If you're agreeing with me: you, my sweet reader, are horrifically incorrect.
I was in over my head.
The Army Hotel was a good start. I would encourage any military family to utilize those whenever going from base to base. Even visitors are allowed to stay in the hotel. It is just like a regular hotel, same amenities, but it's on base and it often has many free and useful features like laundry, breakfast, and computer use. The rates are excellent as well which is a huge bonus.
Finding housing was a big part of the "learning process." In the army, soldiers are issued a "Basic Allowance for Housing" that can be used to live on the army post or off. Living off post is usually cheaper, which means you can pocket the remainder of that money. So, in the spirit of saving money, my soldier and I set off to look at homes to rent off base. We drove through some sketchy neighborhoods, made a bunch of illegal U-Turns with a U-Haul, and finally found a decent home. We applied for it, and waited. The next day, we went to the Army's housing office to ask questions about his BAH (basic allowance for housing). They asked his address and when he told them of the place we had applied to live in, they ran a report on the home and the neighborhood. Turns out, our inexpensive home was in a "high crime neighborhood." We panicked. We had nowhere to live.
The Army came to our rescue.
On post housing at Fort Sill found us a home, showed it to us, and gave us the keys all before we went to bed that very evening. What we learned from this: go to the housing office or visit the "relocation guide" of the website before you change duty stations.
Additionally, at Fort Sill and many other Army posts, trumpets (or I've heard sometimes the national anthem) play each morning as the flag is raised and each evening as the flag is lowered. On Fort Sill, cars must come to a complete stop and everyone salutes or places their hand over their heart as this occurs.
Finally, finding a job with your spouse in the military is HARD. There are services on post to help you search, but the process is quite extensive. After only being at Fort Sill one week, I already had attended a 2 hour career course, met with a career advisor, filled out a career sheet and personality test, and made another appointment. And still, no leads on a job! The best thing I got out of this experience was the realization that I need to set goals WITH my soldier not just help him with his. By the time he makes captain, I'd like to be a writer full time. By the time his active duty status is up, I would like to have gone on a book tour. With the craziness of getting engaged and kicking off his new career I forgot about my own!
Don't you fear readers, I am sure I will have more army knowledge to come. If I've learned one thing so far it's that I don't know a damn thing about the United States Army. I will keep y'all posted.