Hello, My husband just got out of the national guard and went full time army. He has been stationed in south korea and this is both new to us. I am not allowed to go with him for the 1 year unaccompanied tour. If anyone how had there spouse sent to korea can you please tell me what to expect can I go see him? And anything else you can tell us. Contact me through my profile

thanks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PolloMiedo,

You can go see him, just recognize that it's going to cost you a pretty penny to fly over there, and you will of course need a passport. They have weekends, holidays, evenings after work (if he's on a day shift), just like a regular job, so it will be easy enough to see him if you go for a few days. Do you know what his MOS is, and where exactly is he over there? My husband is in Yongsan as a 25b, but I'll hopefully be moving there in March. If your Dh is in Yongsan, too, feel free to email me through my profile and I can probably help you with more specific stuff, otherwise you may want to ask more general questions so that we can know what kind of info you're looking for!

Ooh before you close Pollo, Korea actually doesn't have a thread in Spouse Connection, but we do have a big one in Relocation: Korea thread

Yay Pollo!!!

Okay, I will start. My husband is stationed in Yongsan/Camp Coiner as a 25B with HHD. He's been there for about 3 months, and we're going through the process of applying for CS with the hopes of me moving there the beginning of March!

Technically, we're not in Korea YET... but we will be by mid February! DH won't get pinpoint orders till he gets in country, but he'll most likely be stationed at Humphreys since he is a Chinook pilot (and that's where the a/c are!). We're all traveling together and will reapply for CS once we get there. While DH inprocesses and until we get our own place, DD and I will stay with my mom, who is currently stationed at Osan but lives in a house off base.

We've been hoping/anticipating/planning this move since January 06 and we're prepared for the financial burden, so please don't read me as being totally blasé on moving to a foreign country. We're very excited to head on out, but there is soooo much left to do!

If you're blase, so am I haha. I'm just excited to live with my husband for once, if it means moving to Timbuktu, so be it!

I am TOTALLY with you on that. DH and I have been through 3 major deployments... If there is a way for me and DD to be with him, come heck and high water, we'll be there!

Woohoo we got our new name, is anybody else out there?

Hey gang.Well im still without hubby who is still in south korea!This is really hard being without him for the holidays.Id do anythingto be with him!I know plane tickets are costly!VERY!Cant afford it!I just wish south korea was like other countries where you got to bring family with you.I dont understand why its not.I heard they were going away with some of the camps over there.Is this true?

Hi there! I thought I'd heard that about one of them, but I wouldn't begin to guess which one. Have you guys even thought about applying for command sponsorship or has he been told there's no point in even trying? Which one is he at?

They are probably going to close Yongsan but not for another 3 years, until all construction at Humphreys is done.
Your DH should try and get you a ticket over here, at the military rate, it is much cheaper.

My husband put in for command sponsorship in october and i even typed an email to kim over there.They lost his paperwork!He is at camp stanley!We both just decided to give up!It seems like the guys over there only care about themselves.If it doesnt pertain to them, they dont care!He has tried to get command sponsored since october and nothing!So, thats that!I went and got passports and checkups from dentist and doctor for nothing!Yes, i am upset but there isnt anything to do about it!Id love to be able to go over for christmas but cant afford it!And of course he was denied leave to come home for christmas so it just stinks!Happy holidays everyone!!!!!BAH_HUMBUG!LOL!

I would attempt the CS paperwork again - all they can do is tell you no, and you might as well keep trying until they give you a formal "no". Sometimes it's just a matter of talking to the right person - we're lucky that DH's commander is VERY family friendly and is seeking out men whose families are at home to get their paperwork started, but the in-between guys handling the paperwork aren't always very helpful. Your passports and checkups won't get you overseas, I'm pretty sure you still have to get a no fee (or is it that you still have to get a SOFA stamp on the tourist one) passport to be able to live in Korea, and you'd still need to take the form to EFMP for an overseas screening. It's certainly worth a try if you haven't gotten a no yet, just start over from scratch! It can often take much longer than two months for the whole process to go down, from what I've heard, so you're still good to go.

Yeah, the tourist passports work. DD and I are going on our tourist passports; we were told as long as we go to the mandatory briefing when we get over there, we'll get a SOFA stamp that will allow us to live 1 year in Korea. Otherwise, we'd have to "hop" out of country every 90 days... which might be possible with Space A flights, and it'd be nice to visit Kadena, but would probably get a bit expensive.

Go ahead and try again on the CS request. Sometimes two (or three) times is the charm.

My husband was told unofficially that he might get deployed to Korea for a year after he gets out of his AIT training. I have heard that some women move over there on their own. You just have to pay for everything yourself and the military doesn't help you out at all because you're not technically supposed to be there. Anyone know of anyone who has done this? We thought about it if he really does get sent to Korea for a year, but I know absolutely nothing about Korea and don't know if I would like it there? Plus, not to mention the fact that I don't know Korean.....

Just to clarify, Korea isn't a deployment - if it were none of us would get to move there under any circumstances. It's considered an unaccompanied/hardship tour.

Yes, many ladies go over there non command sponsored - reconhottie I believe started out NCS, and Armywifemrsbrown is going over there NCS here shortly. It is something that can be done if you're interested, just expect to incur a lot of personal cost for passports, plane tickets, etc.

Or, you can wait until he gets there and have him go through the process of getting Command Sponsorship, which would extend his tour to 2 years and the Army would pay to send you over there.

In terms of Korean language/culture, my DH tells me that many Koreans speak English, and he in general enjoys it there (although he doesn't so much enjoy the food ). With the exception of Armywifemrsbrown who has family there, it's a risk we're all taking to step outside of our comfort zone!

There are just as many who choose to stay home, as well, so you definitely have your options and choices cut out for you. I'm sure you'll make whatever decision is best for your family!

Out of curiosity, what's your husband's MOS?

Armywife777, there is another another thread in the Relocation forum about Korea and it might help enlighten you about NCS and the process of getting CS. I can't remember if R_Olsen posts in that thread, but she also had information about NCS and how its like living over there that I found very informative.

Theainjmtant is right that Korea is not a deployment. Its true that if you go NCS you will have to pay for your travel expenses out of pocket, or you can wait as Theainjmtant said and have your hubby request CS.

I am in the process of going over to Korea in a couple of months with my hubby and baby daughter. My situation is unique because my mom is already out there, stationed at Osan but lives off base in a decent sized house. DD and I will stay with her while hubby gets checked in and we can find our own place, so it helps defray a lot of cost for us.

Another option I had looked at was getting/transferring to a civil service job out in Korea so I can have my own set of orders, but alas... I get a lot of the "referred but not selected." Oh well.

Good luck to you, I hope this helps out!

Thanks everyone! Sorry about calling it a deployment, still new to all this jazz. This is a question I have that maybe you guys can help me with, or maybe I should go to the Korea thread. But, I am a vegetarian, will there be anything for me to eat over there? lol! Thanks!