Your wife and household goods cannot be shipped to Pensacola until after OCS. This is because the Navy will not pay for it since you are only on Temp Duty orders. Since you are a SNFO, once you graduate OCS you will receive PCS orders to API in Pensacola. At that point you are authorized dependent travel to Pensacola as well as shipping of HHG to P'cola. (at least that is when the Navy will pay to have your stuff shipped, your wife can go down to P'cola at any time, just the navy won't pay for it). What I suggest is to have your wife stay with your HHG where ever they are now. Once you are in the last few weeks of OCS you are in the candidate officer phase and are in more of an admin role and have alot more free time (depending on your class rank/ therefore your job at OCS) Have your wife come down there then so you can both look in the local area for houses/apartments to rent. That way you will have a place lined up when you graduate. Once you get the orders to API, then ship all your HHG to the new place you found to live. As an SNFO you will be getting PCS orders because you will be doing API and Primary there in P'cola and possibly Intermediate/Advanced as well depending on where you go in the pipeline. As for where to live while HHG are in route, you can stay in the Navy Lodge or any other hotel or if you have rented a place...stay there ( I usually did that since we had pets and most Navy Lodges do not take pets) you can claim any hotels on your travel claim as Temporary Lodging Expenses (TLE). I know a lot of people who rented both houses and apartments in the Perdido Key area, which is just out the back gate of P'cola. Very nice area and close to Perdido Key beaches!! Not real expensive either. I would aviod downtown or the front gate of P'cola.
As for the pipeline.. After OCS you will start API ( your start date will depend on how many people are waiting and how many seats per class are available, in the mean time you may be 'stashed' somewhere to work until your class up date. This may be a few weeks to a few months. If you are not stashed you will muster with the A pool student control every day) API will last like 13 weeks (with both SNFOs and SNAs) and then you will be transferred to Primary (SNFOs only). Primary is either at VT-10 or VT-4 both at Sherman Field in P'cola. At P-grad you will select pipeline either Panel Nav (ie P-3, EP-3 or E-6) or jets (F-18, F-14 or E-2C, S-3). Panel Navs will then transfer to Randolph AFB in San Antonio, TX for the rest of training and jets will stay in P'cola for Intermediate. At I-grad you will select either E-2C or all others. E-2Cs will go to Virginia to finish Advanced and all others will stay in P'cola Advanced at VT-86. Once in the particular pipeline you will all wing at apprpoximately the same time, then you go to the fleet replacement squadron, and on to the fleet.
To give you an Idea:
I graduated OCS on Jan 25, 2002 moved my wife and HHG to P'cola, FL
I started API in March, 2002
I started Primary in June, 2002 P-grad in Sept, 2002 transferred to San Antonio, TX
I started Int/Adv in SA, TX in Sept, 2002 winged May 30, 2003
I started the FRS VP-30 JAX, FL in Aug, 2003, will graduate in March, 2004.
I hope this gives you an idea of how the pipeline works. If you have any other specific questions feel free to PM me or send me an email. Good luck at OCS!
Shane
