From MarineGouge

Welcome To The Military!

There is so much to find out and luckily there are many resources available to you. To begin with your spouse will be doing lots on his or her end to get you into the tricare system, the pay system, get you an ID etc. The list below helps to clarify what you need to do and where. This is for spouses in Pensacola, FL. If anyone knows where to go for these things in Corpus Christi it would be great if you would post that!

One of the first places to start when you become a Marine spouse is L.I.N.K.S.! L.I.N.K.S stands for Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills and is the best way to get a crash course in being a military spouse.

I believe the Navy offers classes on being a new spouse as well and I would suggest accessing their Fleet and Family Support Center to find out more. The FFSC also offers classes on parenting, money, taxes, etc. It is a great resource to access for any Spouse.

Most squadrons and/or bases have spouses clubs that are a great way to meet new people. Many of these clubs contact you when your spouse checks in but if they don't feel free to have your spouse ask around for the contact of the club. S.O.S.A. is the general organization for NAS Whiting Field and is a good place to start. Another resource in Naval Commands is an Ombudsman. She or he is the liaison between families and the command of the squadron. The ombudsman can be a great resource if you have any questions or problems. Another resource is the Key Volunteers. They are a family readiness group that keeps military families up to date on unit tasks and missions, which is more important once your spouse is out in the fleet.

There are many military spouse websites that have discussion groups and information that is relevant to you. Some are geared toward spouses while others are just general military sites.

As you can imagine there are also books written about this subject. Amazon is a good place to start. Read reviews carefully as some are out of date or not actually a guide.