Pcs: a staple in a military life

If you are a military spouse/family one thing you can always count on; there is a PCS(permanent change of station) in your future. For most this happens anywhere from a year to a couple years at a time and can range from a hop from state to state or a hop across an ocean to an overseas location. Either way it is a time of a lot of stress and anxiety but it can so be a time of amazing opportunity.

First the stress, can I just say planning ahead makes a huge difference for me! I utilize every planning website I can but I have to say my favorite one is www.ahrn.com, it not only helps with finding a house in your new location but there is a little button to push called Plan My Move that will give a by date to do list along with important numbers for both the outgoing base and the incoming base. This has been a great resource for me as it reminds me of things I don't always think ahead about. I still stress about the move but I feel a bit more confident that I won't miss anything major. I also find what I stress about isn't always what my service member stresses over. My big worry is clearing housing and getting my kiddos school situation set up, where he is more worried about clearing CIF(central issue facility), and clearing post. The important thing to remember is that each of your priorities is to get through this PCS, talk about what your concerns with one another; communication will save you a lot of headaches during this time. Don't be afraid to go to the levy briefs, like I said before your thought processes may be different and you both could have different questions(there has been many a time when my manchild has come home with information and I will ask a question that seems obvious to me and it never crossed his mind). Hopefully if you can both attend there will be less confusion and missed information

Now for the opportunity, for our family the transition from post to post is always a fun vacation from all things military and stressful. This has become a major tradition for us. When we moved from Washington state to Louisiana we took Hwy 101 down the Oregon coast, when we moved back to Washington we stopped at Tombstone, and Disneyland, when we moved to Alaska we took the Ferry up and now as we head back to the Lower 48 we are driving the ALCAN (Alaska Canadian Highway).
The point is that no matter where you move there are going to be sights to see and what a perfect opportunity to explore the nation that your family has sacrificed so much for and not to mention the memories you will be making!! Once again I am a planner so once I find out our next duty staton, I get out a map, draw a route and then start looking for tourist destinations, Google is one of my favorite tools just type in the city's name you are driving through and attractions or activities and all kinds of things pop up. Or you can order tourism information for each state you are driving through, whatever works better for you.

No matter what remember that a PCS is stressful but like any crazy situation we find ourselves in as military spouses there is a positive side. You just have to look for it a little harder at some times than others. Use your PCS time as an opportunity to grow as a family or a couple.