I have a friend that is a Civ worker and can't get a car on post. His wife is Korean and she has a car...and they can't even get a sticker for her car so that they can drive to the PX and stuff.

Correct they cannot get a sticker.....

Every post has a certian gate that is for cars without a sticker, so they can get a temporary daily pass.

If he goes to that gate with a CURRENT military ID card holder, that military card holder can sign him in, and is responsible for that person while on post and must also sign him back out.

I would call your local MP desk to get more information.

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CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

Actually, there isn't much that you can do ~ it pretty much all has to be done by your husband. There are several factors to consider, and you left a considerable amount of necessary info out of your post.

If you are living away from your husband in the Yongsan area, there is an outside chance that you can get an exception to policy to get a car. If you are in 2ID, there is still a chance, but it's not as good.

A big part of the decision is ~ do you really need a car? Do you have a child with a medical condition that might require you to have to drive him/her to the hospital in the middle of the night? Or do you have some other compelling need...like a job on base (even a volunteer job)?

If your husband can convince his commander that you need a car, the commander can recommend approval for an exception to policy (I think the Division Chief of Staff has the final approval). It's as simple as that. Of course, there are other "unofficial" things that factor into this like how well your husband gets along with the leadership in the unit and how well respected he is. Rank has a lot to do with it also. Of course, the higher the rank, the easier it is to get approved.

The wives of two E-5s that I worked with in 2ID had authorization to have a POV. One of them just applied for it and it got approved...or so he said...he was always a little hazy about just how he went about it. The other E-5's wife had a job teaching Korean on base. She was authorized a car and a USFK driver's license, but he was not authorized to get a license ~ so she had to do all the driving.

One thing you have going for you is that you are here for two more years.

If your husband is an E-6 or above and well respected in his unit; and you have a compelling need of some sort...I'd say you have about a 25% chance of getting an exception to policy approved.

Have your husband call down to the vehicle registration section at Yongsan and ask about the regulation covering such an exception to policy. If I was him, I would also politely ask one of the ladies in that office if I could have a sanitized copy of an exception to policy request that had been approved to use as an example. He'd probably have to get that in person.

In Area I (2ID land - north of Seoul) the only people automatically authorized cars are command sponsored personnel, E-9s in CSM positions, and Bn Cdrs and above.

There is no driver's license office or vehicle registraton office in Area I - you have to go to Yongsan to take care of these things.

I wanted to add for anyone at Casey who doesn't know. You can now re-register your car at Casey and not have to drive to Seoul. It only applies to re-registering and not the initial registration. You still have to drive to Yongsan for that. Here's the S&S article on it. http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?s...0&archive=true

My husband is an O-3, we will be arriving in the spring... we are authorized to bring 1 car. Will be both be allowed to obtain a DL? And what is the difference between a USFK DL and a Korean DL? I do not plan on driving off base at all. So which one will I need? And how do you get your car to the base (Osan) once it has arrived? Does my husband need to get a Korean DL prior to picking up the car? Or will it be delivered to the base for us?
Thanks

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Heather

Yes, you'll both be authorized a USFK DL.

You'll only be getting a USFK DL, so really, no explanation necessary regarding Korean DLs. A USFK license is kind of funny looking...it's nothing more than a piece of thick paper, and I don't think you are allowed to laminate it. The writing on it is bilingual and it is recognized by both the US military and Korean gov't. If you have a US state issued DL, you only have to take a written test to get a USFK DL.

There are strategically located on-base vehicle drop-off/pick-up points throughout Korea. When you drop your vehicle off in States for shipment to Korea, they will tell you where you'll be able to pick it up. These drop-off/pick-up points are really a dramatic improvement compared to the good ol' days - when everyone had to go down to a pier in Busan to do this.

Will we be able to keep our US DL?

And I read in this thread that NCS spouses have to be signed into base... As a CS spouse I shouldn't have the same issue, right? Or will I also have to be with my husband to enter base?

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Heather

Yes you will keep your US DL.

When you first get to Korea you will have to signed into base CS or NCS. You are not in the BIDS system yet so they have to know who is on base.

BIDS is just a system that keeps track of all the people in Korea, Everytime you go onto a base they will scan your ID card and see if you are in BIDS.

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CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

Just to add, both CS and NCS are put into BIDS. So, even NCS don't have to be signed onto base. Cars that aren't registered have to be signed in.

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There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled.