BMT For Those With Dependants

SR.AO · 07-08-2009, 09:35 AM

Oh, I dont know if this is possible or not, but can my wife buy me my laptop and bring it to my PIR? I know I cant use it at GL but am I allowed to retain it for A School? We found a good deal on an Acer laptop for only 298.00 at Wal-Mart

asailorswife · 07-08-2009, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SR.AO

Oh, I dont know if this is possible or not, but can my wife buy me my laptop and bring it to my PIR? I know I cant use it at GL but am I allowed to retain it for A School? We found a good deal on an Acer laptop for only 298.00 at Wal-Mart

Unless you are Grad-n-Go, no. She CAN, however, ship it to you as soon as you get to the other side!

SR.AO · 07-08-2009, 11:15 AM

And when do I find out if I'm Grad-n-Go? Yeah she'll have to look around for hotel prices in the area and see whats best. If the NL is cheaper than most we'll probably have to do that. We're beyond broke right now lol. This moving thing is gonna be one hell of an experience haha! I'm sure we'll be ok though with the BAH and what not to help us out. When does the BAH start for your first permanent duty station? Thanks for all the help! Anything else we need to do, or prepare for while I'm gone at RTC or before I leave?

asailorswife · 07-08-2009, 11:31 AM

You'll find out during boot.. I don't remember when, but I remember asking Tim about it up until like two weeks before his PIR. I kept hoping he would be as it's a divisional thing, so if he was grad and go, we'd get the whole weekend with him because his a-school was on the other side of GL!

Definitely look around, and if you guys are pretty broke, I'd look for something with a breakfast. It'll save probably about $20/day for you guys!!! Let me tell you, PIR weekend was pretty expensive for us.. I think about 2-3 grand in total. However, we were flying from So Cal, and had to buy 4 plane tickets at pretty much last minute because Tim's division thought they were going to be held back.

You'll start getting BAH for Colorado as soon as she gets onto your page 2. You probably won't recieve it, however, until about a month - 6 weeks after you get there. So make sure she keeps that in mind. You'll get BAH for your first perm. duty station as soon as she gets there, and you change your HOR. We ended up with a strange situation because I guess Tim didn't list a HOR, and we got BAH for San Diego as soon as he got here, not when I got here.

Other things to prepare? Start talking to your daughter about it now. She won't understand, but we find that it helps our girls if we talk about Tim leaving at least 2 weeks before. (this is just underways, for deployments, we talk to Kadie for months). Find ideas for countdowns for your daughter. (there are paper chains, calender, normal type countdowns, etc. We used chocolate kisses (called them "Daddy kisses"). Every day, Kadie got one "Daddy kiss" out of the jar. It was measure so that the amount of kisses in there equaled how many days he was gone. It worked until Kadie got into them one morning and ate a lot of them.. lol

Even though it's short, I think boot camp can be harder than deployments. It's the first separation, and there's pretty much no contact other than hand written letters.(of which, btw, I know a lot of people on here will tell your wife to use a different colored envelope, we had Kadie color Tim's envelopes, he said he could spot them from a mile away - they were the only ones colored on). So be aware that it will be hard on your entire family, and make sure that your family knows that. Have her read Honor, Courage, and Commitment while you at RTC - I know it helped me - and you should read it before you leave. Also make sure you save as much as you can right now. She won't get a regular paycheck for at least a month, and that totally threw us off - and we weren't even living on our own. So knowing that, make sure you have enough to cover the bills for at least a month. Maybe longer. (Sometimes the paperwork gets screwed up).

Do you have a joint account now? Or even a checking account? Most banks will allow you to add another person to your account. So one of the bank accounts Tim and I have was originally mine, and he was added to it later. Our Navy Fed account was his, and I was added later. I don't know that we've ever opened up a joint account together. lol

07-08-2009, 09:35 AM	#1
SR.AO Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Thornton, CO Posts: 212 Rep Power: 0	Oh, I dont know if this is possible or not, but can my wife buy me my laptop and bring it to my PIR? I know I cant use it at GL but am I allowed to retain it for A School? We found a good deal on an Acer laptop for only 298.00 at Wal-Mart

07-08-2009, 11:15 AM	#3
SR.AO Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Thornton, CO Posts: 212 Rep Power: 0	And when do I find out if I'm Grad-n-Go? Yeah she'll have to look around for hotel prices in the area and see whats best. If the NL is cheaper than most we'll probably have to do that. We're beyond broke right now lol. This moving thing is gonna be one hell of an experience haha! I'm sure we'll be ok though with the BAH and what not to help us out. When does the BAH start for your first permanent duty station? Thanks for all the help! Anything else we need to do, or prepare for while I'm gone at RTC or before I leave?

07-08-2009, 11:31 AM	#4
asailorswife Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Posts: 1,121 Rep Power: 0	You'll find out during boot.. I don't remember when, but I remember asking Tim about it up until like two weeks before his PIR. I kept hoping he would be as it's a divisional thing, so if he was grad and go, we'd get the whole weekend with him because his a-school was on the other side of GL! Definitely look around, and if you guys are pretty broke, I'd look for something with a breakfast. It'll save probably about $20/day for you guys!!! Let me tell you, PIR weekend was pretty expensive for us.. I think about 2-3 grand in total. However, we were flying from So Cal, and had to buy 4 plane tickets at pretty much last minute because Tim's division thought they were going to be held back. You'll start getting BAH for Colorado as soon as she gets onto your page 2. You probably won't recieve it, however, until about a month - 6 weeks after you get there. So make sure she keeps that in mind. You'll get BAH for your first perm. duty station as soon as she gets there, and you change your HOR. We ended up with a strange situation because I guess Tim didn't list a HOR, and we got BAH for San Diego as soon as he got here, not when I got here. Other things to prepare? Start talking to your daughter about it now. She won't understand, but we find that it helps our girls if we talk about Tim leaving at least 2 weeks before. (this is just underways, for deployments, we talk to Kadie for months). Find ideas for countdowns for your daughter. (there are paper chains, calender, normal type countdowns, etc. We used chocolate kisses (called them "Daddy kisses"). Every day, Kadie got one "Daddy kiss" out of the jar. It was measure so that the amount of kisses in there equaled how many days he was gone. It worked until Kadie got into them one morning and ate a lot of them.. lol Even though it's short, I think boot camp can be harder than deployments. It's the first separation, and there's pretty much no contact other than hand written letters.(of which, btw, I know a lot of people on here will tell your wife to use a different colored envelope, we had Kadie color Tim's envelopes, he said he could spot them from a mile away - they were the only ones colored on). So be aware that it will be hard on your entire family, and make sure that your family knows that. Have her read Honor, Courage, and Commitment while you at RTC - I know it helped me - and you should read it before you leave. Also make sure you save as much as you can right now. She won't get a regular paycheck for at least a month, and that totally threw us off - and we weren't even living on our own. So knowing that, make sure you have enough to cover the bills for at least a month. Maybe longer. (Sometimes the paperwork gets screwed up). Do you have a joint account now? Or even a checking account? Most banks will allow you to add another person to your account. So one of the bank accounts Tim and I have was originally mine, and he was added to it later. Our Navy Fed account was his, and I was added later. I don't know that we've ever opened up a joint account together. lol