A little research will help you prepare for that next duty station

Drum roll, please. We finally have orders! If you’ve ever been twiddling your thumbs waiting for orders and then finally received them — and I’m assuming everyone in the military community has — then you know that the moment you get them is like the moment the coach finally puts you in the game after what seems like an entire season of riding the bench.

You’ve practiced for this moment, reviewed your strategy 101 times in your head, and you’re 100 percent ready to execute your plans. Then, in the all the excitement at the chance to finally get a little sweat on your jersey, you get a little overzealous and have to call a time-out so you can nurse that cramp in your side and chug some water.

Within 48 hours of receiving orders, I was well into packing. I used every grocery sack, magazine and roll of leftover Christmas wrapping paper as packing material and I was out of tape, and boxes, and motivation.

In my defense, we needed to do some major de-cluttering before listing our house, so it’s not like I was packing up everything we own and loading the truck five months out. (Don’t even get me started on how much stuff we’ve accumulated in three years — how does this happen?)

I’m reminded with this sudden burst of packing energy of the classic military family mantra of hurry up and wait — except this time I had been waiting and then suddenly got the all clear to hurry.

And wouldn’t you know it, in my packing frenzy, I’ve now created my own hurry up and wait scenario. In one weekend I packed everything I possibly could, and now have nothing left to do but wait — again. I know, I know. I brought that one on myself.

It’s hard to explain the moment when you realize that six months really isn’t that much time to move an entire family (and house full of junk) halfway across the country. When this moment hits you, though, take full advantage because it will motivate you like nothing ever has before.

And when the panic — whether it be a good panic, or an anxiety driven panic — hits you, don’t forget to call on your resources. Make a game plan, and do a little research.

Check out the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Plan my Move tool online at www.planmymove.mhf.dod.mil. Here, you will be able to customize your own three-month calendar to make sure that you don’t skip any big steps in your move planning process. You’ll even find checklists for travel and arrival, key contacts, and information about your next installation.

And speaking of installations, the website www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil allows you to input your new installation for more contacts, background information and a complete listing of amenities and services. You can also opt to search for a specific service to check on its availability at your destination.

So, while you wait for those coveted orders, do some research instead of just twiddling your thumbs, and when you finally have orders in hand and you know which installation to research, do your homework to save yourself extra headache.

Now get in there and show that PCS (that’s permanent change of station, for you rookies) who’s boss!

Kristi Stolzenberg is a Marine wife whose column appears in the Havelock News. She can be reached at kristi.stolz@gmail.com.