One of the things you can count on in the military is the fact that at some point everyone will relocate to a different installation. This will require moving all your personal belongings—but you won't have to go it alone. The Army helps move military Families from one assignment to another and offers several different ways to assist in the transition.

Relocation is part of Army life. There is always a bit of excitement, anticipation, and adventure each time your Family relocates to a new duty station. Each move offers an opportunity to see new places and make new friends.

As part of the Army Family you have many entitlements when it is time to move. An entitlement is a payment or benefit that is allowed by law, such as basic allowance for housing; packing, shipping, and storage of household goods; and transportation costs. But to make the best of a move, you have to plan ahead and be prepared.

Assignment instructions—usually called orders—are written directives issued by the Army, and they are the most important document for your move. These are called Permanent Change of Station orders, and they formally direct your Soldier to move from one duty location to another. Those orders will say what you and your Family will be allowed to do at government expense and what your entitlements will be. Orders permit a variety of financial allowances, relocation assistance, and options for moving and storing belongings.

For some duty locations, particularly overseas, orders might restrict the total weight amount of household belongings that can be shipped. Some changes of duty stations or assignments might be to places that are already nearby, and in this case a PCS move might not be allowed, so wait until you have orders before making any important commitments.

Soldiers may move household goods and Family members to the location of any Advanced Individual Training course that is 20 weeks or more in length. However, the Soldier will have to live in the barracks until after successfully completing the 11th week of that AIT course and receiving the permission of the company commander. Therefore, even if the Family members are moved to the AIT location at the beginning of the course, the Soldier will NOT be allowed to reside with them before the 12th week of AIT, though the Soldier can earn pass privileges and might be able to visit. But all this must be pre-approved with his or her AIT school.

Soldiers are generally not allowed to drive their privately owned vehicle to their AIT location, regardless of the length of the course. However, they may gain driving privileges during AIT.

Before making any plans regarding movement to the AIT location, make sure you contact your transportation officer for guidance on what is and is not allowed. Your Soldier can also pass on local information from his or her unit.

The Army Community Service office has a relocation specialist who is a good source of "how to" information when it comes time to move. They can help you prepare, provide information about the sponsorship program, and help you find information about your next duty location.

Your weight allowance is the total weight of household goods, such as furniture, pots and pans, dishes, appliances, odds and ends, musical instruments, clothing, etc., that the government will ship without charge. In the case of assignment to overseas locations, allowances can vary by the location to which the Soldier is being assigned. To avoid problems with your move, do not make assumptions concerning your allowances. Instead, contact your military transportation office for the most current information.

Soldiers may usually ship a privately owned vehicle to or from an overseas location at government expense. However, for some overseas locations this is restricted. You should contact your local military transportation office for information about your particular destination.

Every time you move, it will probably cost you some money out of pocket, but you can control some of those costs by the decisions you make.

When the Army orders your spouse to a new duty location, you will probably be provided travel tickets—at no cost to you—unless it is to a new location within the Continental United States. When moving within CONUS, most Families choose to drive their own car to the new location. When you do that, you will probably be given a travel allowance to help cover your expenses. Allowances for the miles driven in the Family car, a daily food and lodging allowance while traveling, and some money for temporary lodging at your new duty station might all be available. Check with your transportation officer for more information.

Whether the rooms are called Army lodging, temporary lodging, guest housing, or transient lodging, the terms all mean the same thing— they are the Army's equivalent of a hotel. Facilities are comparable to limited service commercial hotel standards. Over 80 military installations have temporary lodging facilities on the post to meet the needs of newly arriving Soldiers and their Families during PCS moves and official government temporary duty travel.

The type of temporary lodging available on military installations varies greatly. The facilities are diverse in design, ranging from family suites with separate living and sleeping areas to standard guest rooms. Some will allow small pets.

The cost per night to stay on post at one of these facilities varies by installation. One thing is for sure—the cost will almost always be cheaper than what you would pay for a similar accommodation at a hotel or motel off post, and the facility has the advantage of being near most of the places you and your Soldier will need to visit at the new installation. Call the lodging office in advance to see if they have a place for you to stay, because they take reservations. Also, some posts require you to check with them first for availability of temporary lodging before they will allow you to stay off post. If you do not check in with them, the Army might not reimburse your expenses from staying off post in a commercial motel or hotel.

As you might expect, these facilities can fill up quickly, especially during the summer months when most reassignments take place. Your stay is generally limited to 30 days, but that's usually more than enough time to find suitable housing off post if government housing on post is not readily available.

If you have young children, their first move can be challenging and maybe even downright scary. Let them know they are not all by themselves in this move. The Army offers several resources for children and they are available at the Army Community Services Office and the Youth Services office on most military installations. Suggestions range from letting kids help pack for and plan the move, to identifying ways to keep in touch with best friends, and the positive side of making more friends at the new location.

The Relocation Readiness Program provides services to support Soldiers and their Families as they relocate. RRP offers relocation counseling, pre-move and post-move briefings, newcomers' orientations, which often include tours of the new installation, and overseas orientations. The RRP is a program that is overseen by Army Community Services and can be found by visiting the posts ACS office.

One benefit of the overall RRP is having access to an automated system called Military Homefront. The service is available on the Internet and provides worldwide relocation information on all major installations.

Most installations have an ACS Lending Closet with basic household items such as pots and pans, dishes, glasses and utensils, irons and ironing boards, baby cribs, and perhaps child seats for a car. You can check out these items free of charge for short periods of time until your belongings arrive and you are settled in your new home.