Along Came a Spider. . . I mean, EFMP

     Here I am. As promised.  So, to jump right in, EFMP is more involved than I initially assumed, but only a wee bit! Finally (after 2 days--not including the weekend--of playing phone tag), I was able to reach our friendly neighborhood EFMP guy. Yay! Now we're getting somewhere! The nice man told me that I needed DA Forms 5888 (check) and 7246 (not check), and DD Form 2792 (not check). Those last 2 forms made me put on my frowny face because they mean I have to enroll in EFMP because of asthma. Good news, you can take care of your EFMP screening before you obtain your orders.  Oh boy, do I love frontloading things. That way, when it comes to the end, we don't have to play the rushing game to get everything in on time. :)  Note: the forms I have linked are linked purely for reference purposes and are not intended for use.  Officially, it is not recommended that you use these.  If you wish to obtain these forms quickly and easily, set up an appointment (or drop by, depending) with your local EFMP office and they will give you the needed forms.

     Here's the basic idea of the new forms. The 7246 is a harmless 2-page EFMP questionnaire that you have to fill out and put your John Hancock on to certify that all the info is correct.  The DD 2792 is a little more complicated.  It's 11 pages of fun and joy.  Fortunately, the first 3 pages are instructions and privacy act; and the last 9 pages are to be filled out by your physician.  After all that, you are left with only one tiny little page to fill out along with signing the privacy statement on page 3. Not too shabby.  I can do one page and a signing! Well, I lied.  You also have to make sure that you have all your information filled out correctly on the top of every page. The nice man on the phone said that a nice way to make sure the tops of each page are filled out is to type it in before your soldier prints it off the AKO site (The EFMP man said that the only way these forms will be valid is if you get them from the military personnel division, his office, or the AKO site).

     Once you have all those forms (or if you're lucky, just the 5888) filled out and signed by appropriate personnel, you can call your local post clinic (not sure what to do if you see someone off post) and set up your physical if you haven't already had one within the given time limits. If you already have your physicals and immunizations done, they ask that you just verify that your records are up to date.

     For informational purposes, the Exceptional Family Member Program is set up for those family members who have any kind of special need including physical therapy, speech therapy, asthma, disability, etc.  The idea is that they make sure that wherever you are headed to next has everything needed to take care of your family member. In my case, we have to have housing with A/C because of my asthma. I don't see any kind of specialist for my asthma, so I'm not sure what would go on there. I'm assuming they would have to ensure there's a specialist wherever you're PCSing to.

     Well, that's all the time I have for now. See ya tomorrow!

The First of Many

     So, I have just recently married into the army and we are doing our first move together to, of all places, Korea! The first thoughts that come careening through my mind are things like: "We're going where and for how long?!" "What have I gotten myself into?!" "How does one effectively learn a foreign language? and, "Can I bring my lifeline/cell phone?" But no worries, such thoughts were quickly banished by the rational part of my brain, and I went into research mode. What I found was a vast quagmire of numerous conflicting opinions about what to and not to do in preparation for our upcoming PCS. Solution: go to ACS and play the part of the completely clueless new army wife--worked like a charm! Since the initial slight panic, I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to put my adventures down on the proverbial paper for others to hopefully benefit from. (Note: This blog is written from the perspective of flight school and may not apply to everyone's PCS.)

     While on that first hunt for information at the ACS office, I discovered some useful tidbits of information. #1. I need to have an Exceptional Family Member screening, regardless of whether I view myself as exceptional or not. Side note: later that evening, my husband was so gracious as to point out that I am quite exceptional and really do need the exam. Thanks. :)

#2. Spouses can go to the Levy Brief. Yay! If you can coax the information out of your husband (or wife) about when this is, and inform them that YES, you can go, it is extremely helpful to go.  It answered many of the questions that I had bouncing around in my brain like overactive super balls. Which brings me to today when my hubby and I attended the Levy brief.

     Going into it, I was rather in a state of fear and trepidation that I would be the only spouse attending. Imagine my delight when we walked in and there were 2 other spouses in the briefing room.  Praise the Lord! A rather large wave of relief washed over me.  We got there 20 minutes early, so Hubby introduced me to a few people, then I prepared to be the most meticulous note-taker there. Watch out, Levy Brief, here I come!

     As it turns out, much paperwork is involved in a PCS.  First, you have to wait for your husband to get an RFO (Request for Orders), which he can then print off and bring, attend the Levy brief (mandatory) then fill out DA form 5118.  For those of us who are OCONUS, there are a few extra steps.  Your family (your soldier, you, and any kids over 14) have to take a security awareness online course and print out the certificate which you bring in (Keep this certificate! You will need it when you arrive at your new duty station for in-processing.), then fill out forms 5121 and 4036 and your good to go! For requesting your orders, that is.

Well, that's all the time I have for tonight, folks. Rest assured that I shall continue the fact spewing after my morning cup of coffee tomorrow.