Tales of Nine: Invitation and Prayers, Please

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Invitation and Prayers, Please

Today, Aaron got the email. He has been invited to the A-100 class, which begins September 9th. Unfortunately, we have had a little snaffoo with housing. Last March I asked an authority in HR whether we could get into the recommended paid furnished housing with our family size. He said yes. Today, an assistant at HR sent over lodging orders to the housing facility, and they came back and said they cannot legally accommodate a family of nine. Uh-oh. The housing facility representative asked them if they could approve two 2-BR units for us, since we were told they could. The authority who I corresponded with is out of the office today, so his assistant said we will hear tomorrow. What does it mean if this is not approved? Well, we will have to rent something on our own. Per diem will pay pretty well for a few months, but it decreases over time, so that is not optimal. While it may seem premature that I have already sold most of our furniture, we can't bring more than 1200 lbs. with us to D.C., so we have to get something furnished, anyway. Of course, that costs more. Prayers, please.

1 comment:

Todd G.June 29, 2013 at 5:55 PM
I fully appreciate, understand and support this amazing move. Go P family! Can't help but feel a foreboding though -- simply meaning that it will certainly come with sacrifices (like this one!) Great things lie ahead.... --TG
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Abbreviation Help

A few readers have asked what DH stands for. They figured out that it had to do with my husband, but didn't quite get it. For anonymity's sake, when necessary, we use the following abbreviations:

DH = Dear Husband

DS = Dear Son

DD = Dear Daughter

I have put numbers after each of the DS's, since there are six of them. I numbered them DS1-DS6, from oldest to youngest.

You may see other abbreviations over time, like MIL (mother-in-law). I'll try to add their explanations here when that happens.

HHE - HouseHold Effects - items that you can't bring to temporary housing with you that are stored in a warehouse, such as Haggerstown, MD. When you leave temporary housing, you get to send HHE items to your new post from storage. You can add anything you don't want from your temporary housing to HHE storage, and anything that isn't going in your UAB or on the plane with you will go into HHE that is going to post. You get to visit Haggerstown once before you leave and take out boxes if you need to go through and remove some things. For example, our packers mixed ice skates with garden tools in one box. I will be removing that box, and will send the skates back to storage (other than any we have outgrown) and send the gardening tools onward. HHE allowance is 18,000 lbs and includes items in storage in Haggerstown or any other government storage facility. 18,000 lbs. can go to a post with no furnishings provided. 7,200 lbs. can go to a post with furnishings provided. The remaining 10,800 lbs. can stay in storage. Weights include packaging materials, and you don't get to pack your own stuff.

UAB - Unaccompanied Air Baggage - When you go anywhere, you get a small shipment sent more quickly than your HHE. This could mean you get it two weeks after arrival or 3 months after arrival, depending on the destination and customs hold-ups. Nothing in UAB can be over 3' long and 2' wide, as this is the approximate size of a UAB shipping box. UAB weight allowance changes with family size, and any amount you don't use can be added to your HHE allowance. Weights include packaging materials, and you don't get to pack your own stuff.

POV - Privately Owned Vehicle - You can also ship one vehicle at the department's expense. Every country has their own guidelines as to what vehicles they will allow to be imported, so don't take this as a blanket rule that you can ship whatever you want to drive. The maximum size the Department will ship on their tab is 800 cubic feet, and you have to pay overages if it is bigger.

CDO - Career Development Officer - The person (which will probably change once while you are a junior officer) who decides where to send you for your first two tours

TED - The date of departure from your current post (even though it is a specific date, for bidding purposes, you can use the whole month, and after that, we hear there is wiggle room up to a month prior to that date, if necessary)