Anyone know where online you make reservations to use it if you are going overseas on PCS orders???? OR, do you have to go through the travel office? If so, how does that work if your spouse is deployed and you are doing it all yourself with no help and no longer in the city that your spouse was last stationed????
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Freedom Bird?
- Thread starter CodWife
- Start date
From my understanding, the Freedom birds charters/contracts were expiring and not being renewed. Or at the very least they were decreasing the number of flights. For PCS orders, you will not be making those reservations. You will fill out our commands transfer package, which will include your requested travel arrangements in conjunction with what leave/travel dates you are requesting. Overseas screening, SOFA requirements, passports (no-fee), etc, are all prerequisites prior to PSD/PSA forwarding your travel request to the CTO (commercial travel office). If there are seats available on a freedom bird, they will more than likely comair you to the origin, for example LAX, and you will bag drag and cross over to the freedom bird flight to your overseas duty station. Otherwise, you will be scheduled on a comair flight to the nearest airport to you eventual duty station.
Many ppl that have big dogs or cats prefer the freedom bird for travel. As they have a limited number of slots available to transport these pets. I somehow lucked out, and neither my family nor I had to travel on the freedom bird, and we went COMAIR.
Bottom line: your command should be providing support, or contacts with the PSD to facilitate this transfer package. Even if your husband is deployed, he needs to get ontop of this, and not dumping it on you.
Many ppl that have big dogs or cats prefer the freedom bird for travel. As they have a limited number of slots available to transport these pets. I somehow lucked out, and neither my family nor I had to travel on the freedom bird, and we went COMAIR.
Bottom line: your command should be providing support, or contacts with the PSD to facilitate this transfer package. Even if your husband is deployed, he needs to get ontop of this, and not dumping it on you.
Oh, no he isn't dumping, I was just trying to find out because we just finished o/s screening today and no one has told us what is next.....
I was looking online for a timeline and can't find anything. I may just write something up after we are done with our move to help others in the same boat!
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
I would strongly advise you to try to get comair travel arrangements to Japan vice the freedom bird. Your sponsor should be in contact with you shortly, but in the meantime, you might ask about circuitious travel. That's where you get your own tickets, and they pay you back whatever the freedom bird would have cost the government. The freedom bird is going out of business because people never use it to it's capacity. People don't use it because it sucks. Think of it as a transoceanic greyhound bus. That kind of "suck".
LOL! AKA A big pain in the heiney! (As my 4 yr old told me when he had to get 6 shots yesterday. LOL! From the mouths of babes to Gods ears.)
I've only flown it from Europe, but the freedom bird does offer a few distinct advantages over comair. Making your way through Fiumicino in Rome with luggage, kids, pets, etc en route to a f'd up Alitalia connecting flight will make you love the rotator. The only caveat with pets is that they have limited slots, so if you don't book early you may be out of luck. Your friendly local CTO should be able to set it all up for you.
Like I said though, not sure if the same holds true going across the Pacific. I've always done that trip commercially and without the fam.
Holy redundancy...guess that all of this was already said above.
Like I said though, not sure if the same holds true going across the Pacific. I've always done that trip commercially and without the fam.
Holy redundancy...guess that all of this was already said above.
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
Yeah, that is my fear......Being on a "bus" with 2 kiddos.
Your two kiddos will be only part of the problem. The plane will be filled with twenty times that many of other peoples kiddos. You will probably find that they are less enjoyable to be around than your own. Screaming, crying, and undisciplined behavior is the norm.
Picture this: load up the entire group that came to your last all hands command party/bar-b-q/mandatory fun picnic all in one plane. The attire will be about the same, too. The only difference is that everybody won't know one another.
I was REALLY glad to be off of that plane.
I dunno, I don't recall seeing that many people in Fubu gear and pajama bottoms at my last command fuction.
Things must have changed a lot. When we were in Japan the freedom bird was a chartered 747, and all but once we managed to sit in business class. Not that we got business class service, but the seating was very nice. We flew back and forth on the it from Yokota to LAX 6-8 times.
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
I dunno, I don't recall seeing that many people in Fubu gear and pajama bottoms at my last command fuction.
Exactly. Mainly it was flip flop shower shoes, wife beater shirts, and "I got shitfaced at spring break" hats.
That's fine for the county fair or a NASCAR race, but not official travel, IMHO.
I am afraid that my kids will be the ones running up and down with me following behind with a paddle and belt. LOL! Although, I probably really won't because then I might get called in CPS. LOL!
I just don't fly well at all so I am more nervous about handling them for 12 hours and then trying not to freak myself out. I have never gotten over my fear of flying and watching Cast Away didn't help!
I just don't fly well at all so I am more nervous about handling them for 12 hours and then trying not to freak myself out. I have never gotten over my fear of flying and watching Cast Away didn't help!
Interesting how the clothes described on the plane are against USFJ General Orders...
Codwife -- I think that I saw in an earlier post that you were in Norfolk -- I just finished everything and will be on my way shortly. This is what I did --
1) Get your Family Entry Approval started. MAKE SURE THAT PSD SENDS IT TO THE CORRECT PLACE. If you are going to Atsugi -- it should go to CSD Atsugi, NOT YOKUSKA.
2) You will need No Fee Passports, even if you have current Blue Passports. If you have kids, you will need No Fee Passports for your kids. You will need to get pictures at any drugstore. Get a No Fee Passport application permission slip from PSD and then go to the Travel Office (across from AIRLANT by gate 3). The Passport Office will tell you what forms they need. Fill out the forms exactly as they say, because the two people that do nothing in that office are not going to help you if you screw up.
3) Once you have Family Entry Approval and passports, you will get a Portcall message and then, you can go book reservations. As for passports -- it doesn't matter if you have No Fee or Blue passports -- you can get in the country either way, but the idiots @ Foggy Bottom say all family members need No Fee passports. The SATO travel agents are in the same building as the Passport folks. They will book hotels for you if you need to stay overnight.
4) I don't think that taking Commair or making your own reservations will be an option...I got some harrassment over why I needed tickets from OHare and not Norfolk.
If you have any other questions, drop me a PM. This process is incredibly paperwork intensive and is guaranteed to get fvcked up along the way. I just can't decide who is worse -- the GS civillians or the folks in PSD on the ROAD program (aka Retired on Active Duty). On second thought, I have decided -- it is the GS civillians, because they act retired and were probably a lazy PSD person before they became a GS.
Codwife -- I think that I saw in an earlier post that you were in Norfolk -- I just finished everything and will be on my way shortly. This is what I did --
1) Get your Family Entry Approval started. MAKE SURE THAT PSD SENDS IT TO THE CORRECT PLACE. If you are going to Atsugi -- it should go to CSD Atsugi, NOT YOKUSKA.
2) You will need No Fee Passports, even if you have current Blue Passports. If you have kids, you will need No Fee Passports for your kids. You will need to get pictures at any drugstore. Get a No Fee Passport application permission slip from PSD and then go to the Travel Office (across from AIRLANT by gate 3). The Passport Office will tell you what forms they need. Fill out the forms exactly as they say, because the two people that do nothing in that office are not going to help you if you screw up.
3) Once you have Family Entry Approval and passports, you will get a Portcall message and then, you can go book reservations. As for passports -- it doesn't matter if you have No Fee or Blue passports -- you can get in the country either way, but the idiots @ Foggy Bottom say all family members need No Fee passports. The SATO travel agents are in the same building as the Passport folks. They will book hotels for you if you need to stay overnight.
4) I don't think that taking Commair or making your own reservations will be an option...I got some harrassment over why I needed tickets from OHare and not Norfolk.
If you have any other questions, drop me a PM. This process is incredibly paperwork intensive and is guaranteed to get fvcked up along the way. I just can't decide who is worse -- the GS civillians or the folks in PSD on the ROAD program (aka Retired on Active Duty). On second thought, I have decided -- it is the GS civillians, because they act retired and were probably a lazy PSD person before they became a GS.
helo_wifey
Well-Known Member
If you haven't heard from your sponsor at this point you need to push the issue with the squadron you'll be with. Those people most likely were in your same boat not too long ago (at least our squadron tries to pair you up with people who had been in Japan 5-12 months) and will be able to help. We shipped boxes to ours so my husband would have flight gear, etc when he arrived.
Don't do the Patriot Express, which is what it's called now.You would fly from Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) to Yokota. The Navy will pay for you to fly commercial, so take advantage of it and earn some FF miles.
Don't do the Patriot Express, which is what it's called now.You would fly from Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) to Yokota. The Navy will pay for you to fly commercial, so take advantage of it and earn some FF miles.