How long did it take you to get..

Your Id Card
Tricare
Housing/BAH

Df things it's going to take a while for me to get my id card and insurance. I know it's different in every case but im just curious.

For me it didn't take too long, we got married in May he reported to his command in June ( he was in transit) and put me on everything sent me the DD form to get my ID changed and was able to start getting BAH ( well back then it was 2 separate things) right away.
By the time i left in July i was already under his SS and he was getting BAH.

Cant do tricare till he enrolls you in DEERs which at most bases is when you can get your ID. You have to go with him to get the ID. If you choose tricare prime and you enroll before 20th of the month it will go into effect on the 1st after the 20th you have to wait till the 1st of the next month (example: enroll now, goes into effect Sept 1st. wait till after the 20th goes into effect Oct 1st.)

Housing and BAH cant do either till he adds you to his dependents list and DEERs.

So would we just go to the pass an Id with our marriage certificate to get me my id?


Could anything get delayed for some reason? Like people being slow with processing paperwork? Or is it just on us for getting stuff done?

So would we just go to the pass an Id with our marriage certificate to get me my id?


Could anything get delayed for some reason? Like people being slow with processing paperwork? Or is it just on us for getting stuff done?

nope they do all the paperwork right then and there. take your birth certificate, social security card and marriage certificate. Once you get your ID go to tricare and get that done.

We went on our honeymoon right after the wedding and as soon as we got back we went and enrolled me in DEERS. I got my ID within a half hour (just make sure you bring your ID and SS card and marriage license).

We then drove right over to a naval hospital and enrolled me in TRICARE. The benefits were automatic, HOWEVER I am Tricare Prime and that takes a little while to activate, so until it did I was Standard. Enrolled Feb 21 and became PRIME April 1.

BAH was a little trickier because he was forward deployed and had to do all that when he went back to his duty station, starting with updating his Page 2. I also had to wait for bills in my name and forward them to him. (He also had to present a lease). He applied for BAH in early April and it showed up May 15--but it was backpaid all the way to Feb 8 (the wedding date--the day I am officially a "dependent").

nope they do all the paperwork right then and there. take your birth certificate, social security card and marriage certificate. Once you get your ID go to tricare and get that done.

Ohhhhh.. Ok. Thanks, that clears up a lot.

So would we just go to the pass an Id with our marriage certificate to get me my id?


Could anything get delayed for some reason? Like people being slow with processing paperwork? Or is it just on us for getting stuff done?

No the process, at least in Bremerton, was surprisingly fast. It depends on the base (Yokosuka, for example is a mad house when it comes to getting ID, at least in DH's experience) but generally if you have all your paperwork it's not too painful a process.

I ALMOST had a problem because I forgot my SS card and was almost sent home to retrieve it (over an hour's drive :arg). Luckily I dug out a paystub which has my SS# on it and made a very convincing argument as to why that was acceptable. The rule is that they have to be able to read off your social security number from an official document. Just make sure you have all that stuff in order and there shouldn't be a problem.

We went on our honeymoon right after the wedding and as soon as we got back we went and enrolled me in DEERS. I got my ID within a half hour (just make sure you bring your ID and SS card and marriage license).

We then drove right over to a naval hospital and enrolled me in TRICARE. The benefits were automatic, HOWEVER I am Tricare Prime and that takes a little while to activate, so until it did I was Standard. Enrolled Feb 21 and became PRIME April 1.



This was the same experience I had. I was just processed this morning. (Did it at an Air Force Base, even though DH is Navy, btw.)

The only difference between Dawn's expeience and mine is that I opted for the Tricare Stardard, since my kids and I are already well covered on my own job's healthcare insurance.

Whichever you choose, it's a quick procedure, provided you have those documents listed above. You'll need originals, not photocopies. Also, be very careful that your social is written in correctly before signing.

No the process, at least in Bremerton, was surprisingly fast. It depends on the base (Yokosuka, for example is a mad house when it comes to getting ID, at least in DH's experience) but generally if you have all your paperwork it's not too painful a process.

I ALMOST had a problem because I forgot my SS card and was almost sent home to retrieve it (over an hour's drive :arg). Luckily I dug out a paystub which has my SS# on it and made a very convincing argument as to why that was acceptable. The rule is that they have to be able to read off your social security number from an official document. Just make sure you have all that stuff in order and there shouldn't be a problem.

Were getting married on a Saturday, so Monday we should go in for all this? We'll be doing the stuff at Bangor. Oh I hate pass an Ids hours an long lines.

It only took a few hours to get all of that done. Although BAH took about 3 weeks to hit our account.

We got married on a Thursday. I had my ID that afternoon. Tricare started the beginning of the next month

Were wanting base housing, so what will happen in the mean time?
I know we'll have a place to stay (my room at parents house...) but would we get bah??

Were wanting base housing, so what will happen in the mean time?
I know we'll have a place to stay (my room at parents house...) but would we get bah??


It depends on the base housing list. It could be 2 weeks or 9 months or even longer. You will still get BAH based on your postal code.

It depends on the base housing list. It could be 2 weeks or 9 months or even longer. You will still get BAH based on your postal code.

Ok, thanks.

Ok, thanks.

Base housing isn't always guaranteed. It can be highly difficult to get into especially depending on his rank and number of dependents.
You might want to consider getting your own apartment together

Were getting married on a Saturday, so Monday we should go in for all this? We'll be doing the stuff at Bangor. Oh I hate pass an Ids hours an long lines.

do some research you may be able to make an appointment, sometimes big bases will do that. i know at pearl harbor you can make an appt. online

Were wanting base housing, so what will happen in the mean time?
I know we'll have a place to stay (my room at parents house...) but would we get bah??

if you can get your DF to hit the housing office befor eyour married that may help. i know we did that before we got married and they greatly appreciated the heads up. or you could even call

we got married on a monday, tuesday we went to PSD and he changed his paper work, I got my id, and went to the tricare office. Your health coverage starts the day you are married. I had everything taken care of less than 24 hours after we were married. uness your guy is not on the ball, I see no reason for you not to have a similarly easy time.

if you can get your DF to hit the housing office befor eyour married that may help. i know we did that before we got married and they greatly appreciated the heads up. or you could even call

I think I will have him do that (i'll probably end up doing that im the one who remembers everything)

I had my ID and deers/tricare the same day. Bah was automatically entered for him, he received it next pay day.

Well, we got married on July 21st, and went on our honeymoon. Drove to California from MI and got there on Aug 1st. We arrived at Twentynine Palms at roughly Noon, and I had my ID Card & Tri-care benifits (+united Concordia) by 2pm. Granted, the Dental would take a few weeks to process, but I didn't need work done. I also believe that BAH kicked in right away, upon his next paycheck. oh, and he was a newly Sgt in the 29palms base area and it took only 2 weeks for housing to call us for a house. we declined because we grew impatient living in motels and moved into an apartment.

Well it was a bit different for us because we got married while he was home on leave for christmas during AIT.

I had to wait for a POA to come to me giving me permission to get my own ID without him. After that, I had to make an appointment. I was already enrolled in Tricare once I went in for my ID (which I didn't know) because I was already on his DEERS. I just added on dental while I was there.

I don't remember when BAH kicked in.. but it kicked in pretty quickly for us. Housing wasn't an issue yet though obviously.

Your Id Card: We got married on a Friday morning. We went to the SS office to have my name changed. They gave me a temp card so that I could get my mil ID. We went to the base with that and our marriage certificate and I got the ID right away, within 10 minutes.

Tricare: I enrolled that same day. I had my initial briefing (for how Tricare works) the next week. Then they assigned me a PCM.

Housing/BAH: Housing, also same day. My husband had worked with the housing office and picked out a house and had all the paperwork done. We just walked in, handed them a copy of the marriage license and they gave us the keys to our house. We were in it the day we were married. We didn't get BAH because we were on base.

DH have only been married for a month, and I just got enrolled in DEERS and Tricare.

Your Id Card: We got married on a Friday morning. We went to the SS office to have my name changed. They gave me a temp card so that I could get my mil ID. We went to the base with that and our marriage certificate and I got the ID right away, within 10 minutes.

Tricare: I enrolled that same day. I had my initial briefing (for how Tricare works) the next week. Then they assigned me a PCM.

Housing/BAH: Housing, also same day. My husband had worked with the housing office and picked out a house and had all the paperwork done. We just walked in, handed them a copy of the marriage license and they gave us the keys to our house. We were in it the day we were married. We didn't get BAH because we were on base.

What if im not changing my last name? Do I just use my current SS card?

It didn't take that long at all.

After we got to Germany one week later I had and ID card, I was enrolled in Tircare / DEERS and he sent away for my papers so I could stay in Germany. The thing that took forever was the extra money. That took about two months...

oh make sure u have ure new name on ure drivers liscense or SS card or they can't put ure new name on ure id card, just alittle tip from a new military wife.

I got my ID card the Monday after we were married. We also hit up the insurance office the same day. But Prime didn't start until the next month for me. And we've never lived in housing.

We went to PSD the day after we got married and got my ID card and had me enrolled in DEERS. From that point I was eligible for Tricare. We are in housing now but we waited about 7 months before a 4 bedroom was available. The BAH started the next month after we were married.