New navy wife w/ lots of questions....?

Question

So my husband just joined the navy and he is doing the buddy system with a friend. They leave in Jan so about 5 months from now. We are really excited about this change in our lives. However I am getting very nervous about it. He is so anxious to get this all started. He has been wanting to do this for awhile now. We are 23 and been married for 3 years. I guess my question is just if anyone has any advise on how to deal with the sudden change of it all? He will be at boot camp for 8 weeks and gone to A school for 9 months.

Answer 1

You need to establish a routine, especially if you have kids.  When he is gone, things will inevitably break, etc, so make a list of people you can call when things go wrong.  He will worry anyway, but not as much if he knows you can take care of things.  

There is a fine line us military wives have to walk between telling our spouses everything that is going wrong, and just the basics so he knows life does go on, but isn't THAT great with out him.  You want him to focus on his training, and not what is going on at home.  It may be a crisis for you, but no amount of wining will bring him home.  It will only stress both of you out.

Work out a budget, and make sure he has spending money.  Write to him, but don't take it personal if he doesn't write back.

You will miss each other, just remember to communicate, if it's letters, email or on the phone.

PS Don't send him anything too personal at bootcamp :)  He will likely get it taken away, and his buddies may kid him about it.

ABOUT BAH:

This is how it is for the ARMY, It is very likely the same intial process:

When he goes to boot camp, he will go through improsscessing: Medical, Dental Checkup, ID CARD, Foot Assesment ( my husband found out he has flat feet this way), issue uniform, ETC. and PAPERWORK.  When he fills this paper work out he will indicate that he is married, and began the process of BAH.  Full BAH should start the 1st of the next month.  My husband was a processer for the ARMY, which is the guys that get the troops before they actually to go to basic, and walks them through the above process, so hopefully this gives you some idea.

Answer 2

Communication through mail. Phone calls, from him when they let him in boot camp (A school he will have lots of chance to call) and a big heap of faith and trust. Be prepared for deployments 8 months at a time. For me communication was the key.

Answer 3

You are going to have so much fun!

That is really cool!

Have you considered what countries you want to live in?

We lived three years in Scotland, and later three years in Italy.

I have known sailors who managed to spend 16 years out of a 20 year career, living in homes overseas. [email me can we can discuss exactly how]

I would recommend that you consider right now, your investing plans also.

E3 pay sucks. But you can support a family on it. So each time that he advances and his pay goes up, figure out how much 50% of that pay raise is. 50% goes into your monthly budget to live on, and 50% goes into your investing portfolio.

If you do something like this, then in 20 years when he gets his pension; you guys can actually retire.

I did.

Good luck, and have fun!