Defence Force Families

[alioops]

Hi all

I swear there used to be a thread here for defence force families but i cant find it anywhere so I thought it is time to start one.

DH has been in the army reserve for 5 years but will be going full time army as of July. In the reserves he is an infantry soldier and when he goes full time he will be a metal smith as he is a qualified boilermaker. he has been told that we will be posted to Brisbane, Townsville or Darwin. He has put in his preferences for Brisbane but we wont find out until he has done most of his 65 day conversion course. So those who have put in preferences for specific locations, did you get that location? I would much rather Brisbane than townsville or Darwin but if we cant get Brisbane it is not such a big deal because we can transfer again later.

I would love it if we got an online group going, that way we we get postings to places like Brissy Townsville or Darwin we will know someone I know I am not the only defence mum on BB

[Marydean]

Hi Ali, yep we're a Defence family, DH is in the RAAF. With postings, we have had both extremes - not getting posted ANYWHERE for several years (despite being desperate to move back to family due to multiple terminal illnesses at home) and also being posted straight up to 1st preference straight off course. It really depends on where they need staff, sometimes it matches up & you're happy, sometimes it doesn't. But if you always look at moving like it's a little adventure and make the most of it, every posting can be good! You've just got to find out for yourself what the benefits of a particular place are.

Does your DH expect to deploy soon after he finishes his course? I would imagine they are after metal smithy sort of ppl in Afghanistan.

[alioops]

I was hoping you would reply MD

Yes we have been told to expect Afganistan, for up to 9 months. and TBH we could use the money from it! my car needs to be paid off as do the rest of our bills and DH needs a car too.

I am lucky that I have family all over the country and if I need to come home I can stay with some family for a while. Where are you posted now?

[Marydean]

We've been in Canberra for nearly 5 years and have been posted back home to Adel as of the end of this year (YAY)! Do whatever you need to to get through the deployments, mine deployed frequently but for shorter periods so we were out of the deployment support loop, which was quite hard. However, if we were looking at 9 months (count 10 as they never get home when they first think they will plus there's always extra trips before they leave) there's no way I'd tough it out by myself! That's just not fun!

[Green Tree Frog]

Ok I am not defence any more we are ex navy BHL has been out now for 12mths but thought I would reply because we got posted a lot and we went to Darwin 3 times....


Darwin it self isnt too bad I loved living on RAAF and Larakeyah bases as I find Darwin is split into the two types those who are in the defence and those who arent.... So I found it really hard to fit in when we lived in roseberry.... the only problem with Darwin is that it can be very drink orentaed( sp?) place so if you are not drinker or not very social like myself you can find it hard to fit in ( well I did anyway ) That and I get board after a year as I have see it all and been everywhere, But love Mindle beach market and fish and chips on the warf( sp?) in the wet and watch the storms roll in and I miss the huge storms...

As for Townsville cant help you as Navy doesnt go there we go to Carins which is lovely, and for some reason that I never did work out people from Cairns dont like Townsville and people from Townsville dont like Cairns....

Hope you dont mind a EX poping in

[Marydean]

Tali, the more the merrier if you ask me!

BTW Darwin is a good one to get these days cos you get TWO trips home every year and all the houses are airconned these days (unlike the bad old days when were there, no aircon and only 1 trip every 2 years ). We were on the RAAF base and it was excellent - right in the middle of everything but I reckon Larrakeyah would be better. Steer clear of DEB (old navy base in Berrimah) as it is a mossie infested swamp land! Aaah I'd love to be at the mindil beach markets sucking down a mango smoothie, a chicken satay and a bowl of laksa!

[alioops]

I think I will be fine, provided I can find some friends fast hence the creation of this thread

Looks like we will just miss each other if you come back at the end of the year! Oh well, maybe you will get posted to wherever we are before too long but only after all the family stuff is sorted.

Have you ever had a service residence? are they tiny? I have thrown out nearly half my house worth of stuff and have tonnes more to go. Think we will replace our bedding and crockery when we get there but there is only so much you can turf hey

Because of DH's reserve service he only has to wait 18 months for DefCredit, and wants to wait 18 months after he is approved to get it so we can get more. we think we will buy in Brissy so my Sis can rent it if they havent bought by then if we get posted elsewhere. so in 3 years we will be buying a house.

I am sure we are not the only defence families on BB. do you know of any others?

[Marydean]

I'm sure your thread will flush them all out Ali!

Yep living in a service residence right now. Probably the best we've ever had, I looked the lady in the eye and told her we didn't ask for this posting, we own our own home and there's only so far I'm prepared to go down in standard of living. It worked and they showed us some more houses. We've been with Defence for 18 years and we've lived in some shockers in that time, worst being a house on the RAAF base which was newly renovated haha but they didn't fix the roof so it just leaked torrentially every wet season. It took months every wet season to get them to fix it, and in the meantime everything just grew over with mould. Also the power would cut out for 3-4 hours on a regular basis, the substation we were on was owned by RAAF and it only did about 6 houses so they never bothered to fix it. But Darwin is such a friendly place and we were happy there.

Thinks to think about when you are choosing a SA include storage - not just wardrobes in bedrooms, but also storage for all the extra army cr@p they bring home. So look for things like extra shed/garage space, underhouse storage, etc. If you have good storage, the rest of the house is much more usable. Also when you move around a lot you get used to getting rid of stuff frequently, less junk to tow around.

[alioops]

We already have a pretty big pile of army cr@p! his pack plus webbing and all those bits and pieces. it is in a 128 litre rolling crate ATM and there are a few bits not where they belong.

our biggest problem is hoarding so this cleanout is massive. I think I will hire a skip for when the removalists come and just dump anything that we wont need as soon as we get up there. we can always replace it. we have gotten rid of some furniture and will get rid of more. My SIL will take our futon and whatever else we want new of. I hope The laundry is big enough for my washing machine! I have an 8 KG top loader and it is HUGE!!! we have trouble getting in doorways when we move but it is a godsend when I need to do some washing! 1 Load fills up a hills hoist!

[Green Tree Frog]

we have had some lovely Defence homes and some shockers!!!! the ones on the barracks are normally the crappy ones as they are owned by the defence so no standards but they are starting to change that.... like I said ( ie Darwin ) we had a really nice 4 bedroom house with big back yard aircon throu out but it was in a really unfriendly area but the houses when we had then on the base's might have been small ( they will store the stuff if it doesnt fit) but the people around you were all in the same boat ( DH's going away alot ) so they were always there to help you out if you asked, ( wish I had done that more oftern)...


There are many ways around DHA they arent very nice or helpful at the best of times, but once we had been offered a house that we just didnt like and were told that it was the only one in our class but I told them that if they didnt want baby vomit all over their house due to my son having reflux then they would give me a house without carpet ( we were in Cairns and the house was fully carpeted wtf) anyway they soon found us a house in the next class of houses we just had to pay the extra $10 in rent so always remember you can ask for an up grade we oftern told them our stuff just wont fit in the houses they were offering they always magically find a spare house... But its a bit different now as you find the houses on line before you move.. But if you have family in the area Tee it up with then to have a look at the house for you even if they just look in the windows...

[alioops]

Hi Tali!

How long have you been at your post? what part of the defence is your DP?

[Chocaholic]

We are a Defence family in Townsville, newly posted!! We arrived on the 21st December. Luckily Ian is from here originally and his dad still lives here.

DH has been in the RAAF for 22 years or so. Enlisted right out of high school. He is a Flight Sergeant SysTech. I'm currently a SAHM awaiting the arrival for bubs number 2.

We live in a DHA house and it is really nice but storage is a problem. Probably because Ian is a hoarder. He takes up double the wardrobe space I do for crying out loud and that doesn't even cover his t-shirts!

[Green Tree Frog]

Alioops you must have missed my 1st post I am ex navy wife of 12yrs my BHL got out last year and now works in the mines ( so yes he still goes away 2 weeks away 1 home )


Hope its ok that I drop in every now and then even if I am now on the outside

[Jodi]

Ali - I'm not defence, but just wanted to pop in and say that Townsville is FULL of defence people. So you definitely won't be alone there. I know that annat (who is a member here) is moving up to Townsville in August as her dh has been posted there.
And I agree with Tali, for some reason, Townsville people hate Cairns people and vice versa. Dunno what the deal is with that!

[mrsmac]

I am ex defence, DH was army. I loved Darwin, we lived at Durack (Fairway waters) which was full of defence housing and really lovely (this was 1999-2000) Some of the houses on the Navy base at Coonawarra were pretty shabby then but they may have got better.
SIL is in Cairns with navy and has a gorgeous house.
bbl whinging toddler

[alioops]

Thanks for replying girls! I have never been to either QLD or NT so it will be completely new for me. I can be a bit shy when I know absolutely no-one so I dont know how I will go with meeting new people. Does everyone come and say hi when they see a new family move in or is it more of a oh new neighbours again type of thing? I would be more comfortable with the neighbours coming to welcome us than having to introduce myself!

Ex Defence most welcome! you have the knowledge I am soon to learn about the DHA

[Chocaholic]

Depends on the housing situation. In Townsville, there is a shortage of houses at the moment but it is being fixed from what I understand. We are living in a house one below our entitlement and I think it is a great house. Definitely a step-up on the average home (well, to me anyway! maybe I just have low expectations being a RAAF brat when housing was really bad. Dad was a RAAFie for 22 years).

As for the welcome to the neighbourhood, I don't know about those living on base as I never have but if you end up in the suburbs, then it seems to be dependant on the attitude of the neighbours. Some introduce themselves and some don't. Luck of the draw unfortunately.

[mrsmac]

I have never lived on a base but have heard it can be a bit clichey and some women live by their DH's rank which is so stupid! When we were in Darwin my DH was a private and one of my closest friends DH was the brigadier!! DH's boss actually told him to tell his wife (me) to stop talking to the brigs wife. For my friend and I who were both teachers we were women who had a lot in common and were friends and what our husbands did was immaterial.