Making decisions about orders without good information feels a lot like diving out of a plane--without being quite sure of your parachute. Our advice columnist Ms. Vicki fielded a question from a reader whose service member who is looking to move overseas after his reenlistment. MJ is having trouble figuring out how to get info because her husband’s first sergeant nixed asking around on Facebook. She wrote:
He has always wanted to live in Europe and is considering Camp Vilsack, Germany; East Camp, Germany; and Camp Ederle, Italy. I am trying to find information about these three places concerning continuing my education, housing, and distance from urban areas. I also want to know about transitional housing during the time we arrive and finding an apartment, pet policies, jobs and cost of living, as well as public transportation, since the Army will ship only one vehicle.
MJ had the same problem a lot of us have when trying to figure out military possibilities: you have to get exactly the right name, nickname and spelling before you can do real research. I have made this mistake myself. So "Camp Vilsack" is actually Camp Vilsek in Grafenwoehr, Germany. "East Camp" should also be researched as Grafenwoehr. Camp Ederle is really Vicenza (where I would like to go, too, please.).
The rest of her questions are exactly the things that I wanted to know before moving overseas. While I could get a pretty good start in the continental US with Military.com's Base Guide and I could figure things out by Googling official base websites and Facebook pages, it was particularly hard to get accurate, current info from real people. Ms. Vicki knew just what official sources MJ should consult. I was wondering what kind of inside scoop you would offer MJ about Camp Vilsek, Grafenwhoehr in general, and Camp Ederle in Vicenza. Is any one of them considered better than another? Does any one of them offer a better opportunity for education? What do you know that official sources can’t begin to describe?
