Your First PCS
Alright, you matched into your dream specialty at the ideal location! Now, you gotta get there! I will walk you through the process in chronological order (your experience may vary).
A small disclaimer: your residency program/your future hospital's GME office should be your primary source of information on all matters such as this. I have heard of some facilities being less helpful than others, so I will attempt to offer you a bit of scaffolding to work from.
Before You Move
Match day
(Hopefully) Nailed it!
Book your hotel stay
One of the few things you can do before getting your orders.
Your program will likely give you information on what hotels are eligible for reimbursement, but you really can't go wrong with an IHG hotel on base.
These hotels are not only convenient, but they are super flexible - you can cancel/change your reservation at any time with no penalty!
The rules of reimbursement may vary, but the idea is you are reimbursed for hotel as long as you are actively looking for housing. So book about a month of hotel time to give yourself wiggle room.
Chat with your program
They will likely want to learn more about you!
They will also give you the opportunity to put in requests for vacation time and electives (as applicable).
Get your orders
Now the fun begins!
Be sure that your spouse/dependents are listed on your orders - this is important for travel booking, pay, and housing options.
Book your flight/travel arrangements
You should know the drill by now!
You will also book the flights for your dependents.
They do not need to be on the same flight as you.
They need to be listed on your orders for this to work out!
Contact your local moving office
Normally, you can use the DPS system to set up your move.
With this being your first move, you need to physically go to your local transportation office:
You only need to do this for your first move.
They will set you up with a local mover who will contact you to work through the move.
Most of your questions can be answered here:
Moving your Privately Owned Vehicle (POV)
I, personally, did not have a POV, but you can read about it at the following link:
Arrange for housing
You will have the choice of either receiving additional salary known as Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) or receiving on-post housing.
There are plenty of pros and cons either way - you can find plenty of stories on the horrors of on-post housing and plenty of others saying it's great!
I will be living on-post this year so I will update you all when I have more experience with it.
There is no need to rush into this before you arrive, as I explain below.
If you opt for living on-post, there is not much you need to do now. You may look into where the various housing offices are, but many do not take appointments. You simply fill out some information on their website and go into the housing office when you get there. They operate on a literal first-come-first-served basis. Because people in the military get moved with relative frequency and with little warning, the housing office likely has roughly a one-month picture of what housing units are available.
If you choose to live off-post, collect your money and go wild!
Have fun!
You probably have a month or two of free time before very suddenly having very little free time, so enjoy it while you can!
Arriving At Your Duty Station
Get off the plane and perform your oath
Depending on how your hospital does things, you will likely perform your oath of office in the USO of airport at which you arrive. This is done immediately to get your Captain (O-3) pay flowing as soon as possible.
Congrats, Dr Captain!
Break out your carpal tunnel braces because you are about to spend several hours a day for two-to-three days signing your name on things.
Here, you will have the opportunity to sign up for the Thrift-Savings-Plan (TSP) (your 401k) and to get your family Tricare, dental and vision coverage.
In-processing is a pain, but you do want to get paid I assume?
Look for housing
If you want to get on-post housing, or are even considering it, go to the housing office IMMEDIATELY. They operate on a first-come-first-served basis, so you want to get your name on their list as quickly as you can. If you end up finding housing elsewhere, you can always take your name off the list.
If you make it to the top of the list, you are free to reject the housing offer they give you, so no worries.
You are free to look for housing on Air Force, Navy or Marines housing facilities.
If you do so, you are kinda treated as a second class citizen as far as the housing office is concerned - priority goes to the branch that owns the housing office.
That said, I am living on Air Force housing, now, and I got a great house!
Alternatively, you can live anywhere you want!
Go apartment shopping or find a roommate and you get to keep the excess BAH!
You can buy a house and use the BAH for mortgage payments!
Do trainings, and online trainings, and online trainings, and online trainings ...
There's a lot of this ...
You do need your BLS and ACLS updated to last through your intern year.
If your previous cards are valid through the June at the end of your first year, you are set!
If not, then I hope you enjoy redundant videos!
Things To Consider
Aside from your Travel Voucher, with which you should be familiar by now, you will be given the opportunity to receive reimbursement for Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE) and Temporary Lodging Allowance (TLA).
TLE is a reimbursement for costs incurred just before your moved to your new station. For instance if your lease ended and you had to stay in a hotel for a couple of days before your report date.
TLA is reimbursement for hotel and food from after you report to your new duty station to when you find permanent housing.
There are a myriad of stipulations with this (as you'd expect):
The rate you receive for hotel and food varies by your number of dependents.
How long you receive TLA is based on:
When your lease/purchase starts.
If you move into your new residence, TLA stops.
When your goods arrive.
What kind of housing you find.
This one is a bit tricky. If you live off-Post or get Army housing, you can claim TLA until your goods arrive. If you go for other military housing, your TLA ends on your lease start date, regardless of where your household goods are.
You gotta keep looking for housing!
You can claim TLA for up to 60 days, however, you must provide proof that you are continuing to look for housing (or that your stuff hasn't arrived).
Dislocation Allowance (DLA)
DLA is an allowance given to off-set random costs incurred while uprooting your life to move to your new duty station.
The amount given varies based on number of dependents
You claim this on your Travel Voucher.
If you arrived separately from one or more of your dependents, you will not initially claim DLA, then you will fill out an additional travel voucher when they arrive, on which you will claim DLA.