Expert: Rod Powers - 11/12/2006

Question
Hello I had a question about moving to Korea with my husband to be.  He was sent to Korea Nov 2, 2006 and of course we are not married yet, but before he left a army reserved Sergeant told him that he would have to wait 2 months and that we could get married by mail for me to go overseas my fiance is active duty and did his training in South Carolina and then went to Maryland to finish. I just want to know how do we get started.   Thank You

Answer
There are three types of overseas tours:

The first type are those to areas which are considered "remote," which includes areas such as Korea. Individuals are not authorized to be accompanied by dependents at government expense. These tours are generally 12 months in duration.

The second type are areas (such as Japan and Germany), where dependents (spouse and children) are allowed to travel at government expense, but the member elects to do the tour without them. These tours are generally 24 months in length.

The third type of overseas tour are those (such as Japan and Germany) where dependents are allowed to travel at government expense, and the member elects to be accompanied by his/her dependents. This is called an "accompanied tour," and is usually 36 months in length. In this case, the military will pay for the relocation cost of the spouse, along with the cost of property movement.

Now, certain job positions in Korea allow dependents to accompany the military member at government expense. These are known as "command sponsored" positions, and are very limited (usually only offered to senior military people, who are considered "key essential.") In such cases, the tour length is 24 months.

Unless your husband-to-be is in a "key-essential" position, it is doubful that you would be allowed to accompany him at military expense. Most key-essential positions are limited to (1) Senior Officers [i.e. commanders, or those in the rank of O-5 and above; (2) Senior Enlisted [those in the rank of E-7 and above; (3) certain job positions, such as commanders and first sergeants, and doctors/nurses/pilots.

Of course, you are an American citizen, and -- as such -- you can travel pretty much anywhere you want. However, unless the tour is command-sponsored, the military won't pay for such travel.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com