Moving to Okinawa. Question about my future spouse.

[kimsy17]

Greetings Devil Dogs.

I'm pretty sure this has been answered before, but the search bar has never worked for me since I found this site.
Not sure what the deal is.

Anyway, I'm in the Air wing (ha ha) and am currently finishing up C School here in Lemoore. I got my orders today for Okinawa.

Here is my question:

Is it true that only NCO's and up can bring a wife with them?
My orders dont state accompanied or unaccompanied but I am currently not married yet. We plan on getting married while I'm on my 30 days leave before Oki.
Just wanted to make sure she could come with me.

If this is going to be closed, can someone link me to the appropriate thread beforehand as I have been searching on google with no real answer.

Looking for current policies please.

Thanks for looking

[ChuckH]

As an E3 there is no way you can bring a spouse, especially since you are just getting out of MOS school.
There are other threads that i am sure someone will guide you to.
Just wanted to give the quick answer.

[Rocky C]

Wow, E-3 in less than 7 months after graduating Boot Camp ?
At the rate your going you could be an NCO soon and then get married.

Best of luck to you

[Kegler300]

I believe the unaccompanied tours are now 24 months. If you get married during that time, and if you're an NCO, you might be able to request an accompanied tour. I doubt as a LCpl or Cpl it would be approved though. My advice would be to postpone your marriage until you return stateside.

[Marine1955]

When I was in and went over seas if you got a company tour it was for 36 months and un-company tour was 13 months. and the list for housing was impossible to get on..
A Marine with E-5 and above was aloud..
You'll need to talk to your 1st-Sgt. to really get the scoop..
Good luck

[MunkyVsRobot]

Now where I dont want to tell you other Marines you are wrong but.. you are wrong. I am an 0261 and I am married (before I shipped to boot camp) if I had orders cut to Oki they would have been accompanied. I am a Lcpl and theyd cut me accompanied orders, and they would be for 36 months instead of 24.

For the OP being you arent married the USMC doesnt care about girlfriends or Fiances, they do not care about her unless she is your spouse, you get no BAH no BAS, no Separation pay you will get comrats and overseas pay thats it.

so being you are not married your orders are unaccompanied and you will be living in the barracks. Unless you want to get married between now and then in which case they will still probably be unaccompanied and you will have to fly her there on your own. you will have to have her get all her shots get her sponsored and get her, her area clearance.

[MKOZ07]

I saw the same thing happen when I was in Comm School. The Marine got married when he got his orders and they changed his unaccompanied orders to accompanied but had to be there for three years. So it is possible but it all deals with who you have on your side and if the instructors will help you out to get those changed.

[Marine1955]

Now where I dont want to tell you other Marines you are wrong but.. you are wrong. I am an 0261 and I am married (before I shipped to boot camp) if I had orders cut to Oki they would have been accompanied. I am a Lcpl and theyd cut me accompanied orders, and they would be for 36 months instead of 24.

For the OP being you arent married the USMC doesnt care about girlfriends or Fiances, they do not care about her unless she is your spouse, you get no BAH no BAS, no Separation pay you will get comrats and overseas pay thats it.

so being you are not married your orders are unaccompanied and you will be living in the barracks. Unless you want to get married between now and then in which case they will still probably be unaccompanied and you will have to fly her there on your own. you will have to have her get all her shots get her sponsored and get her, her area clearance.

News flash I was Married and they sent me over seas as an E-5 and Unaccompanied tour and I had been Married for 2 1/2 years when they did that. so it doesn't work that way all the time..

[MunkyVsRobot]

News flash I was Married and they sent me over seas as an E-5 and Unaccompanied tour and I had been Married for 2 1/2 years when they did that. so it doesn't work that way all the time..

Agreed maybe it has something to do with which MOS you are?

Also not sure when you were in looks like you left in 81 could be quite different from when you were in. I know they try not to send accompanied orders to Oki.

[Kaybay Dave]

all my tours were 6 months or less so NOBODY brought a spouse. Wait for E4/E5 and you are back in the states. Japan aint that glamorous, especially for a homesick newly wed gal.

[Tennessee Top]

That's a TREMENDOUS amount of change, in a short amount of time, to heap on a brand new spouse. Adjusting to life in the USMC (in a normal situation) is often more than they can handle. You will also be putting a lot of pressure on yourself and that is NOT smart so early in your career. Do both of you a favor and put your wedding on hold till you can be together again...use your brain and not your heart. You asked; head the advice.

[SGT7477]

Top he needs to think with the right head,Semper Fidelis.:D

[William Hardy]

The Marine Corps has a lousy record when it comes to marriage. The divorce rate is high. Do like Tennessee Top said. Think with your head and wait. The odds are against you right now, Chances are that not only will you be divorced in the very near future because she is marrying the Corps also, the problems as a result of that will have an adverse affect on your time in the Corps. May I also add that many a young Marine fell in love with Okinawa. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the tour cured your desire to get married.

[Gemoore2]

Greetings Devil Dogs.

I'm pretty sure this has been answered before, but the search bar has never worked for me since I found this site.
Not sure what the deal is.

Anyway, I'm in the Air wing (ha ha) and am currently finishing up C School here in Lemoore. I got my orders today for Okinawa.

Here is my question:

Is it true that only NCO's and up can bring a wife with them?
My orders dont state accompanied or unaccompanied but I am currently not married yet. We plan on getting married while I'm on my 30 days leave before Oki.
Just wanted to make sure she could come with me.

If this is going to be closed, can someone link me to the appropriate thread beforehand as I have been searching on google with no real answer.

Looking for current policies please.

Thanks for looking

Yes you can bring

[Gemoore2]

Greetings Devil Dogs.

I'm pretty sure this has been answered before, but the search bar has never worked for me since I found this site.
Not sure what the deal is.

Anyway, I'm in the Air wing (ha ha) and am currently finishing up C School here in Lemoore. I got my orders today for Okinawa.

Here is my question:

Is it true that only NCO's and up can bring a wife with them?
My orders dont state accompanied or unaccompanied but I am currently not married yet. We plan on getting married while I'm on my 30 days leave before Oki.
Just wanted to make sure she could come with me.

If this is going to be closed, can someone link me to the appropriate thread beforehand as I have been searching on google with no real answer.

Looking for current policies please.

Thanks for looking

First of all I did not read every post prior to answering your question and I apologize to anyone who has already stated what I am about to say..

I spent two years in Okinawa from 2009-2011 so I have experience with the rock..

Just about everything in the Marine Corps revolves around command discretion.

You can leave to Okinawa with unaccompanied orders and later have it changed, in which the Marine Corps will also pay for the expense of moving your wife out there. The only problem with that is, unaccompanied orders are a two year hitch, while accompanied orders are three years. You must have three years of time left on your contract from the time you make the switch. You being new to the Marine Corps, you should not have a problem with that. As I said though, it's all command discretion, your Commanding Officer has to sign off on your package prior to sending it off to IPAC. With that being said, do not report to your command as a bag of trash, you might want to report in squared away or else no one in your command is going to want to take the extra time to help you out, because it is a lot of work to push this kind of request through out there in Okinawa. Second of all, your Commanding Officer can just say no just for the heck of it too, so do not get your hopes up after reading this post.

Rank does not matter at all when it comes down to moving a wife out to Okinawa. I thought the same thing when prior to receiving my orders, however, that was just proven to be a myth. I had a really squared away PFC check in to my section (so squared away he picked up Cpl in under three years in an MOS that has really high cutting scores.) he was able to have his orders altered to accompanied orders as a PFC.

Now, before you think about becoming married. I personally think it would be best to wait on married until you have completed your two years in Okinawa. I do not know your personal life one bit and I am not trying to step my toes in it. However, you are new to the Marine Corps, you barely know anything about life in the Corps right now, give it some time before you make a big decision like that. If you check into a good command, they will ride you about married anyway.

And Lemoore.. Ouch! I am from that area, Tulare; I know how much of a butthole that place is! I tried to get orders to be stationed out there after I left Okinawa, however they did not have my MOS!

Well, good luck and Godspeed..

-Cpl Moore
2005-2011

[Gemoore2]

Another story I have about a Marine attempting to change his orders..

I had another PFC check into my section and this Devil Dog was something else.. He married his wife when he was at MOS school, a woman he just met when he was out there. This woman was married to three other Marines prior to meeting this guy. So this woman was just playing this Marine for money and benefits. Anyway, this Marine was nothing but trouble! There was a time, right before I left Okinawa, that he became extremely intoxicated and threw his own feces at the barracks windows, just to give you an idea what kind of Marine he was. Well, when he checked into me he showed up in dirt bag uniforms, had problems following simple orders. Constantly had minor liberty issues, not enough for an NJP, but enough to tarnish his reputation. He constantly approached me with a package for me to assist him in changing his orders. I always took his package and tore it up in front of him. My reason being that this Marine was totally irresponsible and needed the extra supervision provided by living in the barracks. Moving his wife out and giving him the option to live in base housing was going to be nothing but problems, especially since his wife is just using him combined with his lack of character. Needless to say, my SNCOIC never saw his request package. Final note on this particular situation, this Marine was divorced within four months of being stationed in Okinawa.

So with that said, it all depends on your situation. If your command does not see any problems with you moving your spouse out there, then there should not be a problem with your request.

Cpl Moore
2005-2011