Rucker spouse life questions

MuffinMan · January 6, 2016

So I'm not even selected yet or through basic yet. I also understand that it may be premature to be concerned with this at all since I may not even get selected, but my wife an I always try to plan ahead for everything!!! and she's been looking at options as far as housing (for us, a 2 year old, and two dogs) and job options for her IF!!! I'm lucky enough the be selected for WOFT.

My questions is this. What is the job market like down there near Rucker? My wife is currently a paralegal/legal assistant and has been for 6 years while also doing personal training and finishing up her master trainer certificate. (could score a damn near 300 on my PT brackets)....so I'm just throwing this questions out there here since albeit early, I can't think of a better place that would have more people who are at, or have been to and lived at Rucker with their families.

UH60L-IP · January 7, 2016

If any job will do, there are plenty of jobs available.

If she is looking for paralegal work, that market is not good right now. I happen to know a paralegal that was just laid off and cannot find work in the field.

If it's physical trainer work, maybe. There are plenty of fatties in SE Alabama but they probably don't want to go to the gym. There are a few gyms, including on Fort Rucker with civilian employees, but I wouldn't say there is a concentration of the civil population seeking out physical trainers in the area.

I like Alabama, but it is the land of butts and guts.

Yamer · January 7, 2016

Yeah that was my only thought too was to work at the gym. I've seen some of the females there do training with people but I don't know anything about the program.

MuffinMan · January 7, 2016

Thanks for the reply y'all. My wife's biggest concern is her finding a job, she's going to be starting her online training/ competition prep business up soon but wants something besides that. Unless we win this damn powerball...then she'll be a stay at home mom!! HAHA

Luofynerd · January 9, 2016

Thanks for the reply y'all. My wife's biggest concern is her finding a job, she's going to be starting her online training/ competition prep business up soon but wants something besides that. Unless we win this damn powerball...then she'll be a stay at home mom!! HAHA

If I win this powerball, I'm gonna be a stay at home and fly my own helicopter around my mansion dad.

brackac · January 10, 2016

Yeah that was my only thought too was to work at the gym. I've seen some of the females there do training with people but I don't know anything about the program.

My wife was the fitness trainer at PFC when I went through high school. She is a FT by degree. All of her clients were fat spouses. This was also back in in the day before yoga pants were popular, but that's all my wife wore to work. She even had a woman file a complaint on her for wearing the pants. The complaint read "My husband is an officer and he does not need to see a woman's butt in pants that tight". This was an ICE complaint and went all the way up to the General.

Yamer · January 10, 2016

Bwaaaaahahahaha if only that person could see the patrons of the gym now. Lol

What year was that?

brackac · January 11, 2016

Bwaaaaahahahaha if only that person could see the patrons of the gym now. Lol
What year was that?

2007.

The gym crowd has changed dramatically in the last 8 years at Rucker. No way you could get away with what some of the girls are wearing now.

On a side note, most of the equipment that is on the basketball court is because of my wife. She was given the opportunity to submit a proposal for new equipment back in 2008, and a lot of it is what you see in the gym now.

Yamer · January 11, 2016

Thank her! The equipment is definitely a great much needed addition.

apache123 · January 23, 2016

Hi All- I have a quick question and thought maybe it would fit under this forum. My husband recently left for BCT down at Benning and graduates 3/17. he reports for WOCS 3/25... does anyone know the status on if they will let him drive with me to Rucker or if they will move him per gov't transportation. The reason I ask is, we have 2 cars at home where we currently live and i was going to drive one car down so at the end of WOCS, we would only have 1 more car to get down there. Any advice/past experience is greatly appreciated. Also, if he can't drive with me to Rucker, will there be a time that I could give him our car sometime during the week in between basic and WOCS so that he could properly store it there? Thank you in advance!

cwil7280 · January 23, 2016

I graduated BCT from Benning as well. My wife drove me and another WOCS student both from Benning to Ft. Rucker after graduation in a POV. There is also long term parking next to the WOCS schoolhouse that your car can stay in while he's in training.

nmthawkeye · February 4, 2016

Cwil, what was the process? Just let them know you dont need a plane ticket to dothan then? Do you just have to report for inprocessing that next monday or as soon as you hit base?

cwil7280 · February 5, 2016

So this may vary from location to location, and it may be a old information since I went through this around a year and a half ago, but here's what I recall.

I went to BCT at Benning, so only a couple hours away from Rucker. At some point in BCT they asked who needed plane tickets and who was going to drive. Everyone who was driving needed to be picked up by someone, and if I remember right, we "weren't supposed" to drive ourselves at all. There was a civilian who compiled all this information and ordered plane tickets for those who needed them, and who helped communicate information to the people who were picking up the soldiers being driven. Most of the privates were picked up by family, and most of the 09W's were picked up by spouses. However, I don't recall if it had to be a family member who picked you up, or if it could be anyone. My wife and I drove a single 09W to Rucker with us from Benning, since he had no one to take him. He was a prior service E-6, so I don't know if he was allowed to ride with friends because of rank, or if you can simply be picked up by anyone you choose.

Once you arrive at Rucker ( again, this could be dated so please correct me if I'm wrong) you will report to WOCS HHC. You will be assigned a room in the barracks, given the "snowbird" rank, and whatever information they give you. My wife had rented a hotel room, and I was allowed to stay with her overnight there if I wanted. The barracks room was an option, but wasn't mandatory yet, so anyone could pretty much stay wherever they wanted. Now, when I reported to HHC, I had around a week and a half before my actual WOCS start date. Some people in my class had already been there waiting for a week, and some people didn't show up until two days before the class started. Your break between BCT and WOCS will determine your amount of free time. Approximately two days before class started we had to say our final goodbyes to family, and we were no longer allowed off post and actually had to stay at the HHC barracks.

During the week or so of "free time" we still had a duty type day which consisted of logistics, assigning class leaders, and various briefings. Outside of that, a lot of free time was spent stenciling all your crap. My wife helped me stencil and we knocked it out in a couple days. HHC has a stencil machine that will punch out your name in some cardboard, so don't worry about buying a stencil.

Hope that clears up some questions. There really isn't a lot of official guidance out there concerning the transition from BCT to WOCS.

Yamer · February 6, 2016

In 2013, as an E3 going from Jackson to eustis for AIT I was allowed to be picked up and driven by my wife.

cwil7280 · February 6, 2016

I think there's a milage limit on driving though. I want to say 300 miles, but don't quote me on that.

Kcm3226 · March 21, 2016

Continuing with spouse questions, when can you plan on moving the family to Rucker? I currently live in Oregon and that is a good 3 day drive to Rucker. Is there a possibility of moving between BCT and WOCs or is the best after WOCs before flight school?

napoleonpp · March 22, 2016

Continuing with spouse questions, when can you plan on moving the family to Rucker? I currently live in Oregon and that is a good 3 day drive to Rucker. Is there a possibility of moving between BCT and WOCs or is the best after WOCs before flight school?

I'm not sure what the options are for civilian. But just something to thing about, is that where her family lives also? If so maybe wait until after WOCS to move her, if the Army will let you. I don't have kids but I waited until after WOCS to move my wife. I was already making her leave her family so I figured I'm not going to move her from her family just to leave her by herself right away for afew weeks. Not sure how different it is for AD and civilian though.

MuffinMan · March 22, 2016

I'm not sure what the options are for civilian. But just something to thing about, is that where her family lives also? If so maybe wait until after WOCS to move her, if the Army will let you. I don't have kids but I waited until after WOCS to move my wife. I was already making her leave her family so I figured I'm not going to move her from her family just to leave her by herself right away for afew weeks. Not sure how different it is for AD and civilian though.

We're planning on doing something similar though right now we're considering waiting until after SERE. Like you, I'm going to be moving my wife away from her career and family for the first time and don't want to bring her to Alabama just to leave her taking care of a 2.5 year old by herself in a state and area she's completely unfamiliar with. I figured the most I can do is try and make the process as easy on her and the kiddo as I can since she's being so damn supportive in letting me do this.

Side note: what's the typical time most people wait between completing WOCS and beginning WOBC, and the finishing WOBC and starting SERE? I've heard a number of different things about this but never anything remotely solid

Creep0321 · March 22, 2016

WOCS to WOBC, 1 day to 2 months.

WOBC to SERE, 1 week to 2 months.

There really is no good answer there.

Lindsey · March 22, 2016

The reason you haven't heard anything remotely solid is because there is no typical time. Some people wait one day, others wait 6 months. You learn to just go with the flow. There is no rhyme or reason to anything here.

MuffinMan · March 22, 2016

WOCS to WOBC, 1 day to 2 months.

WOBC to SERE, 1 week to 2 months.

There really is no good answer there.

The reason you haven't heard anything remotely solid is because there is no typical time. Some people wait one day, others wait 6 months. You learn to just go with the flow. There is no rhyme or reason to anything here.

Nice...thanks for the heads up...maybe I will look at moving the family down after WOCS. At what point in the process do you find out your dates of WOBC and SERE?

Creep0321 · March 22, 2016

I knew my WOBC date before I reported to WOCS, (the day after WOCS graduation I started WOBC). I was a SERE bypass and had about 3 months between WOBC and IERW.

MuffinMan · March 22, 2016

I knew my WOBC date before I reported to WOCS, (the day after WOCS graduation I started WOBC). I was a SERE bypass and had about 3 months between WOBC and IERW.

ok thanks. As a civilian I wonder if I'll learn my WOBC date after BCT (ship to that end of May) or once I get to WOCS.