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I've been in the Army for 16 years now, and this will be my first PCS overseas. I am right now on assignment instructions to go to Vicenza, Italy and was hoping for some feedback, advice and any helpful hints anyone might have. I might be an E-8, but not to proud to ask for advice. I am married and have two kids, 7 and 11 and a small dog (8 pounds). Anything would be helpful to include Travel do's and don'ts, Housing, Pets, Language, Culture, the Unit and base. Thanks in advance!
Overseas
PCS
Europe
Family
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 5
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Shipping your vehicles will be a tough hurdle and you may have to come out of pocket. I recommend shipping your household goods and vehicles as early as possible so you will have them when you arrive versus what happened to me, which was waiting a month before getting our things. Passports and EFMP is a must to update now instead of waiting.
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SGM (Join to see)
Guess I should read some responses before I answer - you had me beat! We shipped our van early which was great it was waiting on us when we got there. Passports was a fairly easy process. EFMP was a headache as always.
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You will love Italy and all of the travel options you will have. Make sure you travel. I have been to Germany twice and we traveled a great deal and we still regret not seeing everything we could have.
You should have a sponsor if not there is a website that you go to and request one.
Start working the move now.
Passports are a must for the family and the passport office on base will help you once you get your orders.
If any of the family is in EFMP make sure you get it updated before you leave.
Your pet is fine to travel with but you will need to ensure you have a proper travel carrier that the dog can stand up in without touching the top. You also need to go through your on base vet to get the proper certifications for the dog to travel. We used an off base vet who assured us we were good and when we tried to go we were told our pets couldn't travel. We ran to the on base vet and they saw us after hours and squared us away.
Pay attention to your move. A lot of things go missing during overseas moves. Take pictures of all of your items - pictures come in very handy. Try putting any jewelry together and possibly in a lock box so it is harder to swipe. They cut the locks on 2 of my duffle bags and stole over $3,300 worth of uniforms, boots and other items. We bought a brand new bedroom set 2 weeks prior to the packers coming and they labeled every new piece of furniture as scratched and chipped. Really hosed us on the back end and getting it fixed.
The Army will only allow you to ship 1 vehicle. I shipped my car to Germany and it cost $1,000 to ship it there but $1,500 to ship it back. I had to have my car in Germany but you should be able to purchase a hoopty there at a good price. There are always people leaving and they only try to sell it for what they paid so used car prices are very reasonable.
Ship your vehicle 30-45 days prior to your report date. That means it will either be there when you get there or arrive a few weeks later. It is alot easier to rent or borrow a vehicle here instead of over there. Actually borrowing a vehicle over there is quite a process. There is a few items you have to fill out. I borrowed a Soldiers car to clear and decided to fill it up and since we didn't do the proper I had to pay off base gas prices through Aafes (another reason why I dislike them).
Post any questions you have and I will answer your questions.
IMCOM Europe's mission is to provide the Army the installation capabilities and services to support expeditionary operations in a time of persistent conflict, and to provide a quality of life for Sold...
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1SG (Join to see)
Thank you for the response. That is all very helpful. They are still waiting to assign me a sponsor, I think since my report date isn't until DEC.
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SGM (Join to see)
When you get your passports they will only give them to your family since you can travel on your orders and your ID card. I suggest you get your passport done out of pocket (local post office would be easiest). Having one when I was there was so much easier especially when I wanted to travel.
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1SG (Join to see)
I know they give you a "free" passport when you get your orders, but your saying to get the regular passports as well right? My wife and I already have our passports for travel, but will need to get the kids some, and a lot of people say to get the regular travel ones in addition to the military ones.
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SGM (Join to see)
Your family gets free travel ones. You don't get one only they do. If you have one then make sure you renew it. I spent 1 1/2 years in Germany without a passport and I ordered one cause it was easier than traveling with my ID card and orders. All you need are the blue passports. Some will tell you to get the red one over there but I did my traveling (personal and work) on my blue passport and never had a problem.
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I just left Vicenza 1SG, so hopefully I can give you a a few useful tips to ease the transition.
Transportation is always a biggie, and while there is a public transportation system in place having two cars can be very convenient. It is very easy to find resonably priced used cars. Make sure you perform as much maintenance as possible on your vehicle you are shipping, because parts for American cars usually take about two weeks to get once you're in Italy and thst can be very frustrating. Taking the time and money to perform services early could end up saving you lots of trouble.
Learn a little bit of the local lingo, seems like common sense but you might be surprised at how many people ignore something like this. Italians, especially around Vicenza, appreciate when you make an effort at speaking Italian.
Lastly get out and explore, northern Italy is located close to so many awesome outdoor destinations. World class skiing in the alps, mountain biking, scuba diving, rock climbing. I can't begin to count the places I went. As others have already adressed getting you and your family set up with passports is a must.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask, I'm sure you and your family are going to enjoy living and working in the Vicenza military community.
Transportation is always a biggie, and while there is a public transportation system in place having two cars can be very convenient. It is very easy to find resonably priced used cars. Make sure you perform as much maintenance as possible on your vehicle you are shipping, because parts for American cars usually take about two weeks to get once you're in Italy and thst can be very frustrating. Taking the time and money to perform services early could end up saving you lots of trouble.
Learn a little bit of the local lingo, seems like common sense but you might be surprised at how many people ignore something like this. Italians, especially around Vicenza, appreciate when you make an effort at speaking Italian.
Lastly get out and explore, northern Italy is located close to so many awesome outdoor destinations. World class skiing in the alps, mountain biking, scuba diving, rock climbing. I can't begin to count the places I went. As others have already adressed getting you and your family set up with passports is a must.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask, I'm sure you and your family are going to enjoy living and working in the Vicenza military community.
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1SG (Join to see)
Thank you for the awesome response. I will take your advice about the vehicle, and that is good to know. My family and I have started on the Rosetta Stone Program, we try to get about an hour in a night of speaking, plus try to quiz each other throughout the day. I kind of figure that if you really want to enjoy a place, you have to eliminate all the distractors. Thanks again for the response.
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