Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sailorswife2716 on January 23, 2015 at 11:08am

Well while your husband is in BC you will stay where you are currently living and he gets his base pay, BAH(basic housing allowance), and family separation pay. He will enroll you guys in tri care, and he basically handles everything. You get a form from him with all the DEERS info so you can get your military ID. After BC, he will head to his A school and if it is longer than 6 months you guys can move to that location on the navy's dime.

Permalink Reply by Sailorswife2716 on January 23, 2015 at 11:14am

How long his A school is and where it is located all depends on his rate. There also may be additional schooling after A school as well. If you guys do in fact head in this new journey, congrats :). My husband is currently in a school and we will be finding out our duty station this summer. I saw you have a child and we have a 2 year old, my advice to you is just take it day by day and take every situation for what it is.. A learning experience. Always prepare for different outcomes, and don't stress about time lines, military motto... Hurry up and wait. You wait for everything. And however long a school is, take into account that it will most likely be longer because they have to wait for their classes to start. I always anticipate that my husband will be somewhere longer than expected. the distance is hard, but this has made my husband and I so much stronger as individuals, as a couple and as parents. I hope it does the same for you :) Good luck to you guys!

Permalink Reply by brittanyg on January 23, 2015 at 11:15am

My husband is trying to get a SEALS contract or EOD so I don't know what that entails for my two daughters and I am a stay home mom and I want to make sure that I will still be able to take care of my daughters while he is training 

Permalink Reply by Sailorswife2716 on January 23, 2015 at 12:11pm

I am a stay at home mom as well and I think as long as you have a little bit saved then you should be fine. Don't expect to receive a paycheck until a month after he leaves, it could possibly come earlier but just anticipate a month. If you have family around it makes things easier too. We moved in with my parents when we started the navy process. My husband wanted to get a SEALS or EOD contract as well but we decided to take another route. There should be no problem to continue what you are doing, I would say that you should do your research about those rates too though and outweigh the pros and cons since you do have kids.

Permalink Reply by brittanyg on January 23, 2015 at 12:16pm

Thank you so much for all your help I will look up the rates I am still learning everything I know the recruiter did say what the BAH was for our area. I just want to make sure that I am as prepared as I can be for this process. 

Permalink Reply by Sailorswife2716 on January 23, 2015 at 12:50pm

Oh ofcourse! I'm glad I could help. Before bootcamp is when you can actually plan and prepare, after that it's all about waiting and not knowing anything for sure even if there are hard orders. I will tell you that the reason why I didn't want my husband in SWICC/SEALS, or EOD was because those are rates that's are a lot more dangerous and my husband didn't want me to be stressed out all the time whenever he got deployed. But just know everyone's situation is different and everyone's military experience is different than others. Feel free to send me a message whenever you need anything :)

Permalink Reply by brittanyg on January 23, 2015 at 3:46pm

Thank you so much! You have helped me so much with understanding what is ahead for our family I am so appreciative for your advice and knowledge 

Permalink Reply by Sailorswife2716 on January 23, 2015 at 4:09pm

Your so welcome! I'm glad I can help in any way :) my husband has wanted to join the navy since we were in high school, and the right time didn't come till now 10 years later. So he's done 10 years worth of research and prepared me as much as he could leading up to bootcamp. From the day he left I did extensive research on my own and this site was a godsend, it still is! So far I've learned that it just takes some adjustment on both ends, but as long as you guys have a strong foundation going in, then everything will be fine. I thought this life would be harder with a little one in the mix, but it's actually easier because kids keep you busy lol. If my husband had enlisted right after high school like he wanted then I don't think our relationship would have been able to stand it, but since we waited.. This has only continued to make us stronger, I hope it does the same for your family :)

Permalink Reply by Anti M on January 23, 2015 at 11:15am

During boot camp you receive a housing allowance, medical, and family separation pay after 30 days.  If you are near a base (any branch), you may use base facilities, many of which are free or cheap.  

In the Navy, we call it A school.  It must be over 20 weeks for you to move there at the Navy's expense.  So that will depend on what job he qualifies and contracts for.  If the school is not long enough, you stay in place until he receives his PCS orders (permanent change of command).  You will receive a housing allowance for where you reside as long as he is in school.  There are BAH calculators online where you can see what that amount may be (varies by paygrade and zip code).  

With three dependents, he will need a waiver to join.  Should not be a problem.

Permalink Reply by brittanyg on January 23, 2015 at 11:20am

When we talked to the recruiter they told him about the waiver I am getting all the documents they need for him to take the ASVAB and they said that because we live near Boston we will have a high BAH. But he did say that it will start the 1st day of boot camp but I was very stressed this is not the path that I thought that I would be on but I am ready to embrace it and support my husband. 

Permalink Reply by Jenni1453 on January 24, 2015 at 2:45am

Also BAH starts from day one, but you won't actually have it for 30 to 45 days. You will have a large sum though because of the backpay. 

Permalink Reply by Jenni1453 on January 24, 2015 at 2:42am

I'm a stay at home mom to a ten week old baby. My husband is set to PIR (graduate boot camp) on February 27th. Like Sailorswife has said, as far as finances go, you will receive his pay and a housing allowance which will take care of you guys. My advice is to have a months worth of bills saved up. He'll probably be in the DEP program for a year or a little less. (waiting to ship to basic) My husband has been gone since January 6th, and we will be getting our first money on Feb 1st. Just making sure you're set up for a month or two without income means you can focus on your child and not have to worry. Oh, and as far as school goes, don't always trust the recruiter. They told me over and over that I could not live with my husband, but I've since learned that I can live with him. The other side of that is there are some people who were told they could go, but they can't. I think it all comes down to how long his school is. Good luck with everything.