How soon should I contact my sponsor for my gaining unit?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 May 2018 20:25:18 -0400

I'm PCSing to Graff Germany and have a sponsor on my orders but don't know how soon I should contact them?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2018 8:59 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 May 2018 20:59:48 -0400

If they haven't already contacted you, they are not doing their jobs. Contact them as soon as you deem necessary to ensure your transition to the new duty assignment goes as smoothly as possible.

Response by SSG David McPherson made May 19 at 2018 10:30 PM

SSG David McPherson — Sat, 19 May 2018 22:30:07 -0400

You should be talking with them as soon as possible and then after that at least once a week, also go on the USAG Bavaria website you can learn a lot of info from there

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2018 2:29 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 May 2018 02:29:39 -0400

As soon as possible.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2018 1:43 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 May 2018 13:43:40 -0400

Like everyone else is saying, as soon as possible. In fact, they should have contacted you already. I was stationed in Vilseck, right next to Graf a few years back and I remember my sponsor never contacted me, I didn’t meet him until I actually showed up. It made the process much more difficult when I arrived with my family. Then to boot, my sponsor was in the process of PCSing so a week after I arrived they changed my sponsor. After two more changes I finally got a descent sponsor after we were placed in housing (off post - but still government housing) - it was a guy who lived in our complex that gave me rides until our car got there.

The sponsorship program is a great concept, however, sometimes (often) it gets overlooked or it is seen as a “check the box” or inconvenience, taking soldiers away from immediate missions and tastings. While I was there, there was a huge effort to correct this issue and it appeared to get better. PCSing to a stateside duty station isn’t as much of a concern - I had a descent sponsor for my stateside PCS which helped. In Germany, it is a whole different beast. There are language barriers, policy barriers, just in general things are different. Make an effort to ensure that you are in contact with your sponsor and if they don’t contact you, contact your unit to get your sponsor moving. I can not express how much having someone who knows the ins-and-outs is important. Or having someone to give you rides. Good luck, and enjoy Germany; it was one of my favorite duty stations.

Response by LTC Stephan Porter made Aug 19 at 2018 12:40 AM

LTC Stephan Porter — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 00:40:02 -0400

Now!

Response by COL David Turk made Apr 9 at 2020 11:12 AM

COL David Turk — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 11:12:54 -0400

I contacted my sponsor when he picked me up at the 21st Replacement Center at Rhein Main AFB (1977).