Resilience During PCS Moves

For most military families, receiving orders to a new duty station brings on a certain sense of dread, even if it’s the duty station of your dreams. PCSing means many things; packing, requesting medical records, transferring schools and/or jobs, learning a new installation, saying good-byes to local connections and making new ones, etc. 

What a PCS does not usually entail is a sense of normalcy, calm, or control over one’s life.

When my family goes through a PCS, or any travel, we intentionally do certain things to help us feel grounded during tumultuous times. Here are eight things you can do to feel more resilient during a PCS move.

1. Maintain routines

Maintaining a routine while in transition can sometimes seem improbable, if not impossible. However, maintaining some regularity in your routines makes PCSing seem easier and allows you to bounce back better afterwards. Our family has learned that adhering as closely as possible to our normal sleep patterns, mealtimes, and physical activity throughout our journey always leaves us feeling stronger and steadier at the end of the day.

• Sleep patterns: Maintain bedtime routines and wake at approximately the same time as you normally would.

• Mealtimes: Plan ahead. Purchase shelf-stable or cooler-friendly foods for two to three days at a time and plan breaks for meals around the time you would usually eat. Packing your own food allows you to spend less money as well as choose healthier options and eat when you want instead of when you are able to find the next restaurant.

• Physical activity: This does not have to mean creating a set amount of time for exercise, though that can be helpful. Our family loves to look for small escapades we can incorporate into our daily travel. Locating hiking trails, museums, landmarks, etc. and adding those in as pre-planned stops ensures that you will get some physical activity in your day while also enjoying the journey.

2. Make PCSing an adventure

Plan your trip early, and look for ways to make it fun for your family. Look at the possible routes and choose the one that has the most areas you want to travel through. Then research sight-seeing locations and tourist attractions. Going through Kansas? Check out the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City. Heading through Northeastern Arizona? Don’t forget to stand on a corner in Winslow and then head over to Meteor Crater to see the giant hole in the ground.

3. Budget for fun

Make sure to include spending cash for those little getaways. There are many ways to save money on a PCS move. Set an allowance for each person and give it to them to spend as they wish. Look for experiences to have along the way, whether it's a gift shop souvenir or a big bucket list item, and budget accordingly.

4. Find time for yourself and as pairs

Time for ourselves is crucial to maintaining personal wellness when traveling for extended periods, whether alone or with others. This can be something as simple as taking a bath every night before bed, or reading a book in a hotel lobby for 15 minutes without fellow travelers nearby.

It is also important to make sure that, if there are other travelers, you make dedicated time to do things together. It can be as simple as playing card games with one or more kiddos, having dinner with your significant other, or even taking your pet for a walk.

5. Eat well

Choose veggies and fruit when you can, because you need the vitamins and the fiber. If you are someone who enjoys smoothies or blending your own juices, bring a portable blender. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), when we are not being as active as usual, making sure that we get enough fiber is serious business because fiber helps prevent constipation.

6. Stay hydrated

Maintaining hydration is always important, especially while traveling. We find that if we purchase one to two gallons of water at the beginning of the trip, we can refill the gallon jugs for a few cents at any grocery store along the way, so we create less waste than single-serve water bottles. As an added bonus, they take up less space. We also use large capacity water bottles to make sure each family member always has plenty of water within reach. If you are traveling through hot climates, beverages with added electrolytes can help you stay hydrated.

7. Pack lightly 

Reducing the amount of stuff you have to lug around during your trip can help lower your stress levels. How many days will you be traveling? Divide that number in half, then pack for that, and you will have enough clothing for your entire trip. You can use laundry facilities along the way, either in hotels or while visiting friends.

When you're staying in hotels, pack clothes for all family members into the same suitcase. Then, instead of carrying a bag for each person, you'll only ever have to bring one suitcase into a hotel per night. For a small family, pack one day worth of clothes into one side of a travel suitcase, and another day of clothes into the other side. Our family recently tried this technique. It’s amazing!

8. Make your money work for you

If PCSing feels like a chore, then make it more fun by using those hotel stays to earn points towards a future reward. Many hotel chains and booking sites offer bonus stays, or points towards future stays, per reservation. Use a consistent hotel chain or booking site when planning your PCS trip, and you may soon have enough points for a free getaway! Use savings sites like Rakuten that offer cash back on different products and services. This is a great way to earn money back for all the things you must purchase while PCSing.

Change isn’t always easy and often comes too frequently for military families. Finding simple techniques to improve your resilience can make the PCS experience easier to recover from, and maybe even something to enjoy.