Websites offer military, families help with moving

  • Published
  • By Sarah Olaciregui
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  For military members and their families, moving from place to place is a way of life. A new website, Plan My Move, speaks for itself. The Department of Defense developed Plan My Move and its sister program, Military Installations, to help families of all services with comprehensive move and base information. These two relocation programs reside on the Military Homefront and Military OneSource websites.

Once visitors reach the Military Homefront home page at www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil, the Plan My Move icon in the left column will take them to the appropriate page to get started. From moving checklists, phone lists and to do lists to calendars and moving tips, the website offers many customizable services.

The Military Installation icon takes visitors to a site that offers detailed information about topics important to new families, such as housing, child care, schools, recreation and employment. It also includes e-mail addresses and web links, as well as a photo gallery and community facts.

"Plan My Move is great because it appeals to those who have moved many times and feel like professional movers, all the way to anyone planning their first move and everyone in between," said Terri O'Keefe, community readiness consultant at the Airman and Family Readiness Center. "Military Installations try very hard to answer every possible question about a particular installation. Each of these sites offers printable information, too. It's a new century -- welcome packages are available online now. We tell folks they don't have to wait for an answer to a question. They can look at Plan My Move or Military Installations whenever they need them."

Plan My Move provides users with access to information about entitlements and benefits, points of contact, checklists, planning tools and information on education and employment.

"We want to make sure our military members are aware of another resource available to them and their family members for the next time they receive orders," said Ms. O'Keefe. "The sites put military personnel and families in charge of a smooth relocation to a new duty assignment."

Users of the site can sign up for a profile in order to create a custom plan so that the same information shows up each time they visit. Once users create a profile, a three month planning calendar is available to remind them to complete certain tasks such as contacting the destination housing office or researching housing allowances at the new base.

The website also gives users an option to request a sponsor and receive details about the base to which they are moving. For example, the Hanscom Air Force Base information page gives users information about cost of living, local area attractions and even weather information.

In addition to the Plan My Move and Military Installations websites, Hanscom's Airman and Family Readiness Center has revamped their page on the base's public website. The site, www.hanscom.af.mil/units/afrc.asp will take visitors to a page full of information on services available locally to families preparing to move to or from Hanscom.

For example, a link under the A&FRC Programs and Services section takes visitors to a Relocation Assistance page where visitors can learn that the Air Force Aid Society covers the cost of 20 hours of child care through the Family Child Care Program for sixty days prior to and after a PCS move for active-duty Air Force families.

"We are working hard to provide families with information at a local level," Ms. O'Keefe said. "We want to make sure Hanscom's A&FRC web page is organized, concise and informative."

The Relocation Assistance page also allows users to find direct links to other helpful military moving assistance sites.

These, and other online relocation tools, are demonstrated during a special class offered monthly at the Airman and Family Readiness Center called e-Smooth Move. Individuals who are anticipating a PCS move may contact the center to sign up. Participants are encouraged to bring a Wi-Fi capable laptop. For those without laptops, computers are available at the A&FRC. The next e-Smooth Move seminar will be held Sept. 8 from 9 to 10 a.m.

For further information about Plan My Move and Military Installations, visit planmymove.mhf.dod.mil or www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil. For further information on programs available for those relocating to and from Hanscom Air Force Base, visit www.hanscom.af.mil/units/afrc.asp or call the A&FRC at 781-377-4222.