Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Army Community Service Relocation Specialist Jennifer Blue knows firsthand how nerve-wracking a permanent change of station (PCS) can be to a service member or military family.
The wife of Army Capt. Billy Blue III, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with Army Air Operations Group on the Fort McNair portion of the joint base, Jennifer made a successful PCS from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to the Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region and the Military District of Washington. She helped her family transition from being Arctic warriors to capital city inhabitants by juggling motherhood, her husband's deployment, travel arrangements and a multitude of forms and appointments with the assistance of ACS offices and connecting with others via social media.
"My husband was deployed [to Afghanistan] while we were stationed in Alaska," she said as she explained the complexities of the move. "He got back in November, and we had to leave in December, so it was real quick. That was my first PCS as a spouse. It actually wasn't too bad. I was nervous because there are so many different parts of a PCS. There are a lot of details to work out."
The details and decisions can become immense. Pinpointing dates in order to give a 30-day notice of vacancy, making travel plans for three (the Blues have a 16-month-old son), finalizing the day the movers would arrive and looking forward to finding a new home were all parts of the move.
Fortunately, she worked as a housing specialist on Fort Wainwright, so she knew to be prepared for one part of the PCS which throws some military families the most curve balls.
"As soon as we got here - the next day - we were looking at houses, and we were looking all over the city," she said about the housing angle of the move. "There's only so much you can do online. People can have a home to rent and have the most beautiful pictures, but until you see it [in person], you don't know what you're going to get."
Jennifer said the best advice she can give to incoming or outgoing service members is to not rent or buy real estate before viewing potential properties in person.
To lessen the stress of traveling with their baby, Billy Blue IV, the couple decided to pass on a three-day, 4,192-mile car ride and instead flew to their new post. Now in Washington for nearly a half-year, the stress of the move was softened by Internet research and finding friends on social media. Her initial encounter with Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall's ACS office came through a Facebook connection.
"We made it [the move] into a great opportunity," the Detroit native said. "We really wanted to realize all the resources out there that are available. Things like ACS and the relocation program. There is tons of information for any base you are relocating to."
Blue now assists the nearly 1,620 MDW Soldiers as well as all of JBM-HH's service members and families who annually move to other missions around the globe. She notes the bottom line for any Soldier and his/her family has to do with real estate and location, location, location.
"When a Soldier comes in - they want a place to live - they need a house, and they need to get their family settled," she said. "As a military spouse, I know what kinds of questions they are going to be wondering about. From my own experience, I know how to answer the questions or get them with the right person."
Blue can be reached electronically at jmblue912@gmail.com or by phone at 703-696-0153.
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