New 2nd Lt heading to Randolph AFB....help

MomWPgirl

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DS commissioned last weedend. Has orders to PCS to Randolph mid June. He has a ton of questions about the process. His computer crashed and has spent all day in library trying to find information but to no avail. His detachment gave him some phone numbers to call but no one answers. He requested a sponsor weeks ago but has not received one. Is there links or documents with useful information that I can email him. He spoke with someone on the base near him and he has appointment next Tues and hopefully will get some questions answered. Mostly, housing and moving questions. What type of housing will he be in? Will he need to move his furniture? What happens to his stuff when he leaves Randolph for IFS? Is it obvious we are not a military family? He is presently out of state packing up his college life and will return home next week at which time he will have to buy his first car to make the trip to TX. Lots to do in next few weeks. Welcome to adulthood DS! : ) Any helpful resources out there for him? He keeps running into deadends.
 
DS commissioned last weedend. Has orders to PCS to Randolph mid June. He has a ton of questions about the process. His computer crashed and has spent all day in library trying to find information but to no avail. His detachment gave him some phone numbers to call but no one answers. He requested a sponsor weeks ago but has not received one. Is there links or documents with useful information that I can email him. He spoke with someone on the base near him and he has appointment next Tues and hopefully will get some questions answered. Mostly, housing and moving questions. What type of housing will he be in? Will he need to move his furniture? What happens to his stuff when he leaves Randolph for IFS? Is it obvious we are not a military family? He is presently out of state packing up his college life and will return home next week at which time he will have to buy his first car to make the trip to TX. Lots to do in next few weeks. Welcome to adulthood DS! : ) Any helpful resources out there for him? He keeps running into deadends.

I sent you a PM
 
First, Congrats to you and your son on his completion of College (as you said, the end of his childhood) and his Commissioning as a brand new butter bar (i.e. adulthood and the start of his career).

Of course, the first time anyone goes through this can be confusing and a little intimidating. Feel free to keep asking those questions.

Speaking of which, let's get to a couple:

What type of housing will he be in? Will he need to move his furniture?

Well, since he's going to Randolph and eventually IFS, I'm guessing that he's either going for casual status prior to CSO training at P-Cola, or RPA training.
I'm also assuming he's single. That being assumed, he'll probably be a part of the 12 Flying Training Wing at Randolph. Here's a link to the reporting instructions:

http://www.randolph.af.mil/units/12thflyingtrainingwing/12ftw-randolphstudents.asp

Bottom Line: if he's single, he'll get a dorm room. He needs to first report to the lodging office at Randolph (in uniform). In fact, if I was him, I would call the lodging office and make a reservation for the night prior at the Randolph Inn, so he can start his day early the next day for in-processing.

As to the dorm room -- he'll get the "standard" stuff in regards to furniture (but he can call the Housing office and ask) -- bed, dressers, table, chairs, etc. He'll probably have a kitchenette he'll share with his neighbor in the room next door, with a limited supply of pots and pans. Most likely, he'll need to bring a TV (no need to bring the 54-incher, the room ain't big enough and you can't mount it on the wall), plus whatever else he thinks he'll want / need. First pice of advice: take only what fits in his car! He can arrange a shipment from his home of record (probably your house) later (he's entitled to one original shipment from his HOR).

He's young, he's single, he's busy.... Unless he has a bunch of friends that he already intends to room / rent a place with, the dorms are perfect for his situation (and within walking distance from the Auger Inn (the O'Club lounge) for those "fun" Friday nights, so he won't be tempted to do something stupid like drink and drive home. I've seen too many make that stupid mistake and ruin their very young, and very short, careers).


What happens to his stuff when he leaves Randolph for IFS?

If he's in the dorms (and hopefully, he doesn't have that much there to begin with), he just keeps his room locked up while he's gone those 40 days or so TDY to Pueblo. He still pays rent, but IFS is a TDY so he'll get TDY funds for that. His stuff is on an AF base, so his TV should be safe. He should take his laptop with him anyway to IFS. He's 22, what else valuable does a 22 year old have?

Is it obvious we are not a military family?

No big deal. There are tons who were in or will be in your situation. He'll figure it out and will be a pro at this in years to come. You? Well, he'll just hake his head and mutter "she's just doesn't understand". My advice? Don't sweat the small stuff during his career after this initial time figuring out the beginning steps. He'll take care of it. And whatever you do, don't YOU call his base! He doesn't need THAT reputation!


He is presently out of state packing up his college life and will return home next week at which time he will have to buy his first car to make the trip to TX. Lots to do in next few weeks. Welcome to adulthood DS! : ) Any helpful resources out there for him? He keeps running into deadends.

Son's in a similar situation (in fact, we're car shopping next week). He's also got the advantage that Pima and I are intimately familiar with all this. But we're also letting him take care of things on his own. Looking from a distance to see he doesn't make too many trip ups, but staying well in the background.

Feel free to keep asking. And you thought the worrying would stop when he raised his right hand, didn't you! :biggrin:
 
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Wow...what great information.

I wish someone would post a similar post regarding the Army. I do have to say that the 2 services seem to operate close to the same in regard to housing and moving.

Thanks for the info.
 
Bullet..Thanks so much. I have sent him your reply. You assummed correctly! Single and RPA. He made some headway today and appears to be getting a handle on it. He did call the lodging office and is planning to fax the required docs to them tomorrow.....was happy he figured this out on his own! (Wow, he really is an adult!) : ) I am sure he will have more questions but I think he is still figuring out what questions to ask. He is very resourceful, but without his computer he is a bit lost. When he went to library...hours of googling brought very little info. Guess he will also be purchasing a new computer as well. Anyway, thanks again. I am the type of parent that sits back and lets my older children take the reins but when he initally called today I could tell he was having difficulty knowing where to start. And of course.....I had no idea what direction to point him in. He was thrilled when he got his orders so early.....but dont think he had any idea about everything that needed to be done in 3 weeks time. I am going to thoroughly enjoy watching him navigate thru this initial process. : ) He is the oldest of 4....so it is cool to see one finally leave the nest. My attitude my be a bit different when my youngest leaves but for now I am enjoying this transition with my eldest. (BTW...my youngest( HS freshman) has his sights on USAFA, and have a daughter at USMA so my oldest is paving the way for his siblings future questions) Will make things much easier for them.....hopefully! Thanks again!!!
 
Oh...thought of another question ....Should my son fill out a power of attorney form designating a parent while he is home. If a remember right, I think I read somewhere it is needed when he does finally move his stuff from HOR. Is this correct?
 
Oh...thought of another question ....Should my son fill out a power of attorney form designating a parent while he is home. If a remember right, I think I read somewhere it is needed when he does finally move his stuff from HOR. Is this correct?

Based on all the time it will take to complete his RPA training, you really should have plenty of time before he needs to worry about his HHG shipment from home. Besides, does he even know what base he will be going to after Randolph yet?

But when the time comes, he should also be able to stop by the legal office at Randolph and get a "Special Power of Attorney" designating you as having the authority to represent him when they come to your house to move his stuff. The legal folks are more comfortable working these "special" POAs versus "General" (they have too many horror stories of that going very wrong). Only takes an hour or so to fill the paperwork, and then coming back a few days later to sign (with witnesses), and it's FREE!

That being said, he can make all the arrangements for the shipment at the Randolph Household Goods office.

BTW, the last time I was there (last year), the Randolph Inn had copies of the welcome packets for all incoming students right there at the front desk, with all the information for the students on what to do checking-in.
 
Perfect! Glad he does not have to add that to his list of things to do. Thanks again for your wisdom Bullet!
 
A couple of things Bullet did not point out, but can be useful to him.

1. DITY
~~~ Everything he would ship, including all of his clothing, books, computer, tv, etc. that he would most likely cram into his car anyway can be claimed as a DITY.

In other words he will make money from taking it with him. He has to weigh the car empty, put the stuff in the car and weigh it again. The AF will than calculate the amount they will pay him.

He will learn every penny counts.

2. Renter's Insurance.
~~~ He needs to get that even if his stuff goes into storage or lives in a Q. It is very inexpensive with USAA, but make sure he has it.

Main reason why is if he has the mover's move him, and things disappear the AF will ask him to file it 1st with his insurance carrier. USAA does 100% replacement, the govt does not. If the item is over 6 months old they start to depreciate it, if it is 4 yrs old, it is 60%. This is not 60% of what you paid for it, but what it costs today. I.E. he may have a 32" flat screen tv, you bought two yrs ago for 600, but because you can get it for 300 now, minus depreciation, he will only get 140 reimbursed. USAA will give him the full 300.
Same with his Xbox and all of his games.

If he does ship the games, from my experience it is best to have him inventory the entire list and have the movers sign your personal inventory. Games are the most popular items that disappear...easy for movers to pocket. The list keeps them from thinking this can happen. Also have them write on the box the exact number of games. They will place the serial code for the system, but usually just state games. This will also be double proof that his personal inventory list and the movers sheet matches up with the same amount of games.

Hope that helps.

PS there is money to be made in moving, but it takes a while to you figure out the system to make the most money available, by his 3rd move he should have it down pat!

Do not confuse this with making tons of money, just realize it is eaten up fast because everytime you move, you have to buy new things for some reason or another. Plus, Q's are tiny and since they are most people try to escape them and that means instead of eating at BK, they are eating at Outback or going to a movie. That tallies up very quickly.
 
Just curious.....how does he weigh a car? He probably knows this as he did mention something about this to me last week but I am curious. Great tip for renters insurance ....he will be calling USAA soon to set up commissioning loan for car so will let him know to inquire about renters insurance as well. Good information on video games/ system. Would think he will travel with games in his car.....though the cars he seems to be looking at probably wont hold much. : ( I so appreciate all this wisdom! Pima and Bullet....you are the best!!!!!!!
 
Just curious.....how does he weigh a car?

Contact the local shipping / freight companies in your area and ask if they have "public" scales. He simply drives his car on the scale, and they print a weight certificate on the spot for him. Pack the car the day prior, go back to the company again, and have them weigh it packed. Get the receipt for that as well. Most companies will charge a few buck ($30-ish per each weigh-in), but you can claim the cost as part of your "DITY" (Do-it-yourself) moving expenses and get reimbursed. Contact your local bases Household Goods section in the Transportation squadron; they'll have all the rules available to him and the forms to fill out...

Bullet
 
...

2. Renter's Insurance.
~~~ He needs to get that even if his stuff goes into storage or lives in a Q.

Ditto on this advice - the reliable companies which cater to the military mobile lifestyle write personal property/renter's policies, which insures his "stuff" in his car, in a storage unit, in those boxes he left at your house, at a buddy's apartment while he's deployed and not in an apartment. He may not think he has a lot of "stuff," but with personal electronics and uniforms, perhaps some pricey sports gear, it quickly adds up. He can get specific VPP riders if he has an expensive ring or other single item. And who at this age, with that shiny new O-1 pay, plans to get LESS stuff??

Tell him to ask questions along the way. Every military person at one point was headed to that first duty station, navigating the household goods entitlements, learning the language of orders, figuring out that there is a rhythm to this PCS/TAD/TDY dance that happens. I will forever owe a debt of gratitude to the kind YN2 (E-5 Navy admin type) who walked me through my first travel claim, pointed me at the household goods office and told me to be very respectful to the experienced civilian staff there so I would learn all the insider tricks, as well as the many senior enlisted and more senior officers who helped me through the unfamiliar processes of everyday military life.

He will figure it out, and it will quickly become another survival skill set. If he had any particular mentors back at his ROTC unit, tell him to ask them, officer or enlisted - they have all been through the drill many times.

One comment on DITY payments - believe those are still considered a taxable event, so it will be reported to IRS as a taxable benefit. I am a little hazy on that, it's been a while since I DITY'ed.

Sit back and enjoy while he steps up, figures it out and solves it all!:thumb:
 
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