Have you been to Heartlink? As I was talking to some fellow AF wives I realized that most of them have never been to a Heartlink orientation. I was so surprised! I would encourage each of you to go to one on your base, they are at each base and I feel are very beneficial. Here is the rundown:

A program designed for new Air Force spouses. It basically gives you an overview of the AF/base mission, resources available, services and protocal.

It's a one day class that was developed to help clear up the confusion that can be associated with getting thrown into military life.

You receive an Air Force coin of your own and get to learn about some fun military traditions.

A great way to network with other spouses.

(Call your Airman & Family Readiness Center to find out meeting times and learn about how to receive free childcare during the orientation)

On Base or Off

As many of you know, Matthew and I live on base. We have at all of our duty stations (Maxwell, Vandenberg, and now Malmstrom)  Of course there are pros and cons to everything, but in general I LOVE living in base housing. He is my pro con list. I hope this helps you if you are deciding where to live.

Pros

You don't have to look for a house over the Internet from states away
Your neighbors are all military, they know what you are going through - built in support system
The commissary is usually less than 5 min away as well as the BX and Shopette
You don't have to worry about crazy people coming to your house when your DH is deployed and you are home alone
I have no excuse not to go to the gym because it is also only 5 min away and it's free
You don't have to worry about selling your house before you PCS


Cons
You have to sign people on base, which makes it harder to hold events with your local civilian friends
Sometimes it is a pain to move out of base housing because they make you clean so much and they inspect your house at least twice.
Your daily life may be interrupted by gate closures and military drills
Reveille plays every weekday morning at 7am, National Anthem at 4:30pm, and Taps at 10pm (I admit for me this is actually also a pro, I love hearing the anthem every day and taps at night. Its a great reminder of all our service men and keeps things in prospective somehow)

Lastly I want to say that a reason I often hear for not living on base is that the service member feels like he would never really leave work. When I asked my hubby about it he said that he has never felt that way because once he is in the neighborhood it is it's own separate little world. He also loves that he gets home quickly and can come home for lunch. :)

 Our house at Malmstrom

The Park Next Door