So, as quickly as everything became a giant headache, it also suddenly fell together over the course of a week.
Last Tuesday, I had my medical screening with EFMP. Before I went to my appointment, I was completely terrified. Everything you read on the internet about EFMP and the overseas medical screening for dependents is completely terrifying. They pretty much make it sound like it will be hours worth of someone combing through your entire medical record and asking in-dept questions in an attempt to enroll you into a program that may prevent you from going overseas with your spouse. Rest assured, it's no where near as horrifying as everything on the internet tells you. My medical screening took about 5 minutes. I requested all of my medical records from the past 5 years which the nurse glanced over, reviewed my EFMP paperwork and my medical records from the military treatment facility and that was essentially it. The doctor signed my paperwork, forwarded it on to the travel office which passed it on to Germany for approval. Within 24 hours, Greg had my passport in hand and an amendment saying that I was approved for concurrent travel.
What does all of that mean? Basically, Greg and I get to fly to Germany together with Augustus in cabin. Flights are booked, movers are coming in a few days and all that's left to do is wait. Moral of the story: Don't listen to what you read online about how horrible the command sponsorship process can be.
About 2 weeks from now, we'll start our adventure towards Europe! Along the way, we have everything in our house to ship, families to visit, a chihuahua to prepare and when we finally get there, housing to select. So much done, but still plenty of work to go!
Showing posts with label EFMP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EFMP. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
The Process, Part 1
So, those of you who have noticed that I am particularly negative recently regarding our move to Germany, you're probably thinking, "How on earth could anyone be upset about spending three years with the opportunity of traveling through Europe?"
Because, well, we ARE dealing with the Army here. There is no such thing as "easy" when attempting any PCS, let alone one on the opposite side of the world.
After Greg accepted his orders several months ago, he was told that when he returned from Afghanistan, he would be sent to a LEVY brief where he would get all of the paperwork needed to start the process of PCS'ing overseas. In December, he arrived home and went on post-deployment leave. At the end of January, everyone began returning back to post from leave and preparing for "PCS season", as they call it. Greg asked week after week if his S1 completed the paperwork required to attend the LEVY brief. Week after week, it was still not finished. February came and went. March started with no word on when he would be able to start clearing Ft. Carson. We applied for tourist passports so we could travel when we arrived in Europe. We made sure Augustus had everything needed and was ready to go. We told our apartment complex that we were not renewing our lease because we would be moving to Germany before it ended. We did everything we could possibly do without the paperwork supplied at the LEVY breif. Finally, on March 19, Greg turned 27 years old... and finally got to attend the brief he had been begging to go to since January. What exactly did he learn from his LEVY brief? That he really needed to attend it about 6 months sooner.
Long story as short as possible, we finally had the paperwork needed for me to apply for a no-cost passport needed to obtain SOFA status. For those that do not know, being in Germany under the SOFA agreement allows spouses to live in the country without having to leave every 3 months and to hold jobs. It's kind of like a visa, but covers for however long your husband is stationed in the country. The morning after my husband's brief, I ran down to the passport office with paperwork in hand to apply for my no-fee passport. We were told it could take 6-8 weeks to get it back and it has now been exactly 4 weeks and 2 days. At least that was one step we were able to complete with no major issues.
"Command sponsorship" is what the Army calls it when family members are approved to go with the service member to an overseas duty station. It's not as simple as just jumping on a flight and arriving in Germany with a big freakin' smile on your face and an apartment all ready for you to move in to. Greg's unit in Germany has to agree that he can bring me, the medical offices in the US and Germany have to agree that I'm healthy enough to live in Wiesbaden and the housing office in Germany has to be sure they can accommodate us accordingly. Since Greg's orders to Wiesbaden did say that he could bring family members if they are cleared through EFMP (Exceptional Family Members Program), we assume that his unit did agree that I am allowed to accompany him. The big hurdle right now is the entire EFMP process. My medical screening appointment with EFMP is scheduled for Tuesday. It was the earliest appointment we could get when I scheduled the first week of April. If everything goes well and I am not identified as having issues requiring enrollment in EFMP, we may very well being on our way to completing the most difficult chunk of the command sponsorship process. If not, there is a good chance that my medical clearance will not be complete by Greg's new report date of June 10.
Oh, did I forget to mention? Since Greg was sent so late to his LEVY brief, they allowed him to request a 30 day extension on his report date. Instead of reporting May 10, which was basically impossible when he's only able to start the paperwork to leave 6 weeks before, he has an extra 30 days to throw all of this together. He found out just today that his extension was approved, 3 weeks before he was supposed to report.
Despite the extra 30 days, we still have to move out of our apartment on May 12 as of right now. We've been begging and pleading for them to allow us to stay past our lease date. They've been extremely kind and working with us on this issue, so hopefully we'll be able to strike a deal on staying here later than expected. If not, we'll be packing our belongings into a storage unit and staying in a hotel until we have some idea what is going on.
Greg still has hope that my medical screening will go well and we'll be out of here and on our way to Germany together on time. However, there is still the chance that he may need to go before me and Augustus and I will join him in a few months. There is also a chance that my medical paperwork will not work out to my advantage and I will not be allowed to join Greg in Germany at all. There is also still a slight chance that maybe his orders will be cancelled entirely and we'll end up somewhere completely different. We have absolutely no idea at this point.
And it is very possible that we will not know until a few days before June 10. Welcome to Army life, right?
Because, well, we ARE dealing with the Army here. There is no such thing as "easy" when attempting any PCS, let alone one on the opposite side of the world.
After Greg accepted his orders several months ago, he was told that when he returned from Afghanistan, he would be sent to a LEVY brief where he would get all of the paperwork needed to start the process of PCS'ing overseas. In December, he arrived home and went on post-deployment leave. At the end of January, everyone began returning back to post from leave and preparing for "PCS season", as they call it. Greg asked week after week if his S1 completed the paperwork required to attend the LEVY brief. Week after week, it was still not finished. February came and went. March started with no word on when he would be able to start clearing Ft. Carson. We applied for tourist passports so we could travel when we arrived in Europe. We made sure Augustus had everything needed and was ready to go. We told our apartment complex that we were not renewing our lease because we would be moving to Germany before it ended. We did everything we could possibly do without the paperwork supplied at the LEVY breif. Finally, on March 19, Greg turned 27 years old... and finally got to attend the brief he had been begging to go to since January. What exactly did he learn from his LEVY brief? That he really needed to attend it about 6 months sooner.
Long story as short as possible, we finally had the paperwork needed for me to apply for a no-cost passport needed to obtain SOFA status. For those that do not know, being in Germany under the SOFA agreement allows spouses to live in the country without having to leave every 3 months and to hold jobs. It's kind of like a visa, but covers for however long your husband is stationed in the country. The morning after my husband's brief, I ran down to the passport office with paperwork in hand to apply for my no-fee passport. We were told it could take 6-8 weeks to get it back and it has now been exactly 4 weeks and 2 days. At least that was one step we were able to complete with no major issues.
"Command sponsorship" is what the Army calls it when family members are approved to go with the service member to an overseas duty station. It's not as simple as just jumping on a flight and arriving in Germany with a big freakin' smile on your face and an apartment all ready for you to move in to. Greg's unit in Germany has to agree that he can bring me, the medical offices in the US and Germany have to agree that I'm healthy enough to live in Wiesbaden and the housing office in Germany has to be sure they can accommodate us accordingly. Since Greg's orders to Wiesbaden did say that he could bring family members if they are cleared through EFMP (Exceptional Family Members Program), we assume that his unit did agree that I am allowed to accompany him. The big hurdle right now is the entire EFMP process. My medical screening appointment with EFMP is scheduled for Tuesday. It was the earliest appointment we could get when I scheduled the first week of April. If everything goes well and I am not identified as having issues requiring enrollment in EFMP, we may very well being on our way to completing the most difficult chunk of the command sponsorship process. If not, there is a good chance that my medical clearance will not be complete by Greg's new report date of June 10.
Oh, did I forget to mention? Since Greg was sent so late to his LEVY brief, they allowed him to request a 30 day extension on his report date. Instead of reporting May 10, which was basically impossible when he's only able to start the paperwork to leave 6 weeks before, he has an extra 30 days to throw all of this together. He found out just today that his extension was approved, 3 weeks before he was supposed to report.
Despite the extra 30 days, we still have to move out of our apartment on May 12 as of right now. We've been begging and pleading for them to allow us to stay past our lease date. They've been extremely kind and working with us on this issue, so hopefully we'll be able to strike a deal on staying here later than expected. If not, we'll be packing our belongings into a storage unit and staying in a hotel until we have some idea what is going on.
Greg still has hope that my medical screening will go well and we'll be out of here and on our way to Germany together on time. However, there is still the chance that he may need to go before me and Augustus and I will join him in a few months. There is also a chance that my medical paperwork will not work out to my advantage and I will not be allowed to join Greg in Germany at all. There is also still a slight chance that maybe his orders will be cancelled entirely and we'll end up somewhere completely different. We have absolutely no idea at this point.
And it is very possible that we will not know until a few days before June 10. Welcome to Army life, right?
 |
| This is what PCS'ing makes me want to do. But, without the sash. |
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