Multiple Questions RE: TRICARE for my family and USAF BMT and Air Force in general...?

Question

1. Will my wife and 2 kids have TRICARE while I am at Basic?
2. Can they continue to see their civilian Dr?
3. How much can we expect to pay out-of-pocket?
4. How do they get their Ins. Cards while I’m away at BMT/Tech School?

5. Is it possible for them to get vision & dental?
6. If so, how much will it cost?

7. When I get out of BMT and Tech school, can I come home to Maine where my wife & 2 kids are and travel with them to my first assignment?
8. If so, will the Air Force pay for my travel to Maine, and our travel to our first base?

9. How many days do I have from the day I leave Tech School, to when I have to sign in at my first assignment?
10. How likely will it be that we get on base housing? (we want to live on base)
11. If we don't get on base housing right away, how long does it usually take and what do we do while we wait?

12. What are some of the best bases for a family with 2 small children?

13. Are there still "Wives Clubs" and groups for mothers?

Answers to even just a couple questions would be greatly appreciated…

Answer 1

you are just getting started look when you get to basic they AF will answer question 1 Thur 9 and then 12 & 13. Now about 11 and 12 that will have to wait till you get to your permentet duty station or if you are in a long term Tech school they would have the answers for that. What you must do Grasshopper is take it one day at a time your family will be covered and once you finish basic and find out where you next duty station is things will be come much more clearer for you.

Answer 2

Mrs JVB has most of the answers right.. but some were a little off on the answers..
2. they can continue to see their civilian doctor only if he accepts the Tri-care that they have.. for example if their doctor excepts tricare prime and you have tricare standard that is not the same thing and you will have to pay the full costs. (if you go to the tri-care website you can look up the doctors in your area that accept certain tri-cares)
3. you should find the out-of-pocket costs on tri-care.. anyone can quote you numbers but the most accurate information will be found on the tri-care website
4. their ID cards are what is used for insurance purposes. However I believe only kids 10 and up get ID cards so the only one who will need an ID is your wife (unless your kids are that old)... you can go to any military base (this can also be reserve/guard bases as well and it can be any branch of service base/post/ etc to get the ID made)

7. when you get out of techschool you can go home to Maine and travel with them to your next assignment.
8. The air force will not pay for your travel to Maine, and you will be charged leave for the time you spend in Maine. The Air Force will pay for you and your dependents to travel to your next duty station (if you have accompanied orders)

9. How many days of leave you have after Tech School depends on how long your Tech School is... you get 2 1/2 days per month. You can take leave in route to your new base and use more leave than you have but only if your gaining base approves it.
10. it really depends on the base where you live if you will have a long waiting list or not... and if you have to live off base they will give you BAH with dependent rate (but its a set amt, it doesnt matter how many kids you have or what not..) so that can kind of be bad.
11. If you dont' get housing right away, they will put you on a waiting list, and they can put you up in billeting on base (they'll give you so much money a month and you just pay the hotel bill from that..)

12. It just depends on what you and your family like to do, theres usually something for everyone somewhere.. and its hard to say whats best for 2 small children at this time.
13. There are plenty of spouse groups, mommy groups, etc on bases... when you find out where you will go for your first assignment then you can go to that bases website and look up their community center and what not, and it will list groups they have on base.

Good luck and congrats!

Answer 3

1. They are covered under Standard the day they get entered into DEERS. there is a co pay of about 25% per visit plus additional copays on labs and the like.
2> Under Standard, yes, as long as their Doc accepts Tricare. If he doesn't or if they enroll into Prime, than no.
3. That will depend on how much they go to the doctors and what additional tests they need.
4. there are no insurance cards. the military ID is what is used. They will get a package in the mail a couple of weeks after you get to basic with everything they need. They must go to the nearest base to get their ID card.
5. dental is an extar $32/month and covers 2 free dental cleanings and one exam/set of xrays per person per year. Vision is part of Tricare and is limited ot one exam only every year or two(certain people only get them every two years). Glasses and contact lens exams are NOT covered.
7. No. the Military will only pay to move you from School to your duty station. you may be able to take leave in transit, but don;t expect to and it will all be out of pocket. If the orders are accompanied( and not all of them are) your Household Goods will be paid for, but NOT plane tickets. there will also be a bit of reimbursement for hotel stays en route and daily meals. for the spouse and kids.
9. typically you will have a Report No Later Than date on your orders. it can be as little as acouple of days to as long as 30. you CAN go into the hole onleave, but if you do, you willnot be allowed to take any leave again until you are out of the hole. you earn 2.5 days per month.
10 base housing is too varied to give an answer. it is based on bedroom entitlement, paygrade and availability. you could get to the base and find the waiting list is 2 years long, or you could get offered a place right away.
11. you get BAH based on your duty station to help defray the costs of living out in town.
13. some bases do have enlisted spouse clubs,. others do not.,. the command may or may not have a family support group.

Answer 4

The Air Force will take care of most of those things. My dad thinks that some of the larger bases are better for number 11, and smaller bases with less activity are better for number 12. I'm almost positive that's an affirmative on number 13.

Answer 5

a million: you do not 'connect your self in OTS" you prepare for and perhaps are granted a fee. determination prices are about 12-15% in the present day, even for rated forums( Aviation) it is an all volunteer protection force. everyone has the capacity to be put in harms' way. The Taliban might want to care a lot less you're an in easy words baby or the superb surviving son. in actuality they prefer to take you out. that way you won't be able to breed any more advantageous heathen human beings. you attempt to pull the "i'm an in easy words baby ' crap on your Chain of Command and also you'll finally end up in a international of damage. the ANG has been to the sandbox. lots. in actuality, they're finding out on up the slack from the ad aspect further and extra. the 174th( in Syracuse, no longer certain what their cutting-edge airplane is) has been there a minimum of four cases contained in the previous decade.

Answer 6

Sharpie nailed it. I would like to expand on #7; You will have travel days to get to your next duty station which are not charged as leave. Anything over those travel days is charged as leave. So you may or may not have to use leave enroute. When you get notified of your assignment, you should be told how many travel days you will receive.
Also, we currently have 3.5* bases where dependents are not authorized so the odds are very high that your next assignment will be accompanied. I hope you find your AF career as rewarding as I have. :-)