PCSing - 1 Week Prior

Close out safety deposit box if you have one.

Buy a bunch of ziplock bags -- these will come in handy when packing large sets of small items, like silverware, or for components of furniture that need to be broken down (i.e., screws, bolts).

Make copies of any important documents before mailing or hand-carrying them to your new address.

Remove wall accessories such as drapery rods, small appliances, food and utensil racks.

Pull out all items from beneath stairways, attics or any other area that does not allow full standing room.

Drain garden hoses.
Drain oil and gas from lawn mowers and other gas operated tools. Disconnect spark plugs.

Dispose of flammables such as fireworks, cleaning fluids, matches, acids, chemistry sets, aerosal cans, ammunition, oil, paint and thinners.

Refillable tanks must be purged and sealed by a local propane gas dealer. Discard nonrefillable tanks. Some carriers and the military do not permit shipment of any propane tanks.

Disassemble outdoor play equipment and structures such as utility sheds.

Disassemble electronic components such as stereos and VCRs. Place original packing boxes (if they are in good condition and you want the movers to use them) by the equipment. If you decide to pack the item in the original carton yourself, leave the boxes opened so items can be inventoried.

If you have a computer, "park" hard disk drive units, then disconnect computer systems. Place floppy disks in protective cases before packing into cartons.

If you are using your vehicle, make sure that it is in good running condition and that all required maintenance has been completed.

Give a close friend or relative your travel route and schedule so you may be reached if needed.

Set aside cleaning materials to be used after packing and loading.

Oh the Joys of PCSing

Here we are exactly 3 weeks from when we're supposed to leave and I am sooooo not ready. I suppose i'll never feel totally ready to move... I've just got a million and one things to do and every time I compleat one task a new one seems to pop up instantly. Lucky we had out pre-inspection this past week and were told everything's in order. Heh, the maintenance manager was shocked by how clean our house was... I guess most people who live in housing must be nasty or trash their houses or sumthin... She said there was nothing that we needed to do, the house was actually clean enough to move out right then and there... She said the only thing she could think of, was to just have us wipe off any dog hair that we may have seen on the floorboards... That was a huge weight off my shoulders cuz I thought they were gunna be totally anal about everything... But I guess not. Oh yeah, and we found out that our carpets 6 years old and they were planning on replacing it when we moved out anyway, so we got to cancel our carpet cleaning apt... So i'm glad, that's one less thing we need to do on the 1st (the same day TMO's commin to pick up our boxes).

Well anywayz, Mike's finishing checking out of his unit today, I guess he's got to go back out there (P111) Monday morning to actually detach from MACS-1... And then FINALLY we'll be able to fax over the detachment paperwork over to the Norfolk housing office and actually be placed on the waiting list and FINALLY find out exactly how long the wait is. I suppose I'll figure out what number we are Monday and then call back right before we leave and can probably figure out how fast the list is moving and get a better idea of when they'll have a house available for us.

The Smallest Church in the World

Built by a farmer on the edge of his field in Yuma AZ, in honor of his wife. It measures roughly 7 ft. x 12 ft. inside. A sign on the dirt road that leads to the church reads: "Stop, Rest, Worship."

Bridge To Nowhere

This 800-foot-long suspension bridge spanned the Gila River when it was built in 1929, and was named McPhaul Bridge in honor of Henry Harrison McPhaul, "the only Yuma resident who ever became an Arizona Ranger." But it was considered to be too flimsy for modern traffic, and when a dam was built upstream in 1968 the river was diverted and the highway was rerouted over a much smaller bridge. This ultimately proved unwise, as a flood in 1993 destroyed the new bridge while the Bridge to Nowhere, with its broad span and high clearance, probably would have been just fine.

Mike got promoted!

Well Mike picked up Sgt today, which is super exciting considering he's only been a Cpl for 10 months and just jumped over a bunch of guys who picked up before him... He barely scraped by, by the skin of his teeth... His cutting score was a 1733 (the score you're job says you need to pick up rank) and his composite score was 1733 (the point he actually has) so he was the last in his MOS (job) to pick up...

The picture to the left is his capt pinning his Good Conduct medal on him. He actually received the medel in Iraq, but for whatever reason they waited till not to pin him. For those who don't know the criteria of the medal, the Good Conduct Medal is awarded to any enlisted member of the United States military (except U.S. Air Force personnel after 2006) who completes three consecutive years of "honorable and faithful service". Such service implies that a standard enlistment was completed without any non-judicial punishments, disciplinary infractions, or court martial offenses. Oh and also, about a week ago we found out that he rates for a couple more ribbons then he's been wearing... so now he's up to two full bars... Not too bad for only 3 years of service.

Oh yeah, and yesterday he found out that his Ssgt from his old unit here (MALS-13) will be PCSing to Norfolk June-ish and will be his new Gunny... Which is really cool... Mike already knows his Msgt over there, I guess he was Mike's Gunny from MOS school... So that's kinda cool considering the shop he's goin to only has like 5 Marine's or sumthin so there's only like 2 he doesn't know.