questions on seeing him

[CorpsmanWife2008]

Okay so i know that we were told i can go see him bc he is in GITMO and its an IA deployment... But my husband told me that i need to go get a passport because idiot me let mine expire.. So i would go normally get it where anybody would apply for one.. But when i went there i was told that since i was a military family that i should go to a base and try to get one. Well i called the nearest base(home with family during deployment, Indiana) and they told me that they werent sure.. So i was wondering if anybody knew what the heck that person was talking about.. in case it matter the nearest base is an air force base.. and then id also like to know how all that worked.. they said i could take a MAC flight(whatever that is) and i was wondering if i could get one from around here or would i have to pay to get back to JAX??

I know i know i already have alot of questions, and i just joined, lol

[Poolzer]

I went through a civilian agency to get my normal one (we carry govt ones too) as did my wife. I find doing the least amount through the military will get the most done.

[CorpsmanWife2008]

thats what i thought.. that lady obviously had no idea what she talking about, lol.. do you know how long it usually takes?

[AndiRRT]

I currently live in Indiana, and the reserve center in Indy is awesome. Can you possibly call them and ask???

[CorpsmanWife2008]

if your in Indiana then you probably know about Grissom.. which is where i went.. I dont know if i could call them or not.. im thinking i might have to do it the normal way.. im worried about how long it takes.. bc if it takes too long i wont be able to go see him :( lol Where in Indiana are ya?

[AndiRRT]

Greensburg, for about 24 more hours LOL.

[IFD Medic]

Indianapolis has what is left of Fort Benjamin Harrison. It has a PX and lots of other stuff. Its also where the Finance Section is, so that might come in handy for this. The base at Grissom is a reserve base now and is pretty limited from what I have found. They have a marine contingent there, not sure abotu a navy one. The Reserve Center at 30th and Riverside in Indianapolis would probably be your best bet if you want to work through the military.

A MAC flight will be hard to come by out of indiana. Most of the flights out of Grissom are refueling operations and return to Grissom. Driving to another base that has a flight going in your direction might cost about the same as flying commercial.

[CorpsmanWife2008]

yeah i know grissom is a reserves base.. but ive been there ten million times bc its not that far.. they actually have alot of stuff there they have the air force's version of PX and everything... okay well not too far away is Great Lakes and even less farther than that is Ft. Campell.. you think any of them i could get a MAC flight out of? btw what is a MAC flight anyways? lol..

Thanks for the info!!

Andi, ive from Kokomo, and its where im living right now!!

[dvldocjoe]

A MAC flight is the Air Force Military Airlift Command. Its principle purpose is to transport cargo and personnell around the country and overseas:so in simple terms supply flights. MAC flights might be able to be booked and I think most go by standby for civilians.

You would probably have to get more than one flight: ie going from that area to Florida and from Florida over. You might be able to flight out of one of the bases at the bottom of Florida (LUKE AFB ?) ar could try Barksdale of Louisiana. Let me look up the largere bases and get back to you with more info if Tony doesn't beat me to it.

[dvldocjoe]

By the way, I don't know if they could take civilians on the Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships going to resupply the base but my guess is they would leave New Orleans, Mayport, Mobile, or the base in Mississippi.

[CorpsmanWife2008]

well my husband had training at a base in Mississippi and actually i think thats where he left from to go to GITMO...

so thats what a MAC flight is.. i couldnt figure out what it was.. i googled it and kept getting the make up stuff(weird, huh) so i dont even know, lol!!

Okay ill keep checking back for more bases.

My main thing was i wasnt sure if i was going to have to get a reg. flight from here to JAX(my husbands duty station) bc if i was im going to have to start saving now haha,, flights are so expensive for some reason from here to JAX

[TLB1223]

From my experience you should be able to call Norfolk, VA. Most flights leave from there and you can find out if there is a flight leaving and flying to GITMO (if that is where you are trying to go). With all the security and stuff I don't know if they can give you that much info over the phone anymore. I would fly to VA commercial get a cab, stay at a hotel, and in the morning catch a cab to the base airport. (when I did travel MAC). Downside to MAC is you can not reserve a seat unless you have orders. So...you would have to pay like $20 if you got on the flight...and you are in Space A travel. So they fill the plane and if they have an extra seat you can catch it. This isn't for civilians..you have to have a military ID. But it could be cheaper if you are able to get a seat on the flight. You may also be able to catch a flight like dvldocjoe was saying that goes to Norfolk. Then you would only be paying like $50 to get to GITMO. But...they may not have the seat when you are wanting to go. You can actually do this anywhere the plane goes-Italy, Japan...etc.

As far as the passports go..yes the military can pay for them. My passport was funded by the military. However, we got it because I was traveling on his orders. I don't know if they do it just because. Call someone in PSD at any of the bases.

Does your husband's command not have an ombudsman? If this is considered IA then his original command should have an ombudsman that you can contact and they are liasons from spouses to the command. If his command has a good one you can get valuable information from them. Or at least she/he could point you in a better direction on how to get a passport from where you are at. You can actually do it by mail. I did mine from Austin and we had to talk with people down at Ingleside (about a 5-6 hour drive) and we just did it all by mail. Even if you don't need info about that command he/she should be able to find the answers you need. If you don't think he knows type in his command in google...most commands have websites and you should be able to find the contact information for the ombudsman from that.

It is always a good idea to get in touch with the ombudsman anyways, because they kinda keep in touch with all spouses and you can get great newsletters and stuff...so if you do move to that area (where the command is) you have a better idea of what they do and you can meet a few people so you have some friendly faces you kinda know when you do move there.

Sorry if this is too much information but I don't know the whole situation of if he is reserve/active...so I am trying to give all options.

[8404]

Excellent advice TLB, keep it up. oorah!

[CorpsmanWife2008]

well i always talking to the ombudsman before i left and he is a really nice guy and he took my phone number and said he was going to get in touch with the ombudsman closest to me, and they would call.. well i never got a call.. and im not sure how to reach them..

I will talk to my friend thats stationed in Norfolk right now and see if she can get the numbers i need for it..

but i probably will fly commercial to wherever if its norfolk i can stay with my friend and then she will take me.. i wasnt sure if i had to leave from my husbands command or not..

I know the military will not pay for my passport but i wasnt sure if there was a way to speed up the process bc if the passport takes forever to go through then i wont get to go so i wasnt sure if there was a faster way.. i still cant believe i was so stupid to let mine expire!!! lol

and my husband is AD and i already lived with him.. but we werent at JAX very long before he deployed so i didnt have a chance to meet people.. so i decided to come home while he is gone.. this way i can finish school..(1 more semester and i have my degree(pharmacology)

and there can never be too much information.. bc what i didnt need now i could always use later on :) thanks for the all the info and 8404 is right awesome advice!

[TLB1223]

See if you can google his command...or even JAX and get the operator number if you have to and call and get a number for his command. They give you a main number to call and from there you call that number and a guy that sits on watch and does nothing but answer the phones SHOULD have the ombudsman's number. Or when you google his command they have contact information. Especially since you aren't there right now but plan on moving back when he gets done you can meet other people and get an idea of where to live and where not to live. Even if you live in base housing..you can get information on what part of base housing is not good. (such as old houses with things falling apart...bad area for small children..etc)

[CorpsmanWife2008]

i have the number to NHJAX.. which was my husbands command.. i will call them!!!

i had no idea they would know anything about it..

thanks for all the info!!

btw. i found out today that i can expodite the passport process by paying extra.. and it takes 2 weeks.. which that means i can get it in time :)