Arrival and In-processing

Friday at about midnight I arrived in Killeen and checked into a hotel. (On-post lodging was full, so they gave me a "non-availability code" and told me to check in at a private hotel. With that code, ten days are recompensable.)

Saturday I mostly rested from the trip, but also tried to find a public scale in the phone book and the Internet so I could weigh my stuff. I thought it would be easy, but most places are closed on the weekends -- I was pretty much stuck until Monday if I wanted to find anything nearby.

Sunday I went to church, then decided to drive 30 minutes to the nearest truck stop with a scale. Having then weighed everthing full, I went over to Uhaul and put all my "not immediately needed" stuff into storage. (The trailer rental contract came with 30 days free storage. Very handy.)

This part was not fun.

Outside, it was over 100 degrees, and inside it wasn't much better. Since all I needed was their smallest space, they gave me a spot on the second level. The Uhaul spot I picked didn't have a climate controlled interior, and I had to go up a flight of stairs to put my boxes away. I did this about 25 times, once with each stinkn' box. By the time I was done my denim jeans were soaked with sweat.

Yesterday I put all my remaining "immediately needed" stuff in my hotel room and then drove back to the public scale t get my vehicle weighed empty (with trailer). To get the maximum amount possible (since the weight difference is what you're compensated for) I emptied EVERYTHING out. Everthing in my glove box, all the change in the cupholders, even the lock on the back of the Uhaul trailer - I took it all out. (Now that I think about it, I should have also taken out the spare tire. Darn it!)

The rest of the day consisted of returning the trailer, looking at an apartment, and exploring Fort Hood. My first stop was to get a post access sticker; I waited in line at the office for about an hour, filled out the paperwork, and got a one-week pass. I'll be able to get the permanent sticker in a day or so.

Second stop was the in-processing building. I signed in a little after 5:00 pm, and was told to show up at 8:45 in the morning for "Day 1 in-processing." This was a surprise for me, since I was told that we'd "sign in, then sign right back out for 'permissive TDY.'" For me it wasn't that big of an adjustment, but for some of my classmates who made more intricate plans, it was a bigger problem.

Today was very productive. Us "Day 1" folks got a morning chocked full of briefings, most of which were things that I actually wanted to know. Just before lunch we got a wonderful STD picture slideshow (very timely), and then the Masters of Finance (MOFs) dealt with our travel vouchers. For guys like me who are very concerned with their money, this was a big deal.

For the most part, the MOFs do all the math, though I'm intensely interested in the accounting for this -- whatever I get will comprise the vast majority of any down payment for a house. When I provide my mileage log later this week I'll try to get all my questions answered.

Having been one of the first guys in line (and they dealt with us TDY/PCS people first), I got out earlier than I expected (about 2:00), so I went over to the housing office to apply for on base housing. I spent an hour in line and 30 minutes on the application (good news -- there's a two-bedroom place open within a week).

I got out just in time to head over to the transportation office to arrange for SY and P's flights over here. It was a remarkably simple thing compared to how difficult it was in Fort Eustis; hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow about how soon they can come.

So I'm in a good situation -- I have housing lined up with a time frame that suits our home-buying strategy, big money in the works through the travel vouchers, and free plane tickets on the way for my wife and son.

There are at least two more days of in-processing to do, after which I'll go to my unit. With luck I'll get ten days of "permissive TDY" to get move into our permanent housing (not a sure thing), but so far things are looking good.