Engage. Educate. Encourage. EMPOWER.
Ah yes… The blessed PCS! It is an intense time of adventure, uncertainty and new beginnings. But we want to take some of the guesswork out of it, so check out the images below for more PCS info (don’t miss our most popular feature, Post with the Most!), or keep reading to our latest PCS features from our blog.
Two major PCS twice in one year. That’s two moves in less than 12 months…
1 out of 5 stars—do not recommend.
If you read that first line and thought, “Ooh, I have to see what this says,” then you probably PCS’d in 2021.
If you didn’t PCS this year, you probably still know the hardships that this year was for military families around the world.
A tight housing market and shortages within the moving companies threw many of us for a loop.
The excitement of viewing homes on realtor.com quickly turned to dread, and even fear, as fewer and fewer options became available.
Bidding wars started on houses where, in the past, none would have existed.
Like many spouses of military servicemen and women, I get caught up in all the reasons why it is not fun to be a military spouse. From deployments, having to spend thousands on hidden costs like the new pinks and greens uniforms and PCS season where essentially everything you own is scooped up into a giant washing machine. And, like a washing machine, everything gets tumbled around, sometimes things are destroyed, and sometimes things are lost (like that one sock).
But while out for a run the other morning at our new duty station, Fort Lee in Virginia, I had time to think about the positive changes military life has brought to me.
Today, I’m sharing my top five kitchen essentials. When bringing items into my home I try to make sure the item is multipurpose. Ideally, I’d prefer using a simplistic approach, however, that isn’t always the case.
PCS season is underway, and if you’re moving this year, you know what that means.
Time for “creative” dinners with the last remnants of your pantry! (Really, someone needs to create a cookbook with recipes designed to use up a case of ramen, the final squirt of a mustard bottle, a dusty bag of Craisins, and a gallon of peanut oil.)
Along with your not-so-master-chef debut, you’ll also be sorting through closets, overseeing the movers, cramming a forgotten toy into a suitcase after the moving van pulls away, checking into temporary lodging, checking out of temporary lodging, along with all the wrangling of pets, children, plans, and sometimes… our service members!
If you’re like many military families, you may have PCS’d somewhere in the world this summer. Stress, extreme organization, and wondering what could possibly go wrong often go along with the process, but do you know what else a PCS means? The option to change up your TRICARE insurance coverage options.
Before I knew I was moving, my calendar was full of things to do: meetings, volunteer activities, soccer games, and coffee meet-ups with the gals. I would get to the end of the day, review what I had up tomorrow, and think “I am way too busy.”
Then, I found out we were moving.
Two of the greatest struggles military spouses have during a PCS are finding a productive work life and connecting with friends in their new communities, especially over the last 12 to 14 months. But, have you noticed the lines between networking for work and meeting new friends have blurred thanks to Zoom, Clubhouse, LinkedIn, and other telework and social platforms?
My husband gave me a profound reminder today: “No duty station is ever as good or as bad as everyone says it is.”
Think about that a moment. Part of this statement may be disappointing and seem negative, but hopefully some of it encourages and offers hope.