CONTRIBUTED BY KANDY
When I got the call from my husband, who was TDY, that we were PCSing to Okinawa, I couldn’t have been more excited. As some of you know, my mother was raised here, so for me, hearing that I’m about to live in her hometown for three years is like a kid heading to Disneyland.
Fast forward to the phone call about what to ship to Okinawa. I researched the limited information that consisted of only weight restrictions and that Kadena has all of the government loaner furniture that we’ll ever need. So with this knowledge, I tell my husband NOT to send any furniture except a recliner, and a crib. Wow! How easy is this?
Fast forward again past the plane ride, to finding a two story house off base, and immediately picking out the furniture items to be delivered to said house. In the back of my head, I could hear my father’s voice saying something about measuring twice and…Ooh look two kinds of dressers!
We could borrow a couch, two overstuffed chairs, desks, a dining table and six chairs, a buffet, dressers, chest of drawers, full size and twin beds, bookshelves, coffee and end tables. The showroom was filled with pristine furniture. Wow, the government seems so generous. The anticipation to finally make this island my home feels like I’m at the top of a roller coaster
Slow motion through the delivery phase. The delivery man is telling me that 1/2 of the furniture cannot go up my staircase
and I will have to use up my “one-time pick up service” now, or they leave dressers and beds in my living room. What? This is suppose to be smooth sailing from here. We conquered the plane ride without permanent mental scars. But I’m a military brat, was active duty and now a supportive dependent!
But this was supposed to be my Disneyland.
Why didn’t I at least bring my kids’ dressers and beds? Why couldn’t I have brought all of my stuff?
Well, now, if you are Air Force, you can. This is current news regarding the Air Force’s lift on weight restrictions when PCSing to Okinawa. Government Furniture Warehouse 632-4311
Do you have any furniture nightmares which newcomers should avoid? Have you heard any information or news about upcoming changes for the Marine Corps/Navy’s weight restriction? Please let us know.
This Government Furniture post is part I of II. Please send me more pictures of government furniture. Thank you Abbey for the dresser pics!
Editor’s Note: We now have 3 posts on this topic in our archives. In the interest of keeping newer discussions together we’ve closed comments on our two older posts. Please check out our latest entry from May 2013 HERE.