Hi there! My husband and I just found out that we are moving to Kaneohe Bay really soon and I am so lost! We have been here on Pendleton since 2007 and I have no clue what to expect. Any tips, suggestions, or insight on what it's like there? Also, has anyone lived in the Nani Ulupau housing? We have a 3year old son and a ShihTzu who will be moving with us :) 

You need to start getting your dog prepped for Hawaii. Look up transporting animals to Hawaii. It's a huge expense. 

We lived in the Nani Ulupau housing, but that was in 2003-2005. It was new then. We had great ocean views (They have since replaced the old single level officer housing by the beach, so I don't know how great the views are now.) It was just a few yards to walk to the beach. Nani Ulupau has carports and tile floors throughout. And, the best closet I've ever had was in that house. My husband had a separate large wall closet in the bedroom, and I had a full walk-in closet near the bathroom. We had a small backyard with a privacy fence. I think the square footage was just under 1500 sq. ft.. The kitchen was fairly small, but we had a good amount of storage space. We were in a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath unit. 

From what I understand we only qualify for a 2 bdrm :/ How much of an expense is a huge expense? He is up to date on all of his shots, including rabies. 

You have to go through a quarantine time period. If you look it up the website can explain. But it will be a lot cheaper if you are able to qualify for the airport direct release. 

I just looked it all up and unfortunately we won't be able to qualify for the direct release or the 5 day quarantine. My pup is up to date on his rabies but is due for his next shot soon and we won't have time for the 120 day waiting period on the lab work :/ We found out we were going this past Friday and we are due to check in June 15th (less than 90 days away!)! According to the site though the military will reimburse most of the quarantine costs so it should all work out :) Thanks for the heads up! 

That wont always happen. 9 times out of 10 the military won't remburse. Just so you know. In the 3 yrs I was there I only heard of 5 families actually getting reimbursed and that was only cause they had seeing eye dogs. You can always try though. I heard if you had a GREAT command they would sometimes push for it. Good luck 

I heard that Camp Pendleton is better and your best friend will miss you if you leave so you should stay here.... :) 

I heard that Camp Pendleton is better and your best friend will miss you if you leave so you should stay here.... :)



LMAO thats funny!! Apparently you shouldnt go :) 

LOL! I wish we could! 

What unit are you with?..we just got here and I think we are going too. 

The quarantine can cost thousands... And yeah they may not reimburse you. Not to mention it really can destroy your dogs temperament to be in a kennel all day for.months. you won't get the same pet back. I don't care how nice the facility is that you would board at, but all boarding kennels have to keep your pet locked up in a kennel for most of the day and all night with little interaction. I work in the industry and it sucks. 

The work doesn't suck, but seeing peoples pets boarded for months for the quarantine sucks. Sometimes there is no way around it tho. 

Right now, hubs is with 1st Marine Regiment, and I think he said he will be with 1/12 but I couldn't swear to it.

As for the quarantine... We are going to take care of everything we can here, then, my mom is going to watch him for the last 15-30 days and fly out there with him. He will qualify for either direct release from the airport or the 5 day quarantine. I've been looking into it all and there is no reason he would have to stay longer, especially since all of his testing will already be done :) Again though, thank you all for the heads up. He is a part of our family, our furry son lol, and there is no way I would go anywhere without him. He just turned 2 in January and he is such a sweet little guy!!! 

Ha! My husband is going to 1/12, also.

We are hoping to do the same with the dog quarantine, too. Start everything here and my parents will keep her until we get base housing. Fingers crossed it works out. I'm super excited for the move! :) 

@IrishTwinsx2plus1--

I just called Hawaii yesterday because of something our vet told us and I just wanted to warn you that not all of the information is online!!! We have had our pup on Sentinel for heartworms, fleas, ticks, etc and it works great! We chose this because every one I know says that frontline is painful to their pup and that just was not okay with me... well... come to find out Hawaii REQUIRES that all dogs are administered and kept on frontline. They have to be on it before they are 'allowed' on the island. It is absurd and the lady I spoke with was quite rude! I'm crossing my fingers that this works out for all of us!!!! :) 

And I just have to add that I think it is crazy our husbands are going to the same unit!!! When are you guys supposed to check in? We STILL don't have our orders because of a lazy chain of command, but he is supposed to pick them up tomorrow and we have been told that he has to check in on June 15th! 

We're going to Hawaii also! August 1st:) I have two small dogs that I need to get ready to go. I am so freaking out about it. One of my dogs I know for sure would not be okay in quarantine for very long at all and my other is only a 10 month old puppy and is very energetic so being stuck in a kennel will be very hard for him also. What's the best site for information on what to do with the pets? 

The best site I've found is http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info but be careful because they don't have all info on the site!! If you have a question that you can't find the answer to definitely call them! My vet has told me a few things that weren't on the site (like them having to be on frontline) and when I called, the lady that answered confirmed that it was true! The quarantine is pricey and crazy! We FINALLY got our orders today and we are due to be out of here around May 15th!!! I would love to talk to you ladies who are heading out there so maybe we can be friends and have friends when we get there :) Add me on fb and just let me know your heading there so I know it's not spam :) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000732981792 

MC WILL NOT reimburse quarantine cost, as pets are not classified as dependents. Also, they do not cover airline tickets for pets, so start saving for that as well. Also look into flight and pet regulations, they will not fly certain breed into the island during certain times of the year because of the heat. 

SCREW HAWAII! Hoping my hubby can get his orders changed!!! 

Frontline?! That's not listed anywhere and not a product we currently use. My husband just finally got orders and he has to check in NLT than Sept 15th, so I am not sure when we will be heading over there. Trying not to stress about housing. We will need at least 4 bedrooms due to family size and I doubt we will find that off-base for close to BAH, so I am hoping after staying in TLF for 60 days, something will magically open up on base.

I am calling the base vet on Monday. What is the cost for all of the tests/bloodwork, do you know? I just don't want a huge shock. lol 

Yep! That's exactly what I said! But when I called Hawaii's department of agriculture they confirmed it! We have our pup on Sentinel and it works great! I have heard nothing but bad about frontline and I am ticked we have to put him on it! We go out in town to get him seen so I am not sure what the cost is on base, but our vet charges $40 for heartworm & fecal test, $35 for microchip, $39 for the exam, $25 for the health certificate, $120 for the blood draw & centrifuge, and we have to pay to fedex the blood to the lab. We are due for a few vaccines in May as well and overall cost not including the fedex or frontline is just over $300. I don't know what they require in Hawaii as pre payments but I saw something about that on their site too :/ We found a small loophole to get our pup over there safely too. He is a brachycephalic Shih Tzu and it isn't safe for him to ride in the belly of a plane so we called and found out we can take a space a flight with him because we are in fact pcs-ing. This process seriously sucks! Hopefully the experience will be worth it in the end! :) 

Can I ask, please don't laugh, but is there a moving class or something? I have NO idea what my first step is here. lol I've been married to my husband 17 years and this is our very first PCS, it seems like there is SO much to do. I've been looking at the DMO website, but I don't understand, am I supposed to set everything up online? I don't have to speak to anyone to get this done? Seems very un-Marine Corps-like lol. 

Also, my husband got an email from his new SgtMaj at 1/12 and has been assigned a sponsor, so I am hoping we hear from that person soon - I know you guys are going sooner, so have you been in contact with a sponsor? What is the purpose of that person exactly? I'd love to give you my email or cell # so we can stay in contact through this moving process :) 

Irish, they are supposed to send you a 'welcome aboard' package. It should have lists of resources in the area and just general helpful stuff. They also are supposed to help you arrange things like schools and doctors. Your sponsor is like your POC for any questions you cant find the answer to- just a little helper until you get adjusted to everything. 

sheBERRY - Thank you! :) I've been pestering my two friends who are there currently with questions and I feel awful bugging them, I can't imagine asking a stranger the same stuff. LOL 

I have heard that there is a TMO class but I don't know for sure.. This is our first pcs as well and no, we haven't heard from a sponsor or anything yet, we have been doing everything ourselves. I feel totally overwhelmed with how little time we have to get everything figured out! I would love to keep in contact through all of this! I can't wait until it is all figured out and set up! my email addy is smoore35989@yahoo.com :) I can send you my cell # from there :) 

Keep all of your receipts regarding the preparation and transportation of your pets. We had every dime returned to us. The Marine Corps does not reimburse for pets specifically, but they recatagorize the expense as "other expenses". If you do not get it returned under other expenses you can also write it off on your taxes and you'll recoup the money there. My husband was with 1/12 a few years ago, and my best friend's partner (they're over 35...I coudn't bring myself to say "boyfriend" lol) is the 1st Sgt for Charlie Btry. 1/12 has an incredibly strong family readiness team. The FRO, Chris Scott is a former MSgt for the unit and he's wonderful!!! This unit is very cohesive and does tons of stuff together. There is a class to TMO I highly recommend that you take it, you can find it at MCCS relocation. The Relo person at MCBH is Marie De Jesus, she's wonderful and knows everything! lol If you have any questions I'd be happy to help. Aloha! you're both going to have a great time in Hawaii 

Thank you so much GunzWife! I didn't even think about keeping the receipts from the vet and claiming it! Do you now if it will still work if I need to get some of his vaccines done at the same time? Just in the preworkup he needs it's going to cost us $400 plus the prepayments they require plus quarantine! We're looking at close to a grand to get him over there with us, but he is part of the family and we can't just give him up! It will sure be nice to have a good FRO! Our current one doesn't call or email anyone back about anything and then tried to say she did! I will have my hubby look into the next TMO classes coming up and I will post when they are for, IrishTwinsx2plus1 :) Thank you again!