Twice in a Year

Two major PCS twice in a year. That’s two moves in less than 12 months…

1 out of 5 stars—do not recommend.

But we don’t always get a say, do we? The military is great that way (insert sarcasm). In very few and strange circumstances, every once in a while, you get a back-to-back, within-a-year set of PCS moves. I can tell you from experience, it isn’t a lot of fun and can bring a whole heap of stress.

The military tries to help families and many billets are for two or three years, but sometimes, when the service member is selected for a school, you end up with two moves in a very short amount of time. My husband was selected for a school in Fort Bliss, Texas, and the opportunity was incredible. We were so proud of him for being selected.

We moved our family after a little more than two years from Italy to Texas, then just a few days shy of one year, we packed up and moved again to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. For all the stress we may have had, we’re grateful we had the opportunities and experiences we did.

Because of that, I thought I’d share how we got through 7,631 miles, three countries, seven states, three crazy long plane flights, and 27 hours of driving within one year.

After chatting with some other spouses in the same position, I came up with a couple tips to help make those quick transitions a little easier and more enjoyable.

1. Jump right in.

For the first move, we made unpacking a priority. It took us three days to unpack our entire house, set it up, and get rid of the boxes. We were exhausted, but it made all the difference. Knowing we were only going to be in this duty station for a very short amount of time, we wanted to hit the ground running. Within six weeks, we already took our first vacation.

COVID really put a damper on our experience in Texas, but my best and strongest advice is to make a plan before you even arrive at the short-term duty station. Create a list of all the places you’d like to explore, eat, play, and experience. Make your time memorable and it will feel more fulfilling!

2. Keep all your options open from start to finish.

Staying together as a family to accompany my husband during his school in Fort Bliss was never in question, but we do know a lot of families who chose to do schools unaccompanied. This is for a variety of reasons: the spouse has a job that wouldn’t make sense to leave for a year, kids are doing well in school where they’re currently enrolled, a community where the family has a great support system. There are a lot of reasons why service members become geo-bachelors for school houses, but remember to make the best choice for your family.

This also applies to when it’s time to go. Does the family leave before the service member to get settled in their next location? Does a DITY (PPM) make more sense than a partial-DITY (PPM)? When school houses clear out and turn over, there are hundreds and hundreds of service members and their families trying to vacate at the same time, which can make scheduling transportation a logistical nightmare, and ultimately, be tense and stressful on the family. Keep all of your options open and think strategically about what makes the most sense and what’s going to be the most reasonable.

3. Give grace. Give grace. Give grace.

I can’t emphasize this enough. Everyone handles and reacts to stress a little differently and moving twice in a year is no bowl of cherries. This is especially true when you have kids. My two children reacted differently to the second of the two back-to-back moves. While both were ready to move on, my older child needed to know every painstaking detail to feel more comfortable. My younger child was overly emotional and weepy about everything. While it can get so frustrating because we, as parents, are also tense and stressed, trying to continually give grace makes an already stressful situation a little more manageable.

While moving twice in a year or having short terms in duty stations isn’t ideal, there are ways to treat it like any other PCS! Make your lists of what to see and do, get exploring, and help your family get settled in the best ways you know how. In the end, you’ll have a story about that one time you moved twice in one year and can lend help to another military family facing the same.