Relocations, Advancements, Re-enlisting, And Cross-rating: Playing the Waiting Game

Much of military life is about waiting: Waiting for advancement results, waiting for new orders, waiting to cross-rate, etc. It can be difficult not knowing from one day to the next what’s going to happen. Yet, this is how much of military life is spent. A person could drive themselves crazy with all the “what ifs.” Most of the waiting has to do with advancements and re-enlistments.

Advancements can mean many things to a military families. It can be as simple as meaning more money and more respect. It can also mean relocating, changes in ratings (cross-rating), or changes in work hours. Advancement can be difficult in a rating (job field) that is over-full, which could mean cross-rating (changing job fields) for the military member. This will mean attending a school that may be across the country from their family for as many as six months. Once school is finished, the military member will be required to look at orders again, which could mean relocation. If a military member does advance to a position that is full for that particular duty station, they may end up being “traded” to another duty station, which could mean relocation for the family. Waiting for advancement results can be stressful, especially in a situation in which it will mean a major change for the family.

Re-enlisting can be very confusing for families. The decision to re-enlist has to be made by the entire family. Once the decision to re-enlist is made, the service member may or may not have a choice of orders. If there is a choice, it may not be a choice of places the family members may have hoped to move to. Once again, a major decision has to be made by the entire family as to what is best for the family. This can be a very difficult choice to make. They may have the choice of unaccompanied orders, which means the family will not go with the service member to the new duty station. Some families choose to do this for the extra money, but it is an individual choice for a family as to whether they choose to do this.