BAH and housing

[MunkyVsRobot]

I know I should be worrying more about boot camp than this but Im not really sweating boot camp. Sure it is going to suck but whereas it is only a 13 week stint of my 5 year contract im also giving this some thought.

My questions are as follows if any Marines can help it would be greatly appreciated.

After MOS school (I am waiting on my DD contract) how much if any time are you given to move to your duty station? I live in NH and hoping to get stationed in California or Hawaii.

Next question is how do I go about finding off base housing? Do some of them have Apartments on base? Ive only been to 1 base that had housing (Hanscom AFB) but I didnt get to tour it much I was there for an IST so I only saw a little bit of it.

Do they assign you the housing or is it your job it do so?

[devilbones2]

If you are not married you are living in the Barracks. When I graduated MOS school at Ft. Belvoir, VA I was married and I was given 5 days to drive from MA to CA. You will need to find your own place or apply for base housing.

[MunkyVsRobot]

Can you apply for base housing before you leave MOS school? Im just wondering how id go about doing that before I get to the base I'd be shipping to i wouldnt want it to wait till last minute.

I was almost thinking about having my wife go to where ever my duty station was and checking out housing there, but if i could get a place that is on base id be happy with that too. Problem with sending her to the duty station is of course I wont know that till close to the end of MOS training.

[Mxzero]

Base housing isn't really gonna happen if you aren't: A. married or B. a SNCO. You'll live in the barracks. You can either get extra money to live off base, the BAH, or get a house on base. Best bet, which most guys I know do, is to come here by yourself at first, find an apartment and move your wife out here once you have a place.

[iamspartacus]

Can you apply for base housing before you leave MOS school? Im just wondering how id go about doing that before I get to the base I'd be shipping to i wouldnt want it to wait till last minute.

A lot of bases have a waiting list to get on-base housing. The problem is, you can't get put on that waiting list until you have orders in hand. And you won't get those orders until the end of your MOS school. If you want on base housing, call the housing office right away after you get your orders and see how long the wait is. Maybe it's not long. But there was about a year long wait when I checked into Quantico a few years ago.


I was almost thinking about having my wife go to where ever my duty station was and checking out housing there, but if i could get a place that is on base id be happy with that too. Problem with sending her to the duty station is of course I wont know that till close to the end of MOS training.

Don't worry about rushing it. You'll go straight from your MOS school right to your duty station. Your new unit should put you up in the barracks like any other single Marine for the time being. You'll be a "geo-bachelor", which means you've checked into your unit, but your wife hasn't made the move out to live with you yet.

Here is what I did:
I left MOS school and went straight to my duty station. I checked in and they put me up in a barracks room when I arrived. I got all finished checking in and settled in my new shop. All-in-all I lived in the barracks a couple weeks. Then I flew my wife out for a few days to look for a place to rent (if she trusts your judgment, you could just do this by yourself). We found a place, and she flew back. Then I went to TMO (traffic management office. They handle moving your household goods) and arranged for the Marine Corps to move all our stuff. You need someone on each ends of the move to be there when the movers get there. So my wife stayed back at our home of record until the TMO movers came. Then I was on the other end to receive our stuff at our new place. Then my wife flew out for the last time and we lived happily ever after.

The Marine Corps will obviously take care of all the costs to move your stuff, but they'll also cover the cost of your wife's plane ticket when she finally moves there.

If you have any other questions about being married and enlisting, shoot me a PM. I was the only married recruit in my platoon and know not a lot of people know how it works.

[MunkyVsRobot]

Awesome thank you sirs, and will do Sgt.

[Tennessee Top]

You have to physically check into your permanent duty station before visiting the base housing office and apply for base housing (people's orders get changed at the last minute sometimes so they're not going to put you on a waiting list till you're actually there). Normally, the housing office will have current info on the housing situation off base (there may be areas or specific apartment complexes not recommended because they have a history of ripping off Marines). So, check into the housing office aboard base as soon as you can.

Quarters on base are assigned depending on family size (number of bedrooms needed). It's rare there is a vacant unit available as soon as you check in so expect to go on a waiting list. I waited for over a year to get housing at Camp Pendleton. At that time, the enlisted housing located in Onofre was brand new and we were only the second family to ever live in those quarters which had a view of the Pacific ocean and Onofre beach. That same house, just a few miles out the gate in San Clemente, would've cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are similar housing complexes in places like Hawaii with ocean views. Unfortunately, a few short months after moving in, I received unaccompanied orders to Okinawa for 12 months. My ex stayed in the quarters while I was on the rock. She hooked up with Jody so when I rotated back to the states got a divorce and had to move out of base housing and into an efficiency apartment in San Celmente (was a Sgt at the time). I really enjoyed our housing unit; the short amount of time I got to live in it.

[MunkyVsRobot]

Thank you sir for the information this is all really helpful. If I may how often does one get unaccompanied orders? Is this common?

[DJ860420]

You have to physically check into your permanent duty station before visiting the base housing office and apply for base housing (people's orders get changed at the last minute sometimes so they're not going to put you on a waiting list till you're actually there). Normally, the housing office will have current info on the housing situation off base (there may be areas or specific apartment complexes not recommended because they have a history of ripping off Marines). So, check into the housing office aboard base as soon as you can.

That is actually incorrect now. I guess they just changed it or something. When I got my orders after re-enlisting I contacted the base housing office and had to fax my orders and information to them. I had a house open and ready to move in a week before I even checked into my unit. However, the only reason I had a house the first day is because I am at a small base not one of the main ones. I recommend if you go base housing route is to immediatly contact them as soon as you get orders to get put on the waiting list. The housing is going to be better than almost anything you will get as a new Marine.

[MunkyVsRobot]

Awesome thank you SGT for the information. Im sure it isnt going to be easy to get all this in order. It is quite a lot to process.