My husband is in his second year in the Navy and just got stationed in Yokosuka. I am still very new to this so I have a million questions. He is only E3, so from what I have been told, I am ineligible for sponsorship until he advances to E4. Is there any way that I can go there on my own until I get sponsored? Where do I start? We are in our first year of marriage and I cannot imagine spending the next 2 years without him. I had planned on moving once he left, but didn't anticipate these complications (but i guess its the nature of the beast!). Any and all advice would be fantastic... please help!!! -newbie navy wife lisa 

This question has come up in the past:

Housing & sponsorship
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/aft/2434.aspx

Dependent PCS E-3 and Below
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/aft/1094.aspx

Command Sponsorship and Requirements...
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/aft/1121.aspx

Command sponsorship
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/aft/6538.aspx

I found these by just using the search at the top, and typing in, "Command Sponsorship E-3" The search is very good at finding any keywords that your looking for and it will find it within the entire site.

You can come out here and visit but if you dont have command sponsorship you wont be able to stay. Youd be able to stay only 30 days then youd have to leave the country. It sucks but if you need to talk im here.

thank you kayla, we just got married in january so i am new to the navy community! thank you Adam for all of those links, i sure hope i find some good info!!!

Youd be able to stay only 30 days then youd have to leave the country.

I think you meant to say 90 days. You can come here on a tourist passport for up to 90 days, then you would have to fly to Guam which is the nearest US territory, and then re-enter into Japan if you wanted to play the game that way. You could do this continually, but one thing your forgetting is WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE?

He is a E-3, so he is more than likely on a ship, and if he is on shore duty, and living in the barracks, your not authorized to live there with him. Which leaves you with living out in town, which is a little expensive if your not receiving additional housing benefits.

I would read over the links above. Some of the women on those threads have gone through exactly what your going through. Good luck

I don't know about the specifics (E3-E4) rules, with every rule there are waivers though. If that doesn't work out and it's true it would be extremely expensive to come over without sponsorship I'm sure there are a few people here that have done that and they will chime in.

Housing wouldn't be provided here for him to include a family that alone would cost up to 5 times more than what you would pay in the states. If you were to seek employment that could be a huge hurdle too. You may be required to depart after every 90 days with a tourist Visa too. I think you would be better off flying over to visit him every 3-6 months, you could possibly swing fights on Space A for free.

My husband has a friend who has a 3 bedroom apartment off base. He would like someone to stay and look after his place while they go underway, so as of right now,that is our most promising prospect. Once he makes E4 and we get a command sponsorship, am I eligible to finish school and work on base??? My education is #2 to my marriage, so its very important that I can go to school.

Yokota, what kind of waivers are available for E3-E4 rules??? Are there specific waivers we should try to look into??? Thanks for all of the great advice! It seems like every person my husband talks to has a different answer, everything I have been reading seems to be consistent, which is very encouraging!

The results of the test will be posted around the end of may but even though there's no assurance that your application for command sponsorship when he make it will be approved. He can try to get you a command sponsorship now. Yokota is right but he gotta go the extra mile and its hard to get an approval. My husband tried with his ex wife when he was still an e3. It got approved though she decided to not come and get a divorce. But you can. Your husband just have to be persistent and deal with a lot of paper work. Because even if you got a place to stay as they said you'll have to leave every 90 days and the ticket is not cheap. You cant get a job too nor go to school either.

As a general rule in the military commanders are authorized to waive just about any rule if they choose to do so when presented with the proper justification.  Because you were married very young and at a junior rank wouldn't be adequate justication, however if you were enrolled in college and you could continue your education at that new location seamlessly and the PCS would cause such a financial strain that you couldn't remain in college where you are now that may persuade his command to consider early sponsorship.

The first step is to determine what your justification is and to be honest it's most likely a huge uphill battle because financially in your scenario it would make more financial sense to remain stateside and your reasoning appears to be based on separation fears not financial difficulty.

It doesn't cost anything other than time for him to pursue it though.  He just needs to seek approval through his chain of command, which would most likely have to be sent to his gaining command for approval.  At the end of the day all they can say is no.

If you are enrolled in college program now it seems to me you would be far better off remaining at that institution and using that time to focus on schooling.  Many people have managed to keep relationships together while enduring the sacrifices asked of them by the military on the other hand just as many have ended because of those sacrifices too.

Unless by chance you happened to be enrolled in the University of Maryland and only have a few general classes left to complete in a foreign language you may find that your wiser choice would be to remain where you are and complete your program and visit Japan during the school breaks and summer.  You may qualify for free Space A flights on AMC too.

Thanks for that. My concern of being apart is because our marriage is so new. We have been together for 10 years, so we have a solid foundation, I'm just tired of being away from him and would prefer to finally live together again. He joined the navy at age 24, he is now 26 and has done very very well . I understand that most E3's are younger and commonly less responsible, I only wish he had joined earlier. I am currently taking sign language classes to obtain a certificate as an interpreter. To expand my knowledge by learning Japanese would be my ideal next move as far as education goes. So, given my education plan, I really hope I can continue to learn if I het sponsored with little to no disruption to my schedule. I would rather go through the trouble and the paperwork instead of not trying at all. Like you said, the worst they can do is say no, in that case, I guess I will just have to visit between semesters!

In his waiver request, he should talk about his age & relative maturity. Possibly previous experience living responsibly on his own. The command is most concerned about that 19/20 year old, away from mom & dad the first time, going out & doing something stupid on Friday night. Your husband doesn't really fit that mold.

Thank you thank you thain guy, all of this info is encouraging, I actually have a glimmer of hope now!

I would "assume" the big concern is will he be able to support both of you at his current pay scale.  No commander wants their soldiers to be set up for a financial disaster I would recommend that you guys make a budget and and figure out a financial plan that would require disclosing some personal information a little but I believe you are asking the command to make an exception so you need to provide them with the facts as to why you should get it and no one else at that rank.  Age may play a little part but if your budget doesn't balance the commander would be a fool to approve it.  So you need to provide them with the tools to make a favorable decision.

There is some truth to what Thaiguy said, statistically the lower ranks E4 and below have the most DUI's, accidents, deaths, alcohol related issues, crimes etc.  One reason is there is so many of them but mostly it's related to maturity.  All of the weekend safety briefings are geared towards that group.

Posted By yokota on 04-28-2012 9:23 PM
I would "assume" the big concern is will he be able to support both of you at his current pay scale.  No commander wants their soldiers to be set up for a financial disaster I would recommend that you guys make a budget and and figure out a financial plan that would require disclosing some personal information a little but I believe you are asking the command to make an exception so you need to provide them with the facts as to why you should get it and no one else at that rank.  Age may play a little part but if your budget doesn't balance the commander would be a fool to approve it.  So you need to provide them with the tools to make a favorable decision.

There is some truth to what Thaiguy said, statistically the lower ranks E4 and below have the most DUI's, accidents, deaths, alcohol related issues, crimes etc.  One reason is there is so many of them but mostly it's related to maturity.  All of the weekend safety briefings are geared towards that group.

this is also very true. Japan is a very expensive place to live especially with the yen-dollar rate right now. with your husbands rank atm it'll be hard. so maybe you should visit him every now and then using space a travel until hes career is all settled.

Lisa Lisa, I too spent the first year and a half not living with my husband. I was stationed in Hawaii, pregnant, and he was in San Diego. It was rough, but now I know that a six month deployment is nothing. Hang in there. You have to focus on the big picture and handle it one day at a time. With my 8 years being involved with the Navy, I have learned that nothing ever goes the way you planned. Rules aren't always followed to the T, unless it pertains to you. And you are a stronger person then you thought you were. You'll look back on this in a few years and shake your head and wonder how you ever made it.

The rule about E3 and below is mainly there because of financial concerns, not age. It’s highly unlikely it will be waived. I wont' say impossible but in the years we've lived here I've yet to see any approved.

To be honest, us living apart is more of a financial burden right now. I live in Southern California, it is very expensive here. We aren't receiving California BAH because he was previously stationed in Florida before we got married. Florida BAH is almost $1000 less than California BAH, and waiting for them to give us the correct housing allowance is taking forever, and I just lost my job... so it REALLY REALLY sucks right now! I just want to get sponsored, get a job, finish school, and live at least in the same country as my husband! Is that too much to ask??!!! haha

To be honest, us living apart is more of a financial burden right now. I live in Southern California, it is very expensive here. We aren't receiving California BAH because he was previously stationed in Florida before we got married. Florida BAH is almost $1000 less than California BAH, and waiting for them to give us the correct housing allowance is taking forever, and I just lost my job... so it REALLY REALLY sucks right now! I just want to get sponsored, get a job, finish school, and live at least in the same country as my husband! Is that too much to ask??!!! haha

Not sure about the other stuff but getting employment here on the base can be challenging too!