Marriage Before or After OCS?
Hi all,
I posted this in Spouses Corner section, but it doesn't look like there's been too much activity over there, figure I'll get mroe views here...
I just pro-rec'ed yesterday for SNA, finally ready to start getting things underway. I know it's still a ways off for OCS and beyond that, flight school, but in other news I recently got engaged (it's been a big month for me haha). My question is regarding when to get married...already did a ton of searching on the site, but still have a question or two.
My fiance and I have been living together for a good while now, she comes from a military family (her father is currently an active duty Marine helo pilot) so she knows what military life entails and already has a support system to help her through deployments, etc. We've discussed marriage quite a bit and are dead serious and ready for it, and we are trying to figure out when to get married.
Assuming (always a gamble trying to figure out the Navy's timeline, I know) I class up in the fall, commission by end of year, we are thinking wait until Christmas holiday of next year to have a big wedding. This way I'll likely be done with API and Primary, and may be getting ready for Advanced or already in it. Over that holiday break, I've heard training typically suspends on federal holidays so it will be easier to set a date then. Of course, all is still subject to the needs of the Navy.
My real question is, if we're this serious and confident, would it be advisable to get married legally so she can start takign advantage of my benefits and we can earn BAH and separation while I'm in OCS? We were planning on legally marrying when I enter flight school anyway, so all things being equal, why not do it earlier? She is currently covered under her father's policy, has no job (going to grad school online so she can stay covered under her father's plan, and she's not tied to any particular location...also makes moving around with me easier once we're married and I'm in flight school). If we're married and I'm earning BAH and Separation pay while in OCS as an E5 with a dependant, she would live at home at her parents place while attending school online...basically we'd pocket the cash over the course of 2 1/2 months...possibly more if we decide to continue the arrangement when I go to API, since I won't really have much time for her then anyway. She understands all this and it makes sense on paper (she'd be one of the few spouses who "gets it" when it comes to Navy scheduling and training pipelines, etc). And again, we're talking some serious cash amounts...could go towards funding that big wedding or even just giving us some cushion.
At this point, I'm looking for reasons "why not" to do this. Again, this decision assumes she is compatible with military life and is good with everything from the outset, but would there be any drawbacks to marrying legally before OCS as opposed to directly after? I'm thinking process-wise, legal hurdles, administrative difficulties in getting a security clearance, etc. To that note, would it be advisable to legally marry after getting my final select, after my clearance goes through, etc? Any advice would be great, thanks in advance
Looking forward to serving,
~C