This takes place on the 20th of May. We have had orders for a month now.
The day of the Overseas Transfer Workshop arrives. I am, again, anxious. I really want this to be useful. It's the only lead I have on how to tackle this move or what I'm supposed to be doing in general.
I get to the classroom and there are tables and chairs and packets at each seat. Packets of information! Oh thank goodness! Something in one of them HAS to be useful, right?.....right?
The class starts and seems to be fairly helpful, until these words are uttered "Most of your move, and move issues will be handled by the Service Member and their Command". Silly me starts to panic But....my Service Member and Command are deployed! What are we going to do?! Rational me counters They do this all the time, they have to have contingency plans for absent Service Members.....right? Doubt creeps into rational me.
I raise my hand "Excuse, me? What if my Service Member is deployed?"
Pause.
Oh. Um, things are going to be difficult for you. We'll talk after the class.
This does not bode well say both silly and rational me.
The rest of the workshop goes well enough. I gather all of the extra pamphlets, pages, and packets that are set out on a side table, because it can't hurt to have them all.
I talk to the workshop instructor after the class who basically tells me two things.
1 - I need a Power of Attorney if I don't have one already or else I won't be able to do anything. I have one of those! rational me thinks. But I have no idea where it is! Thanks silly me. I will worry about that later.
2 - I should start trying to get things going now, because doing this move without reasonable access to my Service Member or Command is going to be difficult. Great all of the mes think.
To be fair the workshop did have some good and useful information and gave me a place to start. Though several of the items state "Start this as soon as you have orders." Ooops. How was I supposed to know? I mean I only even found out about this workshop by chance. So, yeah, I'm not going to feel bad about having not started things a month ago.
I scan the useful information and email it to Dan. I ask him about a Sponsor from our new command, if I need to get this no-fee military passport, what's the deal with the medical screening, move dates, and several other things.
And I wait.
