A New Life in Recruiting

We’ve been deep into the recruiting world for a few months now, and so far, this transition has proved to be one of the most challenging of the many years we’ve lived in the military world. Not only has the transition back into a mostly civilian setting presented a number of difficulties, add in a global health crisis and things seem to find a way to get intense.

When we first learned my service member would be coming into the recruiting setting, it wasn’t what I thought would happen in the next phase of life. After finding out we’d head north to Chicago, I felt a sense of ease knowing we would be living so close to our family.

But, it still felt a bit scary knowing that we would lose out living on an installation and the sense of community that comes with that.

The housing market during this pandemic has been extremely poor. Many people can’t afford to move anymore, so they’re staying put. Finding housing was difficult within our BAH range that could also give us the kind of home we needed for our family. We also had to consider the school system and commute. We eventually found one, and thankfully, my uncle was able to tour the houses for me since he is a Chicago resident. Although I’ve lived in military housing for a very long time, it felt much more stressful agreeing to rent a house sight unseen.

The PCS itself wasn’t too bad, though I did feel some anxiety while the movers were packing us up. Being around so many people after extreme social distancing was a little overwhelming.

I would say that one of the biggest issues with this move was finding a pediatrician for my children. There were only two in our zip code according to Tricare’s website, and I made an appointment with one of them. At the appointment, she notified me that she was no longer working with Tricare but continued the appointment anyway. It was one of the most uncomfortable and horrible experiences I’ve had with a doctor. She was indirectly critical of my husband’s career choice because our youngest son may be on the autism spectrum and was generally unhelpful when it came to knowing how to give referrals.

I was eventually able to find another doctor a few towns over, but unfortunately, not a pediatrician. They were much more organized and helped me get the referrals I needed for my kids. I find it unsettling how difficult it was to find a reliable provider. I spent a lot of time researching different doctors, some I learned did not take Tricare and some that did, but the commute would be difficult because living near a metropolitan area means lots of cars all the time.

Getting my son enrolled in school was also a challenge. Because of the pandemic, people I needed to communicate with were not in the office every day, and the response time to get answers was delayed. I eventually got him started, but it was more than a week after the new semester began, and we had to learn how the new teacher did remote learning as well.

My husband had to learn a lot for his job on the job, and that was stressful for him. He also stayed late his first week every day, which I found frustrating since he can’t come home for lunch. We were also very used to him getting home early in the afternoons at our old duty station because his office was so laid back.

The recruiting environment is not quite so.

Overall, I think we are starting to adjust and get back to living. I still have to use my GPS, and honestly don’t think that will end anytime soon, though I don’t use it for grocery shopping or taking my kids to their appointments anymore.

I miss the commissary and stopping at 5 p.m. for the anthem, and seeing people in their uniforms, and knowing how to get to almost any place.

I miss having the Exchange and the food court and knowing other people get it.

But, it does bring me some comfort knowing that the people at my husband’s office do get it. I’m sure with a bit more time, I will find things easier, but I will certainly continue to miss the energy there is on an installation.

It’s definitely a different world. We will keep trying to make the best of it.

If you’re looking for more stories about recruiting, check out Recruiting Duty and Other Burning Questions.