10 things to know when you're posted
10
AT THE OLD PLACE:
Have an itinerary well in advance of the move, if necessary. That means know the routes you may have to travel if the move involves driving, and call ahead to book hotels that will allow half a dozen pets. Calling ahead to make reservations also ensures you can specifically request that your family are NOT stuck on the main floor. This will give you ample opportunity to drive the other patrons crazy by permitting your shack wacky children to run up and down the hallways.
Pack nothing yourself as the military provides very helpful people to do that for you. All you need to do is allow complete strangers to come into your perfectly organized, decluttered space and promptly pile random stuff into wrongly labelled boxes, casting judgmental glances your way if they find anything out of order. If you prefer to pack your own things, be prepared to have the boxes opened by curmudgeonly old guys warning "you won't be covered" if they don't pack FOR you.
Remember...
There's no such thing as goodbye in the military lifestyle, so remember to have a crazy “See you later” party. Just plan for after your furniure and effects are out but before you return your keys. Then, entice the vultures your friends to help you do the march-out cleaning by bribing them with booze, perishables and cleaning products. Many wives will clean someone else's windows if it means they will be able to get plastered and take home a box of any contraband items that are too inconvenient to take along for the move.