EAD and orders

[JAXK]

Okay, so my EAD date is listed as 7 May 2011. That is exactly 21 days from today. My orders haven't been cut yet. As I understand it the TMO requires 3 weeks notice before the day they get movers to your place. I am married with one child and we are renting an apartment near the campus I attend. Does this mean we will have to leave before we can get movers here. I know nothing about "do it yourself" moves, what are my options. As I see it my options are:

DITY (lots of hassle and no experience on my part deter me from this option)

TMO (They will be moving our stuff after we have already reported to VANCE ... is this even possible)

Other options?

Edited April 16, 2011 by JAXK

[Day Man]

rotc? talk to the cadre at your det?

[pawnman]

You can also designate someone as your representative to talk to/watch the movers when they are packing up your stuff. I ended up having to get my parents to do this when my orders were cut for P-Cola about a week before I graduated OTS, and I was given about 7 days between graduation (in Maxwell) to my RNLTD in PCola. You don't even need a power of attorney, just a designated individual (TMO should have the paperwork that will let you designate an individual).

[Guest Hund Von Krieg]

what pawnman said. Our det has a a few people in this situation. You could do a partial DITY and move your necessities like clothes, computer, whatever and get paid for it, then has someone watch your stuff when TMO picks up the rest.

[brabus]

Hate to say it, but welcome to the rest of your career. This won't be the last time the shoes fuck it away and you're left with a less than desirable situation. I agree with Hund...ALWAYS do a partial DITY if you're driving to your next base anyways. Rent a uhaul trailer (hopefully you have a truck, SUV, etc. that can pull one) and put the essentials/really important stuff in it. Recommendations are a mattress, bags with a weeks worth of clothes, expensive gear like golf clubs, snowboards, mountain bikes, etc., nice pictures you don't want messed up, etc. You can put smaller stuff in those plastic storage bins for ease of moving/packing trailer. Not only will you then have all those things with you, you will also make some money...and it'll seriously take 1/2 a day at most to pack and load and about 30 min to unload all the stuff into your new place. Now when you have to wait for a month for your stuff to show up (which could happen), it won't be completely shitty. For the moving part, I would be nice to TMO, but firm (sts). Tell them your dilemma and maybe they will help (not a high chance, but it does happen). Worst case, get a power of attorney for a friend/relative to supervise the movers packing/loading your stuff (my mom did this for our first move for an almost exact situation that happened to me). It's a PITA, but it's probably your only option unless someone at TMO is cool and hooks you up (about 10% chance).

Edited April 28, 2011 by brabus

[jazzdude]

Don't forget to keep talking to TMO about your situation. They may ideally want 3 weeks to set something up, but I've seen quicker turnarounds. (Granted, it was through Whiting Field, and the TMO there was used to people getting an assignment Thursday evening, with a report date of the following Monday...)

Be sure to search for Partial DITY tips, but big picture is to weigh your car twice to get paid: fully loaded with no passengers, and once empty. Again, you'll always carry the essentials with you- might as well be paid for it.

[JAXK]

Thanks all, I appreciate the advice. Still no orders and only 7 days away. I have a nasty little feeling that they were cut and when one NCO went on maternity leave they were lost in cyberspace but all I get when I ask about them is don't talk to us... we will contact you when we have them. At this point I am asking the question: if my EAD date comes and still no orders in hand... what do I do... stay, leave? I'm pretty sure that things will get taken care of this week but at this point nothing would surprise me. We are probably going to end up paying extra rent at our current apartment because we can't get our 30 days notice in AND/OR we won't be able to get the TMO to move us for a few weeks after we leave for Vance. Pretty much in a lose lose situation at this point so I've resigned myself to accepting and being okay with the worst possible scenarios. On the brighter side, I graduated and commissioned and that is nice.....

[brabus]

Don't take that bullshit of "don't talk to us." I would go in there and say, "I am standing in front of this desk until you hand me orders." You're within a week of EAD, I call bullshit...they've either fucked up or are just being lazy. Sitting around and taking it is not the answer. If anything, talk to a cadre member (officer) and see if they can put the pressure on the NCOs. At the very least make them come up with a better answer than "don't talk to us."

[Brannigan's Law]

like brabus said, welcome to the rest of your career. I received my orders 3 days prior to my RNLTD on my last PCS. Just make sure TMO knows when you are expecting to leave. I pretty much had all of theTMO paperwork filled out and only had to sign and make it official the day I received my orders. Hopefully you are near one that is as helpful. I think my TMO was just used to people getting screwed with last minute orders and did their best to help people out.

[WeagleWeagle]

Looking for a little perspective...

Commissioned May 2011, EAD was originally 30 Sept, then Oct 8, then moved to Jan 28 where it currently stands. My IFS and UPT (Columbus) dates are 28 Feb and 24 April, respectively.

From what I've seen here and from my classmates, orders should be cut ~30 days from EAD. As it stands I'm just outside of two weeks from my EAD, but I haven't received orders yet and the NCOs at my Det keep telling me that all they can do is wait to hear from AFPC. Did anyone else have this happen? All the other pilots from my commissioning class have EAD'd already.

Also, since I'm pushing up close on my IFS date, don't I HAVE to EAD before then? It seems totally senseless for AETC to have to give my slot to someone else just because AFPC has shit for brains.

[FlyingBull]

First...chill the fuck out. Second, dates on a spreadsheet don't mean shit. Orders do. Third, it is very common for IFS and UFT dates to get dorked up.

But definitely keep on the NCOs. I was in a similar situation and what had happened was that my EAD got moved by three months but the NCO lost track of the email until two weeks from what I thought was my EAD.

[WeagleWeagle]

First...chill the ###### out.

Oh trust me, that's has been my mantra for the last few months. I literally hadn't spoken to my Det in about 3 months leading up to yesterday. I understand the paper orders are the vital thing here, the fact they are arguably "late" is why I'm starting to worry again. Bottom line is I'm not bothered so much by the delays as I am about how no one seems to know what is going on, and aren't keen on trying to find out.

For what it's worth I called up the APFC hotline in the evening to see what they could tell me, and the very helpful tech told me that my orders were listed as having actually been sent to the Det back in September! Also said that there were incomplete portions on my records, whatever that means. He gave my the officer accessions # so I'll inquire in the morning. Assuming from the former though, my Det either overlooked my package, lost it, or something else happened I can't think of, but they should have told me back in September. Not too pleased about that.

[WeagleWeagle]

Thanks to the mods for merging these, will hopefully be helpful to other Lt's coming online soon. I think my case is resolved, Officer Accessions sent my orders over a month ago and apparently my Det f'ed up and didn't know it. Moral of the story - always verify your stuff on your own if you can, even if you trust your cadre. Mine have been very solid up to this point, but this headache could have been prevented.

[FlyingBull]

Good on ya for checking on it yourself. Glad it's been resolved.

[Archa3opt3ryx]

There's an AFPC hotline? Mind PMing me that number?

[Peteflyer105]

I would also like that AFPC hotline?

[SemperSicEm]

I found out this week that my EAD is 30 June 2012 out of AFROTC. My IFS date is March-April 2013 and start of UPT June 2013. Has anyone heard of such an early date to be an APT at Laughlin AFB? I'm not complaining in anyway, I think it's amazing to get started as a new butter bar before my class dates, but wondering what I might be doing during that time. Thanks for the help!

[Mav09]

I found out this week that my EAD is 30 June 2012 out of AFROTC. My IFS date is March-April 2013 and start of UPT June 2013. Has anyone heard of such an early date to be an APT at Laughlin AFB? I'm not complaining in anyway, I think it's amazing to get started as a new butter bar before my class dates, but wondering what I might be doing during that time. Thanks for the help!

I'm going to Vance with an EAD of 16 May, IFS March 2013. I hope it doesn't change. My colonel told me they were not "placeholder dates, but actual dates". I'm pretty skeptical though.

[Ron Swanson]

I'm going to Vance with an EAD of 16 May, IFS March 2013. I hope it doesn't change. My colonel told me they were not "placeholder dates, but actual dates". I'm pretty skeptical though.

A lot of guys from my Det had EAD's right after their graduation but when it came time to cut orders, they kept getting pushed back further and furter and endied up with an EAD about 3-4 weeks before their IFS date. I was lucky and my EAD was 3 weeks before my IFS date from the start so I figured it was probably correct. From what I've seen here at Columbus, unless you are an academy guy or OTS guy being on casual for a long time is rare.

[WeagleWeagle]

There's an AFPC hotline? Mind PMing me that number?

I didn't have the Officer Accessions number saved, but you can get it from the Total Force Service Center at 1-800-525-0102 if you have a reason to call OA.

[SemperSicEm]

So in essence, don't hold my breath until I get actual orders cut? I'm trying to rack my brain around why I got that date and all of my UPT hopeful peers got EADs closer to their IFS dates. Do they pick EADs out of a hat and it's luck of the draw?

[WeagleWeagle]

So in essence, don't hold my breath until I get actual orders cut? I'm trying to rack my brain around why I got that date and all of my UPT hopeful peers got EADs closer to their IFS dates. Do they pick EADs out of a hat and it's luck of the draw?

Exactly. May 2011 Grad, Sep 30 EAD date, moved to Oct 8, then mid-september moved to Jan 28 2012. Unless they cut you actual orders, expect to be in the same situation.

[PPTninja]

So in essence, don't hold my breath until I get actual orders cut? I'm trying to rack my brain around why I got that date and all of my UPT hopeful peers got EADs closer to their IFS dates. Do they pick EADs out of a hat and it's luck of the draw?

Im a May '12 grad too. Thats exactly what our NCOs keep telling us.

[SemperSicEm]

Hokadet, what are your NCOs telling you exactly?

Edited February 29, 2012 by FlyingKFactor

[Murphy's Law]

I found out this week that my EAD is 30 June 2012 out of AFROTC. My IFS date is March-April 2013 and start of UPT June 2013. Has anyone heard of such an early date to be an APT at Laughlin AFB? I'm not complaining in anyway, I think it's amazing to get started as a new butter bar before my class dates, but wondering what I might be doing during that time. Thanks for the help!

There are people who are APTs for 3 days and some for over a year. Show when told and assume dates past that are fluid. I got washed back and a guy who had been on station for a few days took my IFS and UPT dates (I took his). Many get to Laughlin (or other UPT bases) and get moved up. As for jobs, they will ask you to write down what skills you possess. Essentially if you have any technical skills or were an engineering major then you'll likely be washing/launching/catching airplanes with maintenance. Other jobs range from shoe clerking to exec to gate guard and you will end up doing whatever is needed most when you arrive. If you can, find a roommate prior to showing and try to get a house in pinnacle (this will mean BAH pay) otherwise you will be put in the dorms with no likelihood of getting out of them. Housing at XL is ridiculous.