Moving Spouse after BMQ - Kingston Thread

[Shadow Cat]

I have done some research and found out that my husband will be undergoing 6 months of trade training in Kingston.  Will the forces help me and the children to be with him during this training period or am I giong to have to sit here and wait for him to be done and has our first positng instructions?

 

[beach_bum]

Generally, until the mbrs first posting, the military will not move you.  Would you really want to uproot yourself and the children for 6 months and then have to do it all over again anyway?

 

[Shadow Cat]

yes.

 

[beach_bum]

Well, I wish you luck with that, but I really doubt they will cut a posting message for a course that is only six months long.  You are most likely just going to have to be patient. 

 

[George Wallace]

I have done some research and found out that my husband will be undergoing 6 months of trade training in Kingston.   Will the forces help me and the children to be with him during this training period or am I giong to have to sit here and wait for him to be done and has our first positng instructions?

As was pointed out, unless this is his first posting you are out of luck.   The military will not normally post families with the members for any period less than twelve months.   Being at the low end of the totem pole, you are not likely to get to move to join him.

 

[Canadian Sig]

I have done that course and when I did it we were on IR (imposed restriction), meaning that my family had to stay put in our home town.

 

[Shadow Cat]

Well that is not good news.  I was told that if it was longer than six months even by a day that we would be able to move.  I don't know if my husband is going to be able to handle being away from us for a year.  It has only been three weeks and he is missing us terribly.

 

[28Medic]

Shadow Cat...
I hear ya!
My husband has been on course for 7 weeks now, he has 8 months of French to do now, then we just don't know what will happen...worse case scenario is him going on to another course in Portage, Manitoba that is 3 months straight.  Second worse case scenario is that we get posted for temporary OJT (on-the-job-training), we move and then he goes on the 3 months course from there.  That would mean I am stuck in a new place all alone with the 3 kids, while he is gone.
So I almost hope that he goes straight to Portage and we get all the crap over with in a row and I stay put with the kids to keep them stable in the same school and community! I have a pretty good support system set up here right now.
Basically I have resigned myself to thinking this will be a year and a half to two years of crap and then things will be better!

Oddly enough things get easier with the kids the longer he is away, the first bit was hard, then we hit a routine...now if he comes home for a weekend...it throws us off completely and the kids struggle more! Not that I don't enjoy his time at home...it just makes Sundays harder.

To help me through, I just think of all the vacation and block leave he will be getting and the great quality time we will have then!
Cheers!

 

[beach_bum]

Well that is not good news.   I was told that if it was longer than six months even by a day that we would be able to move.   I don't know if my husband is going to be able to handle being away from us for a year.   It has only been three weeks and he is missing us terribly.

Just out of curiousity, who told you that?  Yes, I am sure he is missing you, just as you are missing him, but hang in there.  It seems like forever now, but eventually it will be over.  As 28Medic says, just think of the quality time at the end.

 

[Shadow Cat]

A couple of friends that are currently in the military told me that.  Oh well I will just have to take it one day at a time and see what happens. 

 

[Canadian Sig]

When I did the course it was pretty much right after my BMQ and 5 weeks after finishing the sig op course I was in Afghanistan. So my best advice would be to make the most of the time you do get and remember to give him lots of support when he is away. It will get easier and it will get better but seperations are (an unpleasant) part of following this calling. 

 

[Shadow Cat]

So when did your family get to move to be with you?  After you got back from Afghanistan?  How often did you get to see your family when you were on course?

My concern is that we won't see him during basic,  his SQ and during his trade training.  A year of not seeing him at all is a lot to ask of anyone.  Especially if right afterwards they ship him off on a tour.  It could be even longer as he may have to wait in Borden his courses to commence.

 

[Canadian Sig]

I can pretty much bet you that he will have to wait in Borden before his trades training starts. What I did when I was waiting was request an opportunity to go do OJT at the base nearest to my home.That wasn't quite all the way home but I did get to see my kids every weekend that way. I remember being at BMQ and thinking I wouldn't get to see my family for a year but don't worry, thats not going to happen. He has time between courses and there are OJT opportunities ( if he asks ) and the military will pay for him to travel to his next of kin once a year if it is far away.

 

[Shadow Cat]

Thanks Canadian Sig for answering all of my questions. 

We will just have to take it one day at a time and see what is in the cards for us.

 

[Fruss]

Hey,

I'm thinking of joining as a LCIS Tech and I was wondering what the life in Kingston will be like. Let me explain:

After the BMQ (and SQ if still around), I will have to do the POET and LCIS training at CFSCE in Kingston for about 15 months. I am currently living in Vancouver, BC and have a girlfriend here who would be ready to move.

So here are my questions:

Can we can a PMQ in Kingston for the time of my training?
Can we live off-base during that training so we can get an apartment?
If I don't put my effects in storage, will the army will accept to move my things then instead of at my first posting?

I would appreciate your thoughts. 

Frank

 

[Springroll]

A fellow member of this forum is currently in transit to move into the PMQ's in Kingston while her husband does his training. He is currently there on PAT. It didn't take long for them to get their permission but your best bet is to go through your divisional chain. They can help you and answer all your questions, and if they can not, they will put you in contact with someone who can. Always keep them involved, that way they are never blind sided.

 

[Fruss]

Thanks Springroll.

Any other thoughts? As I'm not a member yet and would like to have a little idea of what's ahead of me.

Thanks

Frank

 

[aesop081]

A fellow member of this forum is currently in transit to move into the PMQ's in Kingston while her husband does his training. He is currently there on PAT. It didn't take long for them to get their permission but your best bet is to go through your divisional chain. They can help you and answer all your questions, and if they can not, they will put you in contact with someone who can. Always keep them involved, that way they are never blind sided.

1) He's not in yet so he doesnt have a chain

2) Divisional chain of comand would apply to the navy ( not to an LCIS trainee)

After the BMQ (and SQ if still around), I will have to do the POET and LCIS training at CFSCE in Kingston for about 15 months. I am currently living in Vancouver, BC and have a girlfriend here who would be ready to move.

You and your GF common-law ?  Been living together for a year with documentation to prove it ?  If this is not the case, your chances of getting a PMQ have significantly decreased.

 

[Springroll]

Thanks Springroll.

Any other thoughts? As I'm not a member yet and would like to have a little idea of what's ahead of me.

Thanks

Frank

Honestly it would all depend on if you even got LCIS. Your best bet is to get in and then ask from there. No point in planning for the future when you are not even sure it is going to happen. Once you get in, I would suggest you message Shadowcat on this website since she is the member who is just in the midst of moving to Kingston to be with her hubby while he is doing his training. She can give you the first hand information, where as I can only give you what she told me.

Too also reword what I meant by divisional chain, I should have wrote to always keep your chain of command in the loop. In other words, your bosses should know whats going on.

 

[Springroll]

You and your GF common-law ?   Been living together for a year with documentation to prove it ?   If this is not the case, your chances of getting a PMQ have significantly decreased.

The documentation is not that necessary. They will give you a common law form to fill out where you and the GF would have to sign stating that you have lived together for a year. It is a legal form, so do not enter into it lightly.

In 1998 when we signed ours, they did not require any documentation as proof of us residing together. Even recently for a friend of mine, they did not ask for any either. Just keep in mind that once you sign that paper, she will be entitled to half of everything of yours, no different than getting married.