Top 5 PCS Tips!

Whether you are new at the military PCS (permanent change of station) experience, or are old pros, a PCS experience can still spark stress for service members and their families. New duty stations across the state, country, or world can seem like a daunting task to coordinate when dealing with the military standard of “hurry up and wait.” Organizing and coordinating the move isn’t a easy thing to mentally approach or process. However, the experts here at “Your Military PCS Pro” have you covered! Whether you have your First Choice orders, or you got slotted for a duty station that was never on your list, join us to hear multiple tips and tricks to take a lot of the “what if,” “where is,” and “what is” stress away. Tori Bairey -a Realtor, mother of three neurodivergent kids and military spouse of a Navy veteran who served at Joint Forces Bases, has multiple transcontinental moves under her belt. She shares her top 5 PCS Tips to decrease your stress load with your upcoming PCS move. Tip One: Manage your stress. We all know how difficult it is to manage a household and the lives of the members of your family while also mitigating the stress of the active duty service member. Whether you’re the active duty member or spouse, one of the best things to do is to manage your stress. Utilize your access to mental health help -whether at an in person location or an app that connects you with licensed therapists, speaking to a therapist is a great way to help you to manage your stress and your stress responses. While speaking to family or friends can be a great stress relief, not everyone has an understanding interpersonal network who can actively support them in managing their mental health during periods of stress. Speaking with a therapist can help you express yourself, emotions, anxieties, and concerns without having to hear the sort of “advice” that well-meaning family members or friends may have. Manage your stress and take care of yourself. You cannot pour from an empty pitcher. Tip Two: Utilize Social Media. While social media can have its pitfalls, in this situation it can absolutely benefit you. Search Facebook for groups (military affiliated, family orientated, or for your personal likes), in your new location. Join them and introduce yourself! You will absolutely make some good connections with individuals who are already at the location you are PCSing to, who can give you area specific info. From clinic recommendations to restaurants, from military base housing waits to local real estate agents, to game nights to fun local events, this advice and these connections can help you begin building a sense of community prior to you even arriving. Also, don’t forget the local veteran community in the location that you are moving to. If your command is deployed upon arriving, there are veterans and families on the ground who absolutely provide you a sense of community, advice, and friendship as well. Tip Three: Invest in geo-tagging location devices, such as Apple Air Tags. If you are having military movers coordinate the packing and shipping of your household goods, throw numerous Apple Air Tags throughout boxes -definitely put them in your most valuable personal belongings as well. Sometimes your household goods get split up after they leave you, and end up in multiple locations, resulting in them getting lost. If you’ve used Apple Air Tags and are monitoring them, you can more easily present this information to the point of contact at your new command. This can mitigate the “where is my (insert lost item here)” and can assist you in recovering it. Tip Four: Research the laws, regulations, and guidelines of the command location concerning your furry family members! Overseas (or even some designated CONUS) locations have varying regulations concerning your pets. Make sure you have your furry friend(s) up to date on their shots and physicals and put copies of those documents along with your vital documents (just in case)! Also, get your pet microchipped. If it already is, make sure your contact information is up to date in the microchip. In addition, some locations may require you to quarantine your animal, however, there may be the possibility that you can begin the quarantine process prior to leaving your current location! That can be a stress reliever for your human family members as well as your furry family members. Tip Five: Semper Gumby. Always flexible. The military as whole, is famous for changing needs at the last minute. These needs can definitely affect everything you’ve been preparing for. With the aforementioned tips, you can fall back on them, preventing last minute scrambling in the “Crap, it changed” experience. Remember, every duty station is what you make of it. By following these tips, even the most undesirable location or the most toxic of commands, this advice can help you overcome stress in your off-duty time. With the right team behind you, you can find the diamond in the rough wherever you are, no matter the shit-show you might find yourself in.