The idea of living at one duty station for more than three years makes me feel antsy. So I’m feeling pretty good right now about being Army instead of Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps is considering a policy change that would allow Marines and their families to stay stationed at one base for long periods of time, according to this story. Known as “homesteading,” the move would give Marines the opportunity to stay in one location as long as the needs of the Corps were still met.
“I do think there are probably benefits to longer tours in some locations,” Gen. Jim Amos, Marine Corps commandant said in the story. “Not wholesale, but I think we can save some money with that.”
He clarified that Marines would still have to move after promotions or for the service’s many schools.
The obvious benefit of this policy to the Corps is cost savings. Moving is not cheap. Paying for all the stuff the movers break is also not cheap. Trotting families all around the globe just because that’s the way it’s always been done also doesn’t seem particularly wise.
But then neither does letting a base become so insular that servicemembers develop habits that are particular to that lone location and not service wide. Many tactics are taught in a standard way across any given service so that when units from two different places work together in a war setting there is no miscommunication. Staying at one base your entire career is a fast road towards institutionalization.
For the families the benefits to homesteading are also obvious. A little family stability, especially in the face of deployments, seems like a great plan. Who doesn’t want to see their kids grow-up in the same school? And who wouldn’t like to have the same friends for a long time, instead of constantly having to drum up new ones?
But then there’s me: I like moving – love it, in fact. The new people, the new places, the chance to see parts of the country I’ve never seen before and experience a local culture with which I’m not familiar … these are the things I love about military life. Please, oh please, don’t take them away from me.
What about you? Do you think the military should bed us all down in one place? Take our poll and check out the results below and leave a note in the comment section.
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I like both. Moving can be cool especially on the gov'ts dime but I like being able to put down some roots if I choose. But sometimes you end up at a dud location and moving and can be a god send. haha
That's kinda how I feel right now … ;-)
I love moving and traveling too. Well, at least I did until my children got older. It becomes really difficult for them as they enter school, start competing in sports competitively and make friends. Before I didn't really care about which base we were stationed at. Now I have to look and see how the schools are – is the base going to offer the sport(s) are competing in, and if they don't, then it could really affect them in a negative way if they no longer get to participate in things they have excelled in. I have learned that it's not so much about what I want, it's about what is best for them — and when kids get to reach school age — I believe that they would do better with longer stints at duty stations.
Somehow the bottom got cut off what I was saying — the Marine Corps has a general policy to move every 3 years. However, more often than not, we end up moving every two. Ideally, I would love it if we could stick to an area for 3-4 years.
We are having those issues now. My daughter started high school this year and she is in the marching band, which she loves. I am really hoping that the next time my husband gets orders that he ends up with a local unit. It's doable if we have to move, but it would be nice if I did't have to "ruin her life". I love the moving but now the kids are older and we have to consider the impact on them when we make family decisions. In a perfect world we would be given the option to "homestead" and then we would have a little control over when we would move.
I think this is a great way to save money – an that is what counts.
True. You're completely right — because, frankly, the fact that I like moving doesn't make an ant hill of difference. And I absolutely know that. :-)
So far I have not moved in the last 12 years. My husband has been stationed at the same 2 bases which are about 1-2 hours from our home. He wanted us to have a normal life and wanted our son to stay in the same schools all throughout his senior year. My husband lives near the bases and he comes home on the weekends. I am a military wife but have yet to experience it. I'm perfectly happy with our situation. If this new policy came to be, it would be great for us.
I like this idea and think it has more pros than cons. The military lifestyle has so much uncertainty already and being able to actually put down roots at a duty station would bring some stability. While moving can be exciting, we'd enjoy being able to fully immerse into a community, enjoy friendships longer and I could make more career headway than if we lived somewhere two or three years. It's a practical and reasonable way for the military to save money.
The corps needs to do what is best for the corps and most people will never be happy.
I think homesteading is a great idea! Especially for the Marines who are in till retirement and unable to “lat-move” into any other MOS. And as much as they state they are out I’d money for certain things, it’s also a great way to save some money. And it would absolutely be much more stable for children. It truly is heartbreaking to see them hurting when they have to leave friends behind.
Out *of* money…
Retired…..
Great idea for career Marines! We had promised our girls that when they entered high school, we would do everything necessary to allow them all four years in the same school. Even if I was PCS overseas, the family would not move. I relly hope this becomes an option! Semper Fi!
Am I really hearing right? Before going on active duty myself, my father was a career enlisted Army/Army Air Corp/Army Air Force/Air Force man. I couldn't wait to move and hated to be in one school longer than 2 years. Moving was an adventure in our family and we all shared the enthusiasm of seeing a new place, discovering what was there, and making new friends. Instead of "having to go", we got to go to a new place! I also found changing schools had an advantage. Usually, military (DODDS) schools were stricter and expected more of us at every grade level. You sometimes would get a much less stimulating school following that and could slide for a year or two (or until our parents found out!) Don't cheat your kids of the great opportunities of going PCS!
I LOVE this idea. It would be great for MY career. As someone who values her profession, staying in one place longer would do a lot for me to get ahead professionally. It's not so easy having to move all the time and change jobs, apply for a new license in every state, etc. It's kind of a hassle, but… it's what needs to be done if you want to follow along.