PCS’ing with the Millers: The Journey Begins
Waiting for the Job List…Any Day Now…
This story is one in a series that follows the progression of my latest PCS. In an effort to show the complexity, frustrations and joys of PCS’ing, I’m baring all in this series to help other military spouses (even if it’s just one!) take on their next PCS with confidence.
I currently sit at the precipice of very good news or very bad news. No, I’m not waiting for a doctor’s phone call or an email about a job. I’m waiting for the 2018 Air Force jobs list to be released.
Back in November, my husband was officially put on the “Vulnerable to Move” list — meaning we are moving somewhere in the summer of 2018. My Army-affiliated co-workers and bosses got a good chuckle when I shared the news.
Ken: Vulnerable to move? What’s that? Doesn’t that happen the day you join the military?
Jason: Aww, gotta love the the Air Force and their safe spaces.
Kellie: I thought “vulnerable to move” meant they handed you orders and you had to move within the month?!
Yes we’re vulnerable; vulnerable to move in 2018; vulnerable to the whims of AFPC; vulnerable to the wills of the PCS gods; vulnerable to the moods of our movers. But even through all of this vulnerability, I’m ready to PCS! It would be a bold-faced lie to say I didn’t want to move the day after I stepped foot in North Carolina.
However, it would be an even bigger lie to say my husband and I didn’t make the most of our time here in North Carolina. We explored the state, took advantage of being so close to Washington D.C., made friends, went on adventures and tried to absorb all the perks of “Southern living” our cells could take (I’m looking at you, Bojangles chicken biscuit). So we will miss North Carolina a teensy bit when we head out.
All that being said, we’re ready to move. It partly has to do with wanting to be out of the South and partly to do with the fact that we may be PCS’ing to Germany. GERMANY!
As someone who studied abroad overseas and wants to become an ex-pat someday, getting stationed in Germany is my dream.
But we all know what the military does when they discover your hopes and dreams:
So like I said, I sit at the precipice of the first phase of good news or bad news. The good news will entail a list of jobs that are good for my husband in areas that aren’t in middle-of-nowhere-America (read: overseas). The bad news will entail good jobs for my husband in middle-of-nowhere-America (read: Georgia or Texas).
The Air Force was supposed to release the list of jobs by December 18. Then hubs received an email saying the list would be released on December 20. Then he received another email saying the list would be released on December 22 (the Friday before Christmas ). Bearing in mind how hard people work the Friday before Christmas (*eye roll*), in actuality I think we will receive the job list January 20, two days before my husband has to turn in his assignment requests.
Typical.
The most delicious part of this experience is the repeated questioning from friends, family members and acquaintances about where we’re headed next. I should just create a recording that I play every time I find myself in this situation!
Person: How much longer are you here for?
Me: We move next summer actually. Hopefully in July.
Person: Oh that’s great! Where are you headed?
Me: Will you call and ask the Air Force? They’ve neglected to let me know.
Person: Haha, well, hopefully you’ll find out soon!
Me: A girl can dream.
But, no matter when it arrives, I’ll wait (not-so-patiently) in anticipation for the first glimpse at just where we’re going next. At least by that point I’ll be able to say, “Well, we may be going here, here or here. We’re not sure yet!”
MTF
~Alexis
Wanna see what happens next? PCS’ing with the MILLERS: The List!
MILLIE is an online community and digital marketplace that connects members of the military and their families with specialized knowledge and trusted resource providers to remove the stress and anxiety of PCS’ing. Check out MILLIE’s Installation and Neighborhood Guides, our network of Veteran and military spouse Realtors, and Scout, our on-demand task service composed of military spouses.
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