Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 4/16/2010

Question
I am currently an e4 on active duty for the army. My soon to be husband is an e4 on active duty in the navy! Will we ever get stationed together?

Answer
Dear Jacqueline --

As soon as you are married, you should both apply for "joint domicile."  It may be called something else in the Navy.  Once you are part of this program, your Army branch manager and his Navy detailer are required to work together to get you assignments which are close to each other.

Close is relative however.  Overseas it usually means the same country.  In the continental US it usually means same region.  So east coast, west coast, south, mid-west.  Since he is Navy your best options tend to be Southern California, Virginia (Fort Eutis/Newport) or the greater Washington DC area.

To assist your career managers to get you close to each other, you may have to agree to a less than perfect job in order to get proximity to your spouse.  There are also time when you will just have to agree to be apart such as when you attend career development schools, or he is assigned to a deployed ship.  If you can work with your career managers so that these events happy simultaneously, you can reduce your time apart as a couple.

Please write back, if you have additional questions.  Good luck to you both, and thank you for your service.