- Who will receive your mail?
- Does your family have access to your finances? Bank accounts, etc…
- How will your bills be paid while you are gone?
- Does someone know what bills are due and when?
- What other things could pop up in the time you are away?
- Does your family know whom to contact in the event of an emergency?
- Have you set up a bank account prior to your arrival?
Family Emergencies
The absolute quickest way to contact a member of the military (whether in basic training or not) to notify them of a family emergency is through the American Red Cross. Each major Air Force base has a Red Cross office, and the Red Cross can do "magic" when it comes to locating a service member and notifying them of emergencies in a very short period of time.
Before you depart, make sure your family knows how to contact their local Red Cross office. Contact information can be found on the [link url=http://www.redcross.org/contactus/American Red Cross Web Site[/link].
First Phone Call Home
At the end of "Zero Week," most likely on Sunday afternoon, you'll get your first opportunity to call home. This will be a very short phone call (only about 3 minutes), enough time to pass on your mailing information. Warn your family/loved ones in advance about this phone call. You will not sound "well." Your voice will be shaky, and you'll sound like you're on the verge of tears. During this particular stage of training, you'll swear that T.I.'s are around every corner, under every table, just waiting for you to do something wrong so they can yell at you for it. This "scared rabbit" feeling transfers to your telephone voice. The bad thing is that you won't have time to tell them that you're really okay. You've got enough time to spit out your address, then you have to give the phone up to the next recruit in line. So, make sure your family is ready for this. Otherwise, they may spend the next several days thinking they made a mistake about letting their "baby" go away to basic training.
Wrapping it Up
I hope you found this email course useful. Thank you for your service to our country, and good luck with Air Force Basic Military Training, and your Air Force Career!
