How To Prepare

I asked myself if I was prepared for this deployment, if we were prepared, not only as a couple, but as a family with our 10 year old son. The answer is no. We are not prepared. I just moved here. He just moved out of the barracks. We spent a lot of time getting our home set up. We have barely anytime between his current trip out to sea and our deployment. He will be on duty two of those days (where he stays on the submarine instead of coming home), which leaves us little to no time to finish preparations, and in what little time we do have, sneak in a quick exchange of rings and vows, and viola ... Mr. and Mrs. Avakian!

Now, we have to hurry and get as much done as possible: get married, get my military ID, make a change in dependent status, change my name, go to the DMV and get a new license, go back to the courthouse for a new passport, make sure all of our legal documents are in order, make sure all of our finances are in order, and oh, yes, try to find quality time to spend together.

Furthermore, this will be my first deployment with my new spouse. I am new to this area with no family or friends to surround me. There are resources available via the Navy, but as many of my family and friends know, it takes years for me to let someone in my life, to trust them, to be able to cry in front of them. It's that type of support that I am truly going to miss during this time.


All of the above mentioned lead me to get busy and do my research on the internet. I landed at several places for advice, and basically, felt completely overwhelmed by it all. Staying focused, I was able to break things down into sections: Emotional Preparation, Financial and Legal Preparation, and Home Preparation.

For the blogs, I will be breaking things down into sections above, not only for those who are choosing to follow us, but for myself, as well. I would like to get as much preparation done before Chris gets home, so we have more time to spend as a couple before he has to leave again.

And so the preparations begin ...