Military Brides

I need opinions

Hey guys,
I need some input from those of you who have been through this already. My fiance is scheduled to start basic training on June 21. He'll be in Great Lakes, IL, I live along the Gulf Coast of Alabama. Once he finishes basic, he'll start A-school, or his training for his job. This training last approximately 1.5 to 2 years. All of our vendors are scheduled for 01/22/11 but as we know leave is never guaranteed in the military. I've been hearing from others that they do not like to let people in school take leave so my question is should we wait until the last minute to find out if he will get leave in January or change the wedding for Thanksgiving? I know Thanksgiving isn't a guarantee either but I think his chances of being approved for leave then are higher because school will be closed. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks,

Re: I need opinions

  • kyrgyzstankyrgyzstan member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    That is a crazy long A School for an enlisted job. What's his MOS/AFSC? Linguist? Leave is never guaranteed during training, and truthfully, it's really unlikely. Besides, even if he is allowed to take leave during training, I wouldn't want him to. He needs that training to perform well in his job, and if he's in a job with a high washout rate, which with that length, I bet he is, he needs to be able to focus and not miss anything.

    How old are you guys? What are you doing currently? Depending on the answers to those questions, I'd advise waiting until he's done with all his training.
    I hate Dave Ramsey
  • tendonheadtendonhead member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    His rating is AECF (Advanced Electronics Computer Field.) I think the reason it's so lengthy now are hold times. From what I hear, it's a self paced program and they do most of their training by tutorials online so it could be shorter or longer, depending on availabilites.  I'm 30 and he's 27. I'm a social worker and have been at my job for five years. Neither of us have been married and want a decent sized wedding plus I want to be on his orders when he gets a PDS.
  • tendonheadtendonhead member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We chose January 22 before he enlisted. He applied to the officer program last year, wasn't chosen and it has taken this long for him to get this far in the enlisted side. When we planned it, we thought he would have been done with training by now. Plus, my sister is getting married this month and his father is in Afghanistan until this fall so we tried to plan around everyone else too.
  • tendonheadtendonhead member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    thank you...all good ideas
  • kyrgyzstankyrgyzstan member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_need-opinions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:98834544-32a6-4aa4-b342-5c6abaca9dc4Post:1f6e2e91-c8c1-4fdc-b385-f318d9b34cf0">Re: I need opinions</a>:
    [QUOTE]Why did you guys choose January 22? It's difficult to impossible to plan long-term with the military.  The reason that training is projected 1.5 to 2 years is because things change dramatically and often.  Just yesterday H got a phone call telling him that he would be starting the next phase of his training today instead of a few weeks from now.  But that's small potatoes...  some of his classmates have had their training pushed way back because they get sick or don't perform as well as they should.  You're right that holidays aren't guaranteed either - my brother is in the Navy and this past year they either got Christmas OR Thanksgiving - and it wasn't up to them which holiday they got leave. You're going to be taking a huge risk by planning in the middle of his training.  I would recommend that you either try to get married before June 21 or wait until he's done.  H and I somewhat foolishly took the risk of getting married while he's in the middle of flight school and it turned out fine, but I think we didn't realize the risk that we were taking. If you insist on getting married before your FI is assigned his first duty station, I would minimize the losses that you could take by using as few vendors as possible.  That way you won't get stuck in a contract for that particular day.  I DIY'd flowers, centerpieces, and makeup, went to my normal hairdresser (no contract), used a friend's DJing services, and a family member did the cake.  The only "outsider" used was a caterer.  If we lost the $250 deposit it would not have ruined us.
    Posted by rach6409[/QUOTE]

    Exactly all this, except I'm not married.
    I hate Dave Ramsey
  • edited December 2011
    I'm not sure if you've already signed contracts but if now get a military clause. I've been speaking to vendors about including them in mine. What that entails is saying that if he recieves orders to be else where then you won't occur any losses. Some girls incorporate leave not being granted. That was you can reschedule, not cancel, with in a year or so of your original date.
  • klsnyder84klsnyder84 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_need-opinions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:98834544-32a6-4aa4-b342-5c6abaca9dc4Post:c47fd2ac-9533-4f8b-86e1-499201a5f942">Re: I need opinions</a>:
    [QUOTE] plus I want to be on his orders when he gets a PDS.
    Posted by tendonhead[/QUOTE]

    Have you considered going to the court house?  That way you can plan the wedding of your dreams and not have to rush.  Thats what my FI and I did last week.  We are still having a big wedding in September, but we have all the "marriage paperwork" done and now we don't have to stress if something comes up.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • tendonheadtendonhead member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We've thought about it but get mixed opinions about it. Plus things have changed a little, imagine that. Since I posted this, his job and ship date have changed so he's going in a lot earlier and his training isn't quite as long so it may work out okay. Thank you for your help
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