I woke up this morning at 5:30am and not highly excited to attend our early morning LEVY brief. Le sigh. It would've been nice to have a 9:00am meeting, but waking up early for the 7:30am brief had it's perks:
I caught the tail end of the Oscars live (remember I am 6 hours ahead of the east coast), and watched 'La La Land' win best picture...or wait...I meant 'Moonlight', and then I heard about Bill Paxton's death. All before coffee.
Let's get down to business, folks.
LEVY = ???
Who really knows what the LEVY acronym means?
But in all seriousness, the LEVY brief sums up various elements of an impending PCS/ETS. Whether it be a move or separation, the soldier WILL have to attend a LEVY brief to acquire the most important document for said move: Orders
Without orders, a soldier/power of attorney holder can do absolutely nada.
This was the 3rd LEVY brief that I've attended. The first was in Fort Lewis, and was the scariest; I was alone, being that my husband was in ALC and wouldn't be back until 15 days before we had to take off to Fort Campbell. Yup, one of us had to attend, regardless of who, and it was me.
Basically, I procured that move by myself with a handful of PoAs.
Much of the pre-PCS stuff can be taken care of by the spouse, as long as he/she has the correct power of attorneys in hand, and I don't mean a general PoA. I scheduled the movers, the on-post house walk-through, collected school & medical records, gathered CIF material, and ticked off a few other things. All that was left for him to do was get his clearing "stamp" from all of the appropriate offices. Easy-peasy. Lucky him.
Here in Vilseck/Grafenwoehr, I was surprised that our LEVY brief today didn't tell us a lot that we didn't already know from previous briefs, but some things have changed since our last PCS.
And just like every other brief, it was looooong; lasting about 3.5 hours, and an added hour of waiting in line to have my husband's name crossed off the attendance list (there were about 250 people at our brief, no joke).
So if you are about to attend your own brief, bring a notebook, pen, coffee, and for your sanity, find a babysitter for your tiny children. Trust me on this.
Helpful tip: Do not believe what you have been told before: The spouse is NOT required to attend this brief.
**The notes below MAY or MAY NOT apply to you. The brief I attended was for the Bavaria footprint of the army. Some of the information is common PCS/ETS knowledge for everyone, some of it specifically applies to OCONUS folks only, and a bit of it applies to BAVARIA stationed folks only.
This post is about PCS/ETS-ing FROM OCONUS to CONUS, or as I like to call it "Moving Backwards".
If you are looking for info on PCS-ing to an OCONUS location, specifically Germany, you can find my post on that somewhere within my blog.
And in no particular order, here are my notes!
TLA:
TLA is OCONUS Temporary Lodging Allowance. And in a weird turn of events, it was told to us today that housing still keeps their pretty little hand in TLA even though we are departing from here. Housing has to issue a statement of non-availability for finance to reimburse off post hotel costs on our way out. Strange considering we will have handed them back the house keys at this point.
Notice I said "off post hotels". If you choose to stay in on-post lodging, you do NOT receive reimbursement because, simply enough, they do not charge you to stay in on-post lodging while coming or going in Bavaria. Nothing spent, nothing owed. Also, you shouldn't need a statement of non-availability for on-post lodging.
One thing I will have to clarify, because it sounds, "off" in my mind: TEN days of TLA (OCONUS side) is authorized for those who are departing from a private rental off post. But during the brief, it was explained that only THREE days of TLA is authorized for those departing from on-post quarters. If this is correct, I know there is always an exception to policy, but it does sound slightly unfair considering clearing a house sucks on either side.
**I will update this statement if I find it to be incorrect, but that's what they told us today (Feb 27th, 2017).
TLE:
Temporary Lodging Expense
This is DIFFERENT than TLA.
TLA is OCONUS
TLE is CONUS
TLE is what you will receive once you are stateside (or PCS-ing to a CONUS location). The rates for TLE are per diem based amounts that are calculated by family headcount.
TLE also includes meal expenses while occupying temporary quarters (hotel, motel). TLE is reimbursed for 10 days stateside for OCONUS to CONUS moves.
***This post is not about PCS-ing to OCONUS, but for those who stumbled upon it by accident and must know, CONUS to OCONUS is only 5 days of stateside TLE. True story as of Feb 2017.
DLA:
Dislocation Allowance
Things have changed since my last move in this regard.
DLA is NO LONGER paid in advanced (as of 2017).
Meaning if you are counting on advanced DLA before flying to your new duty station, good luck! That practice no longer exists. Start saving for extra moving expenses that are not covered by the army ASAP. DLA is now paid out once you have signed in to your new duty station and paid a visit to finance. No exception to policy.
In defense of the army, DLA is not supposed to be used for your wife's replacement iPhone or to buy that new Xbox you've been wanting. Over the past 10 years, I've watched people waste away their DLA on stupid shit before they arrived to their new duty station broke as all ramen hell, and having to apply for an AER loan. I believe this has something to do with why the army has stopped giving advanced DLA; because people don't spend it on what it's for!
DLA is given to soldiers with households to offset the costs of dislocation: Ie; household cleaning items, food, pantry items, toiletries, etc that had to be left behind because they could not be moved. Basically, I think of DLA as my first trip to Walmart in a new duty station: All of those weird things that we all buy when we arrive to a new place: Shower curtains, toilet brushes, plungers, laundry detergent, pillows, mops, brooms, garden hose, paint. The house essentials that we could not pack (or didn't want to. Yuck on packing a plunger, y'all).
Generally, DLA is NOT paid to soldiers who are PCS-ing from government quarters/barracks. Why? Because maintaining an entire house is a bit different than maintaining a barracks room.
If you are a single soldier that does not plan to reside in gov quarters/barracks at your new duty station, you ARE eligible for single rate DLA.
DLA is not a reimbursement. It is a set amount. So if you spend $8,000 on random replacement/dislocation items, you craycray, and aren't getting much of that back.
Secondary DLA is a special pay that not everyone receives. "If your PCS travel order is amended, modified, canceled or revoked you may be authorized a Secondary DLA"
For the most part, the majority of soldiers with a moving household will receive PRIMARY DLA.
Dual military families will receive ONE DLA payout based on whichever member's rank is higher.
If you are worried about the change to requesting advanced DLA affecting your move because your savings account looks depressing, you can request advanced basic pay up to three months ahead of time, however, 3 months is harder to get approved unless you have extenuating circumstances. 2 months is generally the longest that is approved for basic pay advance.
I do not suggest nor condone pay advances. People usually have a hard time bouncing back from pay advances and the advances are often spent frivolously. Folks tend to forget that they won't be receiving a paycheck until the amount they borrowed against their own pay is satisfied. Again, I've watched this happen to others before, and it's never a good outcome. Do at your own risk.
COLA:
The OCONUS Cost of Living Allowance stops the day before your flight back to CONUS.
BAH: Your stateside BAH kicks in the day of your flight, at the transit rate. This is different that the gaining duty station zip code rate. Your new, official BAH at your gaining duty station may be a higher or lower rate than the transit rate, and will kick in once the soldier has signed in to his/her new duty station. Your can easily find your transit rate with Google: Search Non-Locality BAH 2017: the rate differs with/without dependents.
Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty of moving.
HHG: Household Goods
HHG arrival/delivery estimation to stateside location 60-65 days
It is HIGHLY advised that you confirm your HHG shipment BEFORE setting your flight dates through SATO. Confirmation of a hired moving company will arrive via email within 14 days of submission, just to give you a time frame. In Germany, you do not get a choice of a moving company. One is assigned to you.
UB: Unaccompanied Baggage
UB arrival/delivery estimation to stateside location 30-35 days
175lb limit for dependents
500lb limit for soldier
Non-Temporary Storage:
If you have goods stored back in the states and they are documented through your last PCS and you plan to have it moved to your new station, you must have a delivery address before scheduling this. Most people wait until they have signed a lease for their new home.
POV: Personally Owned Vehicle
58-70 days estimated delivery to a VPC center, stateside.
The vehicle must be picked up, or the owner must make further arrangements to get it to their new duty station/ ETS location.
For example, we are headed to Fort Riley, KS. Our nearest VPC is in St. Louis, Missouri. The car won't magically make its way to us. One of us has to go fetch it. It's not exactly a quick trip away. Note your VPC locations in accordance to where you are headed before shipping your POV.
POV must have lien holder authorization. Yes, even to go back to the states. And your POV must have its DOT/EPA stickers (located in engine compartment/door panel). If one of your stickers is missing, contact your state's DOT and EPA offices for assistance well before your shipment date!
***If you are planning to ship a vehicle purchased in Europe, with Euro specs...sorry, I wasn't listening during that part. But I do know it's a more intricate process. And it's super expensive once your car arrives on the other side to convert emissions.
HOUSING:
This is the part that freaks me out the most!
I run a tight ship, so I'm not worried about the task of cleaning, BUT in my semi-expert opinion, clearing housing is what the moving calendar revolves around!
Like previous moves, we don't want to clear too early, nor too late. Clearing housing HAS to fit in a sweet spot, and it drives me bananas.
Remember, according to what I was told at the LEVY brief today, TLA is only authorized for THREE days for those of us who live in on-post government quarters (Netzaberg is considered government quarters, too).
So this basically means we will have to final out of our house no longer than three days before our flight, or we're shit up a creek for lodging anything longer than that.
What I learned, and some of which I already knew:
-Housing pre-inspection must be scheduled 30-60 days before your intended final out inspection.
-Final inspection for government quarters should be about 3-5 days before your departure flight.
-Work orders must be handled before your final inspection.
-Government loaner furniture MUST be in your government quarters during your final inspection. Plan the delivery a week before your movers come to insure it will be delivered on time.
CUSTOMS:
POV & VPC
Privately owned vehicle MUST be "showroom" clean to be approved for shipping. This includes the interior, exterior, engine compartment, and all storage areas within the vehicle (glove compartment, spare tire area, trunk).
If you have a loan/lein on your car, you are required to have authorization to ship from your bank/lien holder.
If your car has an open recall, FIX IT ASAP. VPC will no longer ship vehicles with manufacture/safety/fire recalls.
As for vehicle registration, you remove your German plates before shipping the car (at your OCONUS VPC). You then take those plates to the your current, losing vehicle registration office where you turn them in and receive your "QQ" temp plates. These temporary plates are to be HAND CARRIED with you to your new duty station. They go on to your car upon pick up from your stateside VPC, and are good for 90 days.
As for alcohol, plants, & foods, you must check into the state you are ETS/PCS-ing to and abide by their laws. Some states require that taxes be paid on imported goods, others don't. Also, some states do not allow certain imports. Each states customs rules can be found online.
MOVERS:
All of the actual moving knowledge is common knowledge just like a state to state PCS.
-Make sure boxes are labeled with the contents rather than a general "MISC" description.
-List discrepancies at the bottom of your inventory list BEFORE you sign anything.
-Claims for broken items must be submitted no more than 75 days after delivery.
-Have appraisals done for collectibles and things of high value that are not commonly found on the market. Like expensive art, high ticket glassware, your Star Wars action figure set.
RANDOMS:
-AVAL date is three days prior to DEROS date. The AVAL date is basically how soon you can fly out to your new duty station. It is hard to get this changed. Early report authorization DOES NOT mean you can leave sooner than your AVAL date! Your AVAL date can be found on the last page of orders, above the signature block.
-You are required to get the hell out of Germany at least 9 day after your DEROS date, and no later.
-The estimated window for receiving official orders in the Bavaria footprint is 90 days, not 120 like it is stateside.
-It is required for soldiers to be assigned a sponsor in their gaining unit for their return to CONUS.
-According to our brief (27 February 2017) the Bavaria footprint is no longer authorizing return flights from OCONUS commercially. All soldiers and dependents will depart from Ramstein AFB via Patriot Express UNLESS they have an extenuating circumstance or if SATO sees fit. Pets are no longer an extenuating circumstance.
-If the soldier is on an "All Others" tour (meaning unaccompanied), their orders for the losing unit should state where their dependents are residing. The Army will only pay for the dependents to fly/travel/move to the new duty station from their location on the orders.
-Dependents MUST be sponsored through command in order for their travel to be paid back to a CONUS location. So if your sister, step-son, aunt, grandpa came to live with you in Germany and was not on your initial orders, plan to pay for their flight home.
-If you had a baby while overseas, YOU MUST HAVE THEIR SOFA PASSPORT IN HAND to fly back.
-If you acquired a pet while overseas, it'll need a pet passport, too.
-Sign into your AKO to find your personal CIF list. Items listed with the letter "N" are required to be turned into CIF to final out.
HELPFUL WEBSITES:
PCSMYPOV.COM
MOVE.MIL
HOUSING.ARMY.MIL
MILITARYONESOURCE.MIL (Plan My Move)
www.eur.army.mil/PatriotExpress
www.spacea.net/faqs/schedules
And there ya have it!
Our next plan is to sit down with our calendar and look at dates. It's kind of difficult to plan hard dates this far in advance, but at least we'll have an idea of time frames by doing so. I'll share a post on that a bit later.
Can we get our orders now?!
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