Hello everyone First off I would like to say That this site is very helpful and friendly. My name is Jenn my husband Mike is in ait in apg/edgwood We have 2 young children. I have alot of questions but for now I would just like to ask a few

He is scheduled to graduate from AIT on march 6th than come home for 2 weeks to work with his recruiter his assignment is Ft drum and he needs to be there by March 30th
1. why is there a gap in between when he is done his 2 weeks and when he needs to report to Ft drum?
2. How is Ft. drum? we are from connecticut and I have never lived anywhere else.
3. When will he recieve the first part of his bonus?
4. do we move with him or does he go first than we follow?
Any other information would be extremly helpful Thank you very much for reading this and any answers you could provide! ~~Jenn

ok i am no expert on some of these questions but i will help as best i can and maybe someone else will pick up where i leave off.
1. the gap is probably due to him taking 2 weeks of leave also. at least that is what i did
2. i have not been to ft drum so i cannot elaborate but i have "heard" that family housing on post is nicer and newer than most.
3. when he gets inprocessed he will submit it then. (or while he is inprocessing he can get it taken care of.)
4. you should be able to move with him since it is just a conus (stateside) move.

I'm not an expert either, but I'll offer what I can.

I've never been there, but I've heard it's extremely cold.

http://www.drum.army.mil/sites/local/
Here is a link to the Ft. Drum website. Check out the newcomers section on the left.

When he gets there, he should inquire about permissive tdy. It's generally 10 days to allow a soldier to get settled into thier new home. The army should pay to have all of your belongings moved from CT to Drum.

Soldiers earn 2.5 days of leave for each month served. If he use more leave than he has, he will have a negative balance which will prevent you from being able to take leave until he enough days saved up again.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.

Thank you both very much!!
I was on the Ft Drum website about a week ago and they had a section that delt with finding apartments and some of them were really nice so I should probly be looking into finding us one? when he came home for christmus exodus he worked with his recruter so they didnt take that leave time from him I have had some people tell me that he should go there first early and get done what he has to then he will come back to get us but I would rather we just all go together so I have started packing now and we will have alot done by the time he gets home then we are going to do a diy move just so we will have our stuff right away when we get to the new apartment.Its kinda scary doing all this but we will get through it. So when he puts in the paper work for his bonus how long does it take for us to get it?

hey Jenn my name is Christy and I am stationed at Fort Drum. I've been here for a few months and already know the in's and out's. But thats because of my job i work at BN level so im higher on the chain and deal with paperwork everyday. I work with the 1shop as they say and thats probably one of the most important shops that you and youre husband should know. Thats right up there with Clark Hall which you will go to once you get here. Now im looking at your questions and im pretty sure i can help im a newly wed myself however my husband is in the army as well and our connections make it easy. But since you arent and your husband is new its gonna be difficult at times. There is a gap in between because he has to provide his own transportation to Fort Drum ie: plane car or whatever else. They get him enough time to get here so he can begin inprocessing. If he went straight from AIT to Fort Drum they would have paid and thinsga would have been set. Fort Drum is in the 13602-03 so i suggest looking up the weather. If he is in aviation things are waaay colder over there than they are on main post. I looked up the weather before i got there cause im from a warm state and didnt want to be completely shocked. It reaches into the negatives so dont expect to wear shorts and sandals bunnndle up and have a car cause if you dont getting around is hard and things arent close to each other. Right now its snowing over there and it gets so bad that you cant see ahead of you and you have to drive 5 mph. Now his bonus thats the big question depending on how much he has or is getting you must keep in mind taht they take off a lot of taxes and they only give you half and you wont get it rigt away finance loses things occasionally so make copies and keep the originals. Say he's to get $20,000 like me! i got half $10,000 after taxes i ended up with a little more than $6,000 DO NOT RELY ON THAT MONEY! if you think youre gonna get it all and right away you're wrong i deal with bonus paperwork all the time and people get mad cause they dont get it rigt away! Save up make sure that he doesnt waste it all cause when you get here Government housing is not easy my husband I are #730 on the list and we dont even have kids!! We just recently moved so the info i have is pretty up to date. The housing that the government had off post is now all run by private owners so if youre lucky you'll find a good apt that isnt that bad! Most of these places know how much you get paid when you get paid and so they'll take it all we went to one complex where they pulled our numbers from the sheets they got on BAS and BAH! Luckily we found a place that is 2 bedroom good size balcony and full kitchen for $600 a month and that includes utilities!! keep that in mind when you move cause utilities are a lot especially since its soo cold heat is alot. It's a good idea to have him come here first because he can get the place and then take TDY! thats important when you first get here you are allowed to take 10days TDY! have your husband go to Transportation and they'll set it up and he'll get money for moving and all that! tell him to look into! if you have anymore questions let me know i had to research the majority of this stuff by myself! but im good at my job so i did it all!! you can email me at my ako jodie.reitzell@us.army.mil

Your husband needs to report to the reception facility at Fort Drum by midnight on the day his leave ends. You can find this on his DA31, Request and Authority for Leave Form. He should report to his recruiter with this form in his hand as well. The recruiter will sign that he was on recruiting duty and he will not be charged leave. His ORDERS might say to report by March 30, but he needs to be there on the day in block 10a of the leave form. Make sense?

Ok I think I have some of this figured out you all have been so helpful. No we do not have a car so that is one thing i will be getting shortly. He will report to Ft drum as soon as his 2 weeks with the recruiter is done then he will be allowed to come home to help us move. When he gets there he needs to put in his paper work for the bonus and and find an apartment then he will come home to get us and we will move up there. I have been to ft jackson where he was for bct and to meps in springfield mass. and to apg. The bases are diffrent from each other so I know it will take some time getting used to everything when we move Thank you all soooo very much for all of your help it has put my mind at ease.

Get something with 4x4, you'll appreciate it, Im from MA we have nasty winters, but in NY, they're NASTY.

Jfarside... be sure and also check out ACS(Army Community Services). If I'm correct when your husband reports, he'll have an orientation of the base as well as contact information to all the facilities and programs offered. I also beleive there is a spouses orientation that you can go to... my wife did when I was at Ft. Polk. Regardless, once you guys get there ACS will pretty much point you in any direction that you might require.

Thank you We went and picked him up from APG yesterday he is home for the hometown recruiter program then he heads to Ft Drum on the 20th My biggest problem I am finding is we dont have a car yet and there is no on post housing I am worried about getting him to and from work and the things we need to do like shopping and what not I am working hard on it but I might not have one by then I told him when he gets there during orientation to talk to someone about it Thank you for your help