SFQC and time with the family

[phionex]

hi, i am looking at going through the SF pipeline and i know that the training is going to be crazy, but do you actually get to see your family at all during the training or was that all a line of bull from the recruiter? i appreciate any help you all can give me.

[Warrior-Mentor]

Phionex,

Welcome to a serious site about SF.

Couple simple keys to success here:
- Post an intro on the intro thread.
- Read the stickies.
- Use the search function. You'll find the most common questions have already been answered.

Once you do that, you'll find people much more likely to answer your questions.

Best,
JM

[phionex]

thanks appreciate the direction

[Team Sergeant]

thanks appreciate the direction

And use proper punctuation (capital letters) or do not post.

Team Sergeant

[Mack]

Gentlemen,

I'm looking for a little real estate help from those that have gone through the Q, or who know about living around Ft. Bragg. I currently live in Phoenix, Az and have just received word that my training NCOIC has applied, on my behalf, to attend the Q course (background info: selected 007-06, 18c, Korean, not yet Airborne Q'd). In light of that information, I'm planning on selling my house in Phoenix and moving to NC. If I were by myself I'd move right off post and call it good, but the wife needs to be fairly close to the Raleigh/Durham Airport (45 minutes or so) for business. I've been looking at Sanford and Benson as possible places, but without knowing what to expect from the Q course, don't know how to advise her and her job on where we'll likely end up. Can any of you folks lend a hand with towns that are between Ft. Bragg and R/D and are family friendly (have a 10 month old). BTW, I'll probably be looking at a house in the $250k-$350k range. FWIW, I've had bad dealings w/ Real Estate agents and that's the reason I'm not going that route first.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've been given an October start date for the Q.

Thanks for your time and take care...

Mack

[The Reaper]

Gentlemen,

I'm looking for a little real estate help from those that have gone through the Q, or who know about living around Ft. Bragg. I currently live in Phoenix, Az and have just received word that my training NCOIC has applied, on my behalf, to attend the Q course (background info: selected 007-06, 18c, Korean, not yet Airborne Q'd). In light of that information, I'm planning on selling my house in Phoenix and moving to NC. If I were by myself I'd move right off post and call it good, but the wife needs to be fairly close to the Raleigh/Durham Airport (45 minutes or so) for business. I've been looking at Sanford and Benson as possible places, but without knowing what to expect from the Q course, don't know how to advise her and her job on where we'll likely end up. Can any of you folks lend a hand with towns that are between Ft. Bragg and R/D and are family friendly (have a 10 month old). BTW, I'll probably be looking at a house in the $250k-$350k range. FWIW, I've had bad dealings w/ Real Estate agents and that's the reason I'm not going that route first.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've been given an October start date for the Q.

Thanks for your time and take care...

Mack

Mack:

Good question.

You are going to be pretty much limited to Harnett, Lee, or southern Wake county. There are not very many bridges over the Cape Fear river that is the major drainage between Raleigh and Fayetteville. Therefore, you will have to stay near those highways with Cape Fear bridges to access both areas easily.

I commuted from a small town east of Raleigh to Bragg for several months, the drive was usually close to 80-90 minutes. I have known people who lived in Fuquay-Varina in Wake County and drove to Bragg for the same spousal reasons as you, that was about a one hour commute to post. It would be less than 45 minutes to RDU, maybe as few as 30 depending on traffic.

I would recommend that you look along the US1 or US 401 corridors. Both will get you to RDU easily, Bragg will be a bit more cross-country. With the new sections of US1 being completed, Sanford (near US 1) is an easy 45 minutes to RDU except for rush hour, and is about equidistant to Bragg. That section of highway is wide open and has few exits with services though, so make sure that you have a good cell and a well-maintained vehicle for the wife. Harnett County, between Fuquay and Lillington, will put you on the edge of the desired 45 minutes to RDU, but will be a quicker commute to Bragg for you. You could possibly edge into the southeastern portions of Chatham County, which would be closer to RDU, but at the expense of an hour or so to the main post. You are almost able to hit northern Moore County, which has all of the advantages of Sanford and then some, but is an additional 15 minutes drive to the airport to make it just under an hour. Your drive to Bragg should be 40 minutes or less. If you want to try that, look at the area around Vass (close to US 1) and places north of there. Of the options, you are going to find better houses, better highway routes, faster access to the Raleigh-Durham airport and big city life and relatively more amenities in Sanford and northern Moore County.

HTH.

TR

[Roguish Lawyer]

Of the options, you are going to find . . . big city life . . . in Sanford and northern Moore County.


I guess everything is relative, isn't it? :D

[The Reaper]

I guess everything is relative, isn't it? :D

I believe that I said "access" counselor, not easy availability.

Glad to be living here, where I can own pretty much whatever I please, within a few minutes of hitting the store.

And as I predicted, the Stanley Cup winners reside in Raleigh as well.

TR

[Pete]

I believe that I said "access" counselor, not easy availability.

Glad to be living here, where I can own pretty much whatever I please, within a few minutes of hitting the store.

And as I predicted, the Stanley Cup winners reside in Raleigh as well.

TR

Ditto everything TR said. The big problem with Sanford is it's the choke point on 421/87. That place needs a by-pass real bad.

Other than that it's smooth sailing from Greensboro to Spring Lake, Home of the Super Wal-Mart.

Pete

[Roguish Lawyer]

I believe that I said "access" counselor, not easy availability.

Glad to be living here, where I can own pretty much whatever I please, within a few minutes of hitting the store.

And as I predicted, the Stanley Cup winners reside in Raleigh as well.

TR

Medic! ;)

[x SF med]

sorry RL - I don't treat self inflicted wounds

[CPTAUSRET]

sorry RL - I don't treat self inflicted wounds


:D
Now, that's funny!

[Mack]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the intel. I'd been tooling around on the 'net looking at the different towns, but without recon of the area, it doesn't do me any good. TR, I appreciate your response as it narrows down my search considerably. This will be my first move from house-to-house, so I'm a little apprehensive about it. Everything prior to this has been moving a couple bags, a box of dishes, and a tv.

Thanks again and take care.

Mack...

[Team Sergeant]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the intel. I'd been tooling around on the 'net looking at the different towns, but without recon of the area, it doesn't do me any good. TR, I appreciate your response as it narrows down my search considerably. This will be my first move from house-to-house, so I'm a little apprehensive about it. Everything prior to this has been moving a couple bags, a box of dishes, and a tv.

Thanks again and take care.

Mack...

I was single most of my career, but I know some married guys would send wife and kids off to mom's house until they finished the Q-course, got to a unit, bought a house then send for family.

If you are in the Q Course I don't think you'll have much time to help with anything at home.

TS

[NousDefionsDoc]

hi, i am looking at going through the SF pipeline and i know that the training is going to be crazy, but do you actually get to see your family at all during the training or was that all a line of bull from the recruiter? i appreciate any help you all can give me.
No.

[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

hi, i am looking at going through the SF pipeline and i know that the training is going to be crazy, but do you actually get to see your family at all during the training or was that all a line of bull from the recruiter? i appreciate any help you all can give me.

Lad, you are not only not going to see them a lot and even when you are with them they will see more of you than you will of them because you will be crashing to catch up on your sleep. The good news is that this will condition them for what lies ahead once you are on a team and not only will they not get a chance to see you but they won't often know where you are or what you are doing.

[x SF med]

What happened to the PCS for training, no family moves that was the standard in lthe past. It wasn't meant as a punishment, but as a way to focus the guys on the mission at hand - the "Q".

Guys- what you volunteered for is NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY, for training or for team time - you better let your significant others know that little fact, and you better realize it too.

[Firebeef]

What happened to the PCS for training, no family moves that was the standard in lthe past.

My G-2 is a little dated, but in the early 90s once you were selected, you went back to your home station and awaited PCS orders. I had to fight with some civilian back then, who "remembered and interperted" the reg like you do. I finally had to pull out the reg and show them it was not TDY(temporary duty) for Training and return, but that it was in fact a full PCS to Ft Bragg, even though the outcome was far from certain.

I would tell anyone who is about to undergo the Q course with a family in tow: Make sure that your wife is of the pioneer spirit. She better know how to navigate the post beauracracy, and be able to function completely on her own. This will be good training for what's to follow because Team life is even rougher on a family, and a clinging vine dependent will cause a load of problems.


I survived with a wife and 3 small kids. When I was in AIMC, when I would come home at night and pull out the leg key to practice, I had to let the kids play with it for 15-20 minutes (basically till they got tired of it) before I could get my licks in. My youngest ( now 18 and 5 inches taller than me) can still tell you what Z is in Morse code.... Don't ask me why but "Dah-dah-di-dit" really made em laugh. Thats what memories are made of.

It can be done, but don't sugar coat it, it's gonna be tough on the family.

[The Reaper]

The current SFQC layout has family time available during Phase III and Language School.

You willl not see your family (or your house) much, if any, during Phase IA, I, II, PLDC, BNCOC, SERE, or Robin Sage.

At the same time, if you think you are going to remain in the Bragg area after the Q Course or just want to have your family in the area for moral support, AD students should be able to PCS the families with you when you return for Phase II.

Note that the Army will not support two homes for you simultaneously, nor will they normally give you BAQ for your family and provide you with quarters on Bragg (to include barracks space).

The main reason to PCS the family is, IMHO, to remove the financial and emotional burden of trying to maintain two separate households simultaneously. Even if you are sharing an apartment with two or three classmates, the phones, water power, cable, internet access, cars, food, etc. quickly add up, and your better half may not be especially understanding when rumors of young ladies leaving your apartment during the wee hours arise, even if you know they were there visiting your single roommate.

Obviously, each situation is different, and is affected by wife, kids (if any), in-laws, financial situation, special needs, etc.

Good luck.

TR

[Firebeef]

I want to add: at least 50% of my class was married with kids. Our class bonded pretty early and we had some good "take charge" wives that knew how to run a family support group. We also had some great class parties that let everyone blow off steam, and let the wives get to know each other. Some of the friendships are still goin strong... at least in my case.

It ain't easy, but it can be done, as long as you prepare the family for what lies ahead.