried]

I hate Obama!!!!he is full of crap!!!!!I have never lived on post..but i was around Fort Hood Tx,and i liked it there.I am extremely sorry about your situation!!!sometimes i feel like pulling out all my hair too!!!

[Christy]

From what I understand from Jason. As of this time, there are no reenlistment bonus'. Now he was not sure if it's the same for Active Duty Soldiers and Reservists. But he is a Full Time Reservist who is in the AGR program and he is up for reenlistment this month and he will not be getting a bonus. The reason being is because the numbers of Soldiers joining are up due to the economy. So there is no need to entice Soldiers to join because Job Security is their bonus. Now I am unaware that this is a permanent thing, I can't imagine it being so because one never knows where the economy will be in 3 years or so. But from what I understand, it's just a temporary thing. While it sucks, job security is something that is really important right now.

[Christy]

Oh, and just fyi, Jason is the Human Resource Sgt. for the Unit he's in. Not that what he knows is set in stone or that he knows everything, he does tend to know some information about Soldiers Pay and other stuff.

[Lovey]

I'm so sorry Mary. Wish I could be of some help. But I very much dislike Obama as well.

[Mary Cat]

The problem is that we have to reenlist b/c in Alaska your spouse has to live up there for at least 18 months in order for you to get BAH for them as well.
So we were going to reenlist this summer anyway but b/c of him being deployed and these new rules he has a couple of days to reenlist to get a bonus otherwise he won't get one b/c they aren't going to offer it anymore this year to the guys overseas. Well we have to reenlist before he comes home anyway for me to move up there so we're just going to do it now so we can get the money rather than in 6 months when we'd have to do it anyway but with no money.
So, we just really need to know what bases are good and what ones we need to avoid.

[Meredith]

Fort Lewis is big...not as big as Ft Hood or Benning but it's right behind them. I think there's 30,000 military personnel on post so thats 30,000 plus families. If you want to live on post I wouldnt' suggest it, the waiting list is something like 14 months long?? The surrounding areas are pretty decent, just a few neighborhoods to stay out of but I'm sure that's going to be the same wherever you go. Off post housing is really affordable depending on where you go...Mike and I stay $250 under BAH every month so that's $250 we get to use for whatever we want :) Plenty of places to find within an easy commute too. It rains or is overcast pretty much straight through from mid September till about mid may. Rarely gets colder than 35. The summer is BEAUTIFUL! Dry heat...they consider 85 a heat wave. TONS of outdoor activities if you're into that stuff. The landscape is beautiful. Evergreens every where and you can see Mt Rainier from practically anywhere as long as it's clear. Px and commissary are big, always kinda crowded (lighter during the week) but it's never SO bad that you wouldn't go if you wanted to. If you have any more questions let me know...I'm not sure what else you're interested in.

[Lisa]

i hate obama!!!!he is full of crap!!!!!i have never lived on post..but i was around fort hood tx,and i liked it there.i am extremely sorry about your situation!!!sometimes i feel like pulling out all my hair too!!!

whoo yeah!! Move to texas!!

[Christy]

I am confused, what does BAH have to do with the Reenlistment Bonus?

[~*Kandice*~]

Ft. Stewart sux. I mean i like the area because its alot like Alabama (which is my home) but the actual post sux. to me. I've also heard Ft. Gordan, ga is also known as Ft. Hell. It must be really really bad.

[colleen]

The problem is that we have to reenlist b/c in Alaska your spouse has to live up there for at least 18 months in order for you to get BAH for them as well.

Mary where did you hear this? We got BAH when I was there and I certainly wasn't there for 18months! Is this new?

[Mary Cat]

THank you girls
All input is helpful
Mere, I love you lol The only other thing I'm concerned about is childcare since I want to work and we want to have a baby by then :D

Matt really wants to do Italy or Germany so IDK what to do

Christy- In order for me to live in Alaska (it's a rule up there b/c it's not continental 48) I have to live up there for at least 18 months after I move up there. If I decide to move up there and live off-post but for less than 18 months, they won't give us a married BAH just whatever he would get singlely. As of right now, I would only be up there for 12 months about which isn't long enough so he was going to re-up anyway so I can move up there and just b/c he wanted to anyway.

Hope that wasn't confusing lol

[Mary Cat]

Colleen, I have no idea.
That's what they told him before they deployed in the fall
You're going back though so I think it has to be a total of 18 months, not 18 months straight

[Christy]

So, how does Alyssa and Luke get it? Sorry, I guess I'm confused.

[Mary Cat]

Sorry I'm getting confused. This is what Matt just said...

"The 18 months is battalion policy for command sponsership. Thats the only way you can live up there and get military medical up there and us get paid to live up there"

So that cleared things up
I'm probably confusing everyone sorry girls
He confuses me and I'm just frustrated with the fact that we need to chose a place by tomorrow night basically.

[Kathryn]

All this stuff is confusing to me..i'm a newbie to this military stuff since i've only been dating justin for a few months..lol wow..I have LOTSSS to learn!

[Meredith]

Yeah I'm pretty sure all you have to do is get command sponsorship since it's technically an overseas station. Technically you're supposed to be on his orders before he gets stationed there but Alyssa and Luke didn't seem to have a problem getting her on order and into post housing either.

Also if you're concerned about childcare at fort lewis I wouldn't be...I know there's at least one place on post and plenty in the surrounding area...not to say they're all stellar but you'd have plenty to choose from. Fort Lewis actually has a few schools on post too...I think mainly elementary schools although you're not quite up to that yet.

[Christy]

I'm still confused. I guess I don't understand how Luke and Alyssa got it and you are saying you can't. If I remember correctly, she wasn't even on his orders when she moved up there and they got it. They had to live in temporary housing until his orders were fixed, from what I remember. But I don't remember her saying she had to wait 18 months to get BAH.

[Mary Cat]

I think we narrowed it down and thanks Mere
Kathryn, you'll learn over time. I've been a part of it for about 20 months and I'm still learning A LOT!!! I don't think it'll ever stop lol

So our 5 places (and we have to choose 1 haha) are

Italy
Germany
Ft. Carson, CO
Ft. Hood, TX
Ft. Huachuca, AZ

I think I'd really enjoy Ft. Lewis too but after living in Alaska, I really want to move a little bit more south

[Christy]

I thought you got to put three places on a wish list. Active Duty is so different. LOL

[Mary Cat]

Christy, It's not the BAH I was just confused. It has something to do with command sponosorship at Fort Wainwright. Alyssa is at Fort Richardson so they might not have the same rules.

[Mary Cat]

It's not a wish list when he resigns this time though
It's a "heres the one I want" and then they try to get it and if they can't then they come back to us and say "sorry we couldn't get you in, what's your next choice?"
So really we only need to tell them one right now but I'm we're not sure which out of those 5 we want to pick as our #1 choice

[Christy]

I see. I'm so confused!! lol

[Mary Cat]

Me too!!!! Bahahahaha
I'm trying to understand this all but Ft. Wainwright has different rules than the other bases so I don't quite get it
All I know is that we have to pick a base to move to in about 2 1/4 years and we only have about 2 days to decide

[Armywm]

Germany, Italy or Ft Campbell KY

[Meredith]

Ok I have kind of a silly question...if it takes 18 months to get whatever the policy is at Wainright then why move up there if he's not going to be there?? If I recall correctly you were talking about moving up in April after the wedding but he'll be going back to Iraq. So why not stay at home with your family, bank whatever bah you get and your separation pay and worry about moving when he gets back?? That will give you extra money for the wedding and extra money to start the 18 months when he gets back. I don't think I'd be willing to pay out of pocket to live in AK without Mike. It would be one thing if you were living together and decided to stay after he left. Crap if Mike deploys from here I'll probably go home.

I hope you don't take that the wrong way...just some food for thought.

[Mary Cat]

Lol No I'm staying here after the wedding and moving up in the fall.
I might move early but it would only be a few weeks before he comes home not in April though haha

The rules are confusing but We decided AZ is the last out of those 5 and I think Italy is our number one.
So I'm goign to look up more info on those 5 tonight (he had to go to sleep) and then tomorrow he's going to try to call me so I can let him know all the info I'm supposed to be figuring out so we can make a decision

I think it would be fun to go overseas though :)

[Christy]

Jason was trying to get overseas for awhile. It's def a once in a lifetime chance.

[Meredith]

lol I thought you were moving right after you got married. Trust me moving even when he gets home isn't all that great. Don't get me wrong I LOVE being here with Mike but there are so many new things to get used to....

[Mary Cat]

Yeah I'm kinda nervous but I can't wait to move out!
I'm ready to start a new chapter of my life that doesn't involve all the "friends" from high school that aren't concerned about anything other than partying
Going overseas is going to make thing even more difficult but I'll be in Alaska for 18 months before we PCS anyway
I'm just really excited to have my own place and my own little family :)

[Cortnie DeNise]

I'm sorry I can't help. I haven't lived on any bases. I will ask my SO of nice places, and let him know about those bonuses, too.

[Armywm]

Just to let you know, Italy is mostly for the Medical field.

[Mary Cat]

He works on helicopters so right now he's attached to a MEDEVAC unit
His MOS is at a decent amount of bases thank god :)

[erikalilly]

Wow! Definitely go overseas! How wonderful would that be to spend the time together traveling and enjoying the beautiful place of Italy! I have been there and its great!!!!!!:)

[Mary Cat]

I think we've got it down to 3.... Italy, Germany and Ft. Carson :)
I can't wait!!
I really hope we do get Italy but I know it's really hard