Lee,

I definitely hope someone else can respond to this, as I know that Brianna probably has recently given birth in Korea and is NCS, she would be the best one to reply to your questions. I don't have children myself yet, but have considered the consequences were I to get pregnant there. I have talked to a wife at our base here who was CS and gave birth in Korea. She had a great experience. I have heard different stories generally about the medical care though, and would also be interested in the folks who are currently there giving us some of their thoughts. (I will be heading over with my husband NCS in Jan 2008).

Becky

I do not know that the policy is at Humphreys, I only know what they do at Osan. At Osan, if your pregnancy is routine, not high-risk or what they call "complicated".... then you can be seen on base until you are 36 weeks. At that point, you have to be seen at 121 GH at Yongsan. At 38 weeks, they want you to go and stay at the STorks Nest until you deliver. This is not usually a problem for people who do not have other children. I do, so I did not go up and stay. I just kept going to my appointments, planning on getting a taxi to Yongsan when I went into labor. I ended up being induced when I went past due, though. You will get to do all of this for free. However, you will be on Tricare Standard and will have copays if you end up having to go to a Korean Hospital. You can choose to just be seen at a Korean hosptal from the beginning so you don't have to worry about getting to Yongsan. This is your choice.

I don't think its bad at all to have a baby over here. OF course, it would be easier in the states, but not if you need your husband's support during a pregnancy. I'm a little emotional! :)

I'm at Humphreys NCS and I'm 7 weeks along myself. So far I haven't had any problems. First I went by the TMC to make an appointment to be seen by the doctor there. My appointment was for 3 days later. My husband had already talked to his normal doctor earlier and he wrote me a prescription for prenatal vitamins. So I already had those before the appointment. When I came for the appointment at Humphreys, the doctor just gave me a little check up and gave me a referral to the ob/gyn at 121. I called them and we have to go to an orientation class first, so we made the appointment for that. That's as far as we've gotten so far. I'm not sure yet but I think we have to go all the way to 121 for all of our appointments. That can be a pain because it takes about 2-2 1/2 hours to get there by bus. I'll find out more when I go to the orientation.

Two of my friends are pregnant here at Camp Humphreys. They went to their orientation together and were allowed to choose Osan (as long as they're not high risk) or 121 for their appointments. One chose Osan and the other chose 121. The one who chose Osan hasn't had any ultrasounds and has had a very hard time making appointments. She's also made the statement that she wished she would've just went to 121. The other girl hasn't had any problems yet at 121. She had one ultrasound around 8-9 weeks and she just had another ultrasound today to find out the sex of the baby. Hope that helps.

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Have a Blessed Day!

Michelle

Hey, congrats on your pregnancy nearlywild! Happy news!

Welcome to the forum, Lee. I know you'll get some great info here to support whatever decision you make.

Kara

Sorry for intruding...my hubby's stationed at Osan for 2 years NCS and I was wondering if it'd be possible for my children and I to move there while he's in the process of getting us CS? We're here in Hawaii and receiving BAH, does anyone know what we'd be getting for OHA? He's an E-5 & been in for 5 years. If we do decide to move, I really don't plan on taking any HHG with us since it is in storage here in HI. Do we have to buy furniture there, or do they have something where we can just borrow it for the remainder of his stay (18 months).

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

https://secureapp2.hqda.pentagon.mil...m/ohaform.html

No intrusion at all. Feel free to ask anything you want. Use this website to look up how much you would be getting in OHA. You can also use the same website to look up how much in COLA he would be getting. Most apartments here come furnished with all the major furniture you'll need. I'm not sure about the borrowing though, someone who is AF will have to answer that.

Actually, for your check ups, you can take the subway from Pyongt'aek to Ich'on (outside of Gate 17 of Yongsan) and walk to the 121 within ten minutes. The subway is more frequent than the bus and it's less expensive.

Also, if by chance you don't make it to a military hospital and have to deliver at a Korean hospital (since you'll be out of network) just save your receipts for reimbursement by Tricare; for anything that Tricare doesn't reimburse, you can deduct that unreimbursed amount from your 2007 taxes (medical expense) (due April 2008).

If you have to resort to using an AAFES/non-AAFES taxi for delivery, check what the estimated price will be and put that money aside just in case. Good Luck.

Good Luck on your husband getting a CS slot at Osan. About 98% of them are for commanders, first sgts, select officers, and the linguists (any rank above E-3 it seems). The remaining slots are difficult to get because of the "first come, first served" and "who you _low" mentality. I know in 51st MXS, there are/were only 3 CS slots (Cmdr, 1st sgt, maint officer).

As for HHG, you can purchase what you want from AAFES or off-base in the Songt'an area; but if you move into a place off-base, you can find several places that are furnished. BTW: if you really shop around for a place, you can find a 2-3 bedroom place for about 600Thousand Won (my wife and I had a 3 bedroom place in Shin Jang 2 Dong for 550Thousand Won per month, about a 6 minute walk to the front gate). Talk with the AAFES Taxi drivers that's how we got to look at about four apartments before selecting one.

Whatever you do: when the landlord/realtor asks what rank your husband is, DON'T tell because your rent will be based on his BAQ/OHA/COLA. Just negotiate like you would for a car and you should do okay.

Again, Good Luck.

Under normal circumstances,There are definitely some units left in the chain here that are very.. shall we say.. skimpy? in granting CS status, but overall, the likelihood of getting CS status here at Osan is much better than it used to be... and if your hubby is in the position that I think he might be in given some reading between the lines, dnr, I 'd say that you might be in a better position than some.

At a recent town hall meeting, it was mentioned that within the next year around 500 CS would be opened, with about 200 of those (if I remember correctly) specifically slotted for those E-6 and below... the goal being a much needed level of continuity.

Now, one *huge* exception to that, the reason I said "Under normal circumstances".. is that right now, circumstances *aren't* normal... one factor that is having a *huge* affect on the granting of CS status right now, is the housing situation with MVV.

It's just simply not prudent to grant CS status without housing to bring people over *to* ... currently there is a non-concurrent travel order in effect, even for those who *do* get CS.

The bottom line in applying for CS.. your chances are about 50/50, I'd say, but still better than they ever have been before.... the worst that can happen? You apply and get told "No", then just come over here NCS anyway.
I'd say "go for it".

Secondly...about realtors,and rents, etc...

I've heard a few folks who have been here in the past make the same comment about realtors, so I don't know if it's a reflection of a shift in mentality or not, but if you go back and check a couple of places in this thread where it's been discussed, most of us who have come in the past year or so haven't encountered much "price gouging" as far as rent goes. DH and I told our realtor our rank, and yes, they had the chart right at hand, but we were shown *several* apartments well below that cost,as well as one that we would have had to pay a little out of pocket for. I honestly didn't feel as though the OHA list was anything more than a guideline for the realtor, and we ended up getting into a place that was well under our limit, and very close to the base as well. ((Sinjang 2 Dong, about 3 minutes walk))

Now, honestly, what happens in a situation where you're dealing directly with a landlord and not a realtor, I can't speak for, but quite frankly...I wouldn't recommend that anyway. Using a realtor not only offers you the convenience of having a "one-stop" shop, as it were, for your utilities (installation *and* payment) but also offers you a certain security as far as having a third party to mediate if there are issues with your landlord. If you have a problem, you can go to your realtor, then if your realtor can't resolve it, you can go to the housing office. Hopefully, you never have to go that route, but if you do, it's nice to know that the option is there.

And that's my 2 cents worth! :)

Oh,and btw, dnr about coming NCS while waiting for CS status.. I'm not a regs lawyer, but I know people who have come here and done just that, and found it easier to actually *get* the CS status since they were already here.
The only caution I would offer, as I have to several other possible incoming NCS 'sers.. if you're arriving here from say October-December, there's a *possibility* that you might not have as *much* housing to choose from, as if that MVV situation isn't resolved, there are around at least 30-40 families that will be moving off base in a kind of mass exodus. I don't necessarily think there will be a housing shortage, but if that exodus occurs,it kind of stands to reason that the market may be more competitive than it normally is for a few months, with the number of people looking for off-base housing increasing substantially.


Dee :)