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Military families offer advice for making the move easier

Contributed photo MSgt. Lisa Patton

ENLARGE PHOTO

Contributed photo Senior Master Sgt. Garvis Leak and family

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Susan Dalzell, Contributing Writer 10:13 PM Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Senior Master Sgt. Garvis Leak knows a thing or two about moving. He ought to. He’s done it nine times in the past 25 years.

Leak’s career in the U.S. Air Force has taken him and his family abroad — to Germany, Japan and Turkey — as well as stateside, including Virginia and Texas.

He also has experienced deployments to Kuwait and Afghanistan. Now, he’s serving at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. “I came into the military to travel the world, and I have done that,” Leak said.

When he moves, his children — a 17-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son — are always his priority.

“Before I go to the base I will be relocated to, I take the initiative myself to find out about the schools and to see what kinds of youth programs and activities are there,” Leak said.

“I also look at the chapel to see what it offers. It’s been a good system for 25 years.”

Flexibility is key. “I will always be flexible,” Leak said. “I always go with the right attitude.”

Before the move

For military families, moving is a way of life. In a nod to family needs, new assignments are often timed for the summer months, giving children a chance to adjust to a new community before the school year begins.

But a good move is about more than just timing. At Wright-Patterson AFB, the military community has access to numerous resources that can help make a move — either to or from the base — successful.

“We really try to give them the information that can makes things easier and relieve a lot of the stress of moving,” said Jacqueline Shazor, community readiness technician for the Airman and Family Readiness Center. Shazor, a relocation specialist, manages many of the base’s relocation programs, including seminars for active duty members, spouses and children.

Civilians may not have quite the same resources for a move, but they can take similar steps to ensure things go smoothly. Shazor advises planning ahead. “Start using a checklist even as early as six months out, if you can,” she said.

Shazor refers her clients to military-specific checklists available online at the Plan My Move section of www.military homefront.dod.mil. Checklists can remind you to start cleaning out and selling unneeded household items, to notify utility companies and the post office of your departure or to arrange for child care on the days the movers are packing.

House hunting is a lot easier these days, thanks to the Internet. Shazor recommends www.realtor.com, which is the official site of the National Association of Realtors. The comprehensive site includes home listings, links to city, neighborhood and school profiles, and tools and calculators related to home finance issues. Military members can also make use of www.ahrn.com and www.pcsamerica.net, which provide information for locations near bases.

“It can be hard to find a good location to raise your children in,” Leak said. “You have to look around and find a place you can feel comfortable in for five years, some place safe and secure. You have to do a lot of research. You drive around neighborhoods and go online and talk to people. You cannot be shy.”

Thinking through how the move and your new location will affect your budget is also important and is something Shazor stresses in her classes. Again, military members can make use of financial advice and tools at specialized online sources, such as www.military onesource.com, but general cost-of-living calculators are easy to find on the web.

Many moves are prompted by job changes, which can often mean a change in health insurance and medical benefits. Military members generally stay on the same insurance, but they are advised to think ahead of time about their options en route. “In our seminars, I talk about how to use Tricare benefits while traveling,” Shazor said. Civilians should also look into options for continuity of coverage.

One very useful tool when relocating is not always available to civilians. Air Force members are typically assigned a sponsor at their new base. That individual, often a future co-worker, can help smooth the way by providing first-hand local knowledge.

That’s a big help, said Master Sgt. Lisa Patton, who has moved six times during her 21-year Air Force career.

“You get a sponsor who can give you help on the other end,” she said. “Once you’re there, the sponsor will take you around and show you the base and help you figure out where everything is.”

The Toledo native has been stationed in the Philippines and Korea, as well as South Carolina, New Jersey, Delaware and now Dayton. “I’m prepping for my seventh move, to retire,” Patton said. She enjoys the moves. “I like change. Once I’m at a base for six years, it’s time to go. I like getting to know new people and the bases and discovering different areas.”

After the move

At Wright-Patterson, Shazor and staff in the Airman and Family Readiness Center provide newcomers with lots of information about the Dayton region. “We have information about different communities, businesses, school report cards and hospitals in the area,” she said. “Also, recreation things, whether traveling or going downtown, and what we have for activities, like festivals, flea markets and parks.”

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