Hey girlies,
Just a quick update before I roll my sleeves and explain our situation. Bri and I are still in Texas getting ready to head back to CT...Derrick gets home from deployment pretty soon so we're really excited!! We got orders to Hawaii YAY!!! BUT that's where my drama begins...let me explain.

Derrick was supposed to get his orders in August...he will be deployed until the end of Sept. Not only did we not get orders in August...we JUST got orders and he's to report to his Hawaii on the 24th of Sept! They thought about letting him fly home at the last port but he's a big part of ORSE and they couldn't replace him on such short notice, he ended up having to stay on the boat. That's fine, I wasn't expecting him to come home because of it but now there's VERY little time between the day he gets home from deployment to when he's supposed to report to Hawaii. Derrick has to go to a training program at KAPL which is a nuclear plant in New York for 6 months so in order to make things a little easier for him, his detailer has him reporting to Hawaii from NY instead of flying to Hawaii, reporting and having them fly him back to NY. Since our orders are to Hawaii, Bri and I could go to HI now and just have him stay in NY. Derrick will be recieving money (per diem) to be in New York those 6 months .
We are moving to New York with him...his detailer said it's going to be hurried but we can do it especially since we only have Bri. He usually doesn't recommend families to do that because it's such a short time but since we're already in Ct, it's not going to be that bad for us. He understands that they've been gone almost 7 months and to have him leave for another 6 would really suck!

So my questions are:

1. Our orders are already for Hawaii...but we will be in New York with him. He gets per diem on top of BAH but where will our BAH be drawn from? I asked his detailer and he said we would never see New York BAH because his orders are for Hawaii...but he didn't know if they would give us Hawaii BAH or CT.

2. How exactly does the Per Diem work? There is a base that would offer Derrick barracks but he's not going to Ballston Spa...he's going to KAPL in Schenectady, NY. I called Ballston Spa and was told that since he's in no way attached to that base, there's really nothing they can advise.

3. I guess my top concerns are BAH and his per diem. New York and HI are both fairly expensive places to live so the BAH is sufficient, but we need to know where he'll be pulling BAH from so that we can plan accordingly. Even if you know who I could talk to that would be fabulous!!

Of course ALL of this has been going on while Derrick's deployed AND we've gone through the LONGEST period of no communication we've ever experienced on that boat. Out of the 7 months....we've had about 5 weeks of communication so trying to get all these questions answered has been crazy. Even his detailer is clueless about some aspects of his orders!

Thank you for reading and if you have ANY info or advice FEEL FREE to dump it on me!!!! Thanks girls!

Wow! You've got a lot going on!

I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to say good luck! We got orders from Hawaii to Georgia with only a few weeks notice, and dh was in the middle of ORSE as well, and couldn't help much. It's a lot to handle, but to get to Hawaii it's worth it!

Good Luck!

I know...Derrick had mentioned the possibility of coming home at the last port BUT that was only IF he got orders before they actually pulled into that port so that they could plan accordingly. Of course, he ended up getting his orders the day he pulled in so there was nothing they could do. If he'd of gotten orders in August, they would have augmented his replacement and he'd of come home but I more or less planned on him NOT coming home which is why I'm not AS stressed as if I'd of counted on him being here, lol!

He won't get BAH for HI if he hasn't checked into his command or gotten an addy there from what I understand. My guess is that he will get BAH for Conn. still(could be wrong). Not sure how his per diem works....I do know that when dh was at school during our recent move that he got a small portion on his per diem to stat with and then he saw the rest after he paid for his room, it was really kinda screwy IMO.


Good luck!!

Yea, his detailer said that by him checking into New York, it's like checking into Hawaii...especially since KAPL isn't a "military" nuclear plant. It's Navy affiliated only because they train nukes there, but it's a civilian plant...confusing I know. Anyway, he said he wasn't completely sure because of that. He did tell me that he didn't know what BAH we would pull because even though HE'S not in Hawaii, his being in New York is the equivalent and since he's no longer attached to the subase in CT, then we couldn't recieve BAH from there....so from where, lol? He said he really hadn't run into that because in these situations the families usually head to HI without the sailor so it's a no brainer. But he did understand that the orders were confusing and that he usually advises against having family accompany a sailor with TAD orders, but since we're only 2 hours away, it's not as difficult for us. I already asked if we could just stay in housing in CT but he said that since we no longer have orders there then we won't be elegible.

Yea, his detailer said that by him checking into New York, it's like checking into Hawaii...especially since KAPL isn't a "military" nuclear plant. It's Navy affiliated only because they train nukes there, but it's a civilian plant...confusing I know. Anyway, he said he wasn't completely sure because of that. He did tell me that he didn't know what BAH we would pull because even though HE'S not in Hawaii, his being in New York is the equivalent and since he's no longer attached to the subase in CT, then we couldn't recieve BAH from there....so from where, lol? He said he really hadn't run into that because in these situations the families usually head to HI without the sailor so it's a no brainer. But he did understand that the orders were confusing and that he usually advises against having family accompany a sailor with TAD orders, but since we're only 2 hours away, it's not as difficult for us. I already asked if we could just stay in housing in CT but he said that since we no longer have orders there then we won't be elegible.


Who is paying for his school??
We just did the detatch from command...go to school...go to new command thing earlier this year. We could not get BAH for NoVA because dh couldn't check in since his detailer was paying for his school, plus he had no address for NoVA so we still pulled BAH for TX even though he command was no more(decommed)...we couldn't BAH for his schooling area either(maybe because of time frame IDK) so dd and I were kinda stuck in limbo since his pe diem only covered him and we couldn't all live off of that in the BEQ or an extended stay place.

Just be very careful and ask LOTS of questions because sometimes you don't find out whats really going on until it's too late

1. You will continue to receive CT BAH until you report to Hawaii and have an established residence there.
2. If the Base in Ballston Spa is greater than 50 miles from his training or there is no option in his orders for him to be placed in barracks then he will recieve the full per diem for that zip code the school is located.
3. The only way to get NY per diem is if the school was greater than 180 days long, thus not making it TAD enroute. It sounds like that this is not the case and the school is less than 180 days. Therefore the financial obligation for your move and stay in NY to be with him is solely your responsibility.
His command PS has the resources to best answer all of the questions on a move, orders and what the Navy will fund or not fund. Hope this helps, I fear it was not really the news you were looking for.

ooh, i don't know who's paying for the school...good question. All we know soo far is that he HAS to go through that training program at KAPL in Schenectady in order to fill the nuke instructor billet for HI. It's kind of frustrating because there were questions even his detailer couldn't answer. We were originally told that this training would be offered in Hawaii, but that the facility wasn't up and running yet so they were having to continue to train out of New York. His detailer was "hoping" that by the time he wrote his orders, the faciility in Hawaii would be set.

As far as the per diem, that's even more confusing. We can always just go back to Texas if things get too crazy haha!

ooh, i don't know who's paying for the school...good question. All we know soo far is that he HAS to go through that training program at KAPL in Schenectady in order to fill the nuke instructor billet for HI. It's kind of frustrating because there were questions even his detailer couldn't answer. We were originally told that this training would be offered in Hawaii, but that the facility wasn't up and running yet so they were having to continue to train out of New York. His detailer was "hoping" that by the time he wrote his orders, the faciility in Hawaii would be set.

As far as the per diem, that's even more confusing. We can always just go back to Texas if things get too crazy haha!


It was the same with dh's detailer too...not a lot of answers :giggle

We were almost really screwed because we got here and his command told us he couldn't check in until after his school because they didn't ahve the money for his school and if he checked in they would have to foot the bill. Thank god I am from VA and had family here and my old place that I worked for was willing to take me back....don't know what we would have done if it wasn't for that:yes

Hopefully things will go real smooth for you guys!! Good luck!

Per diem is a bit confusing. There are different rates based on area and then what is or isn't available in that area. I would also talk to housing there in CT and see when they require you to vacate based on his orders. I believe that they will allow you to stay while he is in NY.

1. You will continue to receive CT BAH until you report to Hawaii and have an established residence there.
2. If the Base in Ballston Spa is greater than 50 miles from his training or there is no option in his orders for him to be placed in barracks then he will recieve the full per diem for that zip code the school is located.
3. The only way to get NY per diem is if the school was greater than 180 days long, thus not making it TAD enroute. It sounds like that this is not the case and the school is less than 180 days. Therefore the financial obligation for your move and stay in NY to be with him is solely your responsibility.
His command PS has the resources to best answer all of the questions on a move, orders and what the Navy will fund or not fund. Hope this helps, I fear it was not really the news you were looking for.

Thanks! Even though Ballston Spa is only about 20 miles away, they don't offer any kind of barracks or temporary lodging so he's already been told he'll recieve his per diem. We were fully expecting to have to foot the bill for us having to be there...our BAH will cover us being there so I'm not too worried about that. I've been saving up money for in case we have to pay EVERYTHING out of pocket for the first couple of months that way we're not caught with a bunch of pay problems and no resources! I'm already prepared for in case we don't get BAH or per diem....I'd just like a heads up for in case anybody's been in a similar situation. His detailer is awesome, but even he's confused by some of the details.

Per diem is a bit confusing. There are different rates based on area and then what is or isn't available in that area. I would also talk to housing there in CT and see when they require you to vacate based on his orders. I believe that they will allow you to stay while he is in NY.

You know I haven't even spoken to housing in Ct so i may be stressing for nothing. I guess that once the detailer said that we wouldn't be attached to CT anymore, I didn't even consider it an option....I will def call them as well!

Just be very careful and ask LOTS of questions because sometimes you don't find out whats really going on until it's too late

This is the best advice for just about any question the military lifestyle throws your way!

Hey Bria....I just asked dh and he said getting bah for where your dh is going to school at is dependant on how long his school is for and that he "thinks"(not 100% sure) that he may draw bah for NY since he will be there for 6 mos....HTH some

Hey Bria....I just asked dh and he said getting bah for where your dh is going to school at is dependant on how long his school is for and that he "thinks"(not 100% sure) that he may draw bah for NY since he will be there for 6 mos....HTH some

thanks for asking your DH!...Derrick had actually asked and since the school is only 5 months long he can't draw from NY. I do remember his detailer telling me that we would never see BAH from NY...even though it would be cheaper for the NAVY since it's the lowest of out CT and HI.

thanks for asking your DH!...Derrick had actually asked and since the school is only 5 months long he can't draw from NY. I do remember his detailer telling me that we would never see BAH from NY...even though it would be cheaper for the NAVY since it's the lowest of out CT and HI.

They couldn't let him stay one more month??:P:giggle

you'd think they would heehee!