WooHoo! Elmendorf AFB here we come!! Questions

[Disney8704]

Well what a HUGE surprise this was! DH called me yesterday at work and told me that he opened his email and got a email stating he was selected to go to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska and his report no later date is in December right before Christmas!! We are so shocked, stunned, surprised, happy we don't know what to think or do!! From what I understand Elmendorf AFB is a choice base and just 2 months ago they were actually getting rid of people in DH career field there, so we got VERY lucky! What cracks me up is DH has had VA and FL down on his dream sheet for 5 yrs, and nada. DH puts Elmendorf down in January and bam he gets hit with orders 2 months later. We were NOT expecting this. This hit so suddenly and unexpectedly.

So anyways for anyone who has PCSed I need tips and advice. This is our 1st PCS and we don't know what the heck we are doing How should we go about transporting our pets? I'm really stuck on that one. Also should we drive the whole way, or drive to Washington then take the ferry to Alaska and drive the remainder 800 miles to Anchorage? We really didn't wanna fly there as we want to make sure we have our car and didn't wanna have to rent one while we waited to get our car there.

We were also told it could take up to 30 days to get our stuff. Is that about average or should we be getting our stuff sooner?

Any tips or advice you can give would be awesome!

 

[KerriSue]

Congrats on your new assignment!!! I too have heard great things about that base. I think you will really love it!!!!!!

As for the 30 days to get your stuff, that is about right. When you are going to an assignment that is considered "overseas" that is the norm. They will come and pack you up and ship it up to Alaska. There is this thing called unaccompanied baggage and that is stuff that is about 1500 pounds of things you cant live without and will ship it quicker. This will be your linens, pots/pans, tv, things like that.

I would suggest you go to every PSC meeting your husband gets assigned to. I would also go to your Family Support Center and they will usually hook you up with a DVD of your new base. It might be a bit outdated but still fun to take a look. Your husband should get a sponsor to. Someone from Elmendorf to help you with your move.

Start checking out everything. It is so much easier to move when you are completely informed of everything.

I have PCSd overseas before so I can try to be some help. If you need, give me a PM and we can chat.

Congrats,
Kerri

 

[Piglet4Ever]

Congrats on getting a cool assignment. Dh and I have done two cross country moves with the Navy so far. Both times we drove ourselves so we have driven back and forth across this great country of ours 4 times!! If this is the first time you are doing a military move please take inventory photos of everything you are having the military move for you!! That way if anything is damaged you have proof of it's condition before the move, this came in really handy for us on our last move Good Luck

 

[traviesojmt]

Congrats. We lived at Elmendorf for 3 years and LOVED it. I would be happy to answer any questions that you have. When we left EAFB, we drove home via the Alcan. It was wonderful, but it was summer. I am not sure about driving in the winter though. We did not take the ferry so I cannot answer to that. I am pretty sure that 30 days sounds about right for you household goods. I will say that the TLF (temporary housing) at Elmendorf was some of the best we have seen. It was pretty roomy.

The winter will be an adjustment ( summer will too honestly) but we really loved it. What are your plans for housing? When we left, they had built and were still building new housing. They were nice. It is really nice during bad weather to be on base in walking distance to school and close to commissary and such. During our 3 years there, they did not close schools once for weather. Everything pretty much continues as usual regardless of weather. Full snow gear required of course.

There is a great ski slope on base. My son was 3-6 years at the time and loved going tubing up there. Well, apparently I could go on forever. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. We loved it there.

 

[Disney8704]

Yeah I got a feeling we will love it there to. It was actually my idea for him to put elemdorf on there We will be staying on base housing. How soon should DH put us on the waiting list for housing?

Congrats. We lived at Elmendorf for 3 years and LOVED it. I would be happy to answer any questions that you have. When we left EAFB, we drove home via the Alcan. It was wonderful, but it was summer. I am not sure about driving in the winter though. We did not take the ferry so I cannot answer to that. I am pretty sure that 30 days sounds about right for you household goods. I will say that the TLF (temporary housing) at Elmendorf was some of the best we have seen. It was pretty roomy.

The winter will be an adjustment ( summer will too honestly) but we really loved it. What are your plans for housing? When we left, they had built and were still building new housing. They were nice. It is really nice during bad weather to be on base in walking distance to school and close to commissary and such. During our 3 years there, they did not close schools once for weather. Everything pretty much continues as usual regardless of weather. Full snow gear required of course.

There is a great ski slope on base. My son was 3-6 years at the time and loved going tubing up there. Well, apparently I could go on forever. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. We loved it there.

 

[traviesojmt]

Yeah I got a feeling we will love it there to. It was actually my idea for him to put elemdorf on there We will be staying on base housing. How soon should DH put us on the waiting list for housing?

Every base is different regarding housing waits. He needs to call the housing office. We arrived in Alaska in 2002 and had to wait 6 months for available housing, but it will depend upon rank and how many bedrooms you need. Some bases allow you to get put on the waiting list as soon as you receive your orders and others require you to be there to get on the list. The housing there is privatized.

Feel free to PM me if you have any more specific questions about Anchorage or the area. My daughter was born there and it remains one of our favorite places to be stationed.