The relatively short notice is not the worst part about this situation, however. In fact, Cherry Point is considered to be close enough to Camp Lejeune that the service member can commute from their current home. This means that the Marine Corps has no intention whatsoever of reimbursing or otherwise compensating us for moving closer to the base. Commuting is doable (there are Marines living aboard Cherry Point who do it)...but just barely. Even people who live in Jacksonville (the city in which Lejeune is situated) have a 30 minute to hour-long commute, because the traffic to get on base is so dense in the morning. Clayton would be driving 45 minutes to an hour, just to sit another 45 minutes to an hour in a traffic jam. So we're looking to move ourselves, even if the Marine Corps won't cover the costs. In the long run, though, we might save some money by renting in town instead of getting base housing, so it won't be so bad. Perhaps the most exciting thing about this whole situation, is knowing that Clayton is still flagged for a B billet, and we might end up moving again within a few months (so don't expect to see me painting walls this year).
At any rate, in between fits of growling at the paper pushers, I'm diving into this. As soon as Clayton explained the situation to me, I started looking into our housing options. Packing up the house ourselves will be a pain, but we're already targeting things that can be packed as soon as we get boxes. Actually getting things from Point A to Point B won't be too bad, since we'll have time to get out of our current house (this is possible for the same reason the Marine Corps won't pay for us to move; they expect us to stay here, so we have all the time in the world to find another place and move in), Clayton's Tahoe holds a lot of stuff, and we know of several U-Haul places in the area. All in all this won't be a terrible move, but I am still a tad bit cranky that it won't be quite as smooth as a typical military move could be, and that I'll have to quit my perfectly pleasant job over something that might be temporary.
Oh well. On we go. For the next few weeks, we'll be spending our free weekends scoping out potential new homes. Hopefully that will be a bit of fun, forcing us to get out of the house for a few hours each weekend. If anyone has any tips on moving; living in Jacksonville, NC; or anything else that could make this transition easier, please feel free to comment or email me. I'll be sure to keep you posted on any other developments.