1. Long term storage-If you want to just leave all your things in the US and have them put in long term storage, the Navy will provide and pay for that.
2. HHG (Household goods)-If you would like to take your things with you, most of your household items will go in this shipment category. The Navy will provide you with a company that will be responsible for packing and picking up your belongings and shipping them to your next duty station. They literally do everything for you and it makes a move much less stressful. They packed and picked up all my things in one day and I didn't have to do anything except show them what needed to go and vacuum after they were done. So easy! But it was just me so I could see how this process could be much more stressful with a family but it is still nice that they pack up everything for you and you really don't have to lift a finger.
3. UB (Unaccompanied baggage)-This is your "express shipment", meaning it should get there before your HHG because it is transferred via air. It is also the shipment that will be much, much smaller than your HHG and would be delivered to your temporary residence if you have one. Like for my situation I want to ideally live off base but I would like to get a feel for the area first so I can suitable place for me to live, so I will probably be living in BOQ (Bachelor Officer Quarters) for a little bit until I pick a place to live. So I would not want my HHG shipped to the BOQ's because after they are delivered, that's it. You would then have to move them yourself if you choose to move and I don't think anyone wants to do that! So I tried to pick things for this shipment that I thought I would need right away but not put so much in there that I can't move it to a new place when I do finally pick one. I put things like blankets, an air mattress, pans, cups, some winter clothes just in case, and few other random things. Mine was pretty small because I really didn't want to have to move a bunch of stuff so I just put the bare necessities.
4. Checked baggage-Now this is the baggage you will pack and take with you on your flight to Japan. I'm not 100% sure on this one yet but from looking it up I think that you can have up to four checked bags up to 70 lbs each. Like I said I'm not 100% sure on this but it looks like Delta and American have this standard and I've heard that is normally what you fly to Japan. But I will let you guys know! These bags will obviously be immediately available to you and you will also have to move these if you transfer residences.
There is also something called a PPM (personally procured move) and this is basically a DIY move. I have no idea how this works since I would never try to do a PPM move overseas but I know people do and I know a lot of members do them within the states. All I know is you have to do everything yourself and I believe the military then reimburses you but other than that I have no clue.
So basically for my move I took a quick trip out to San Diego because all my things were still in my old place and then I cleaned everything up and separated everything out for the movers so they wouldn't mistake my roommate's things for mine or vice versa. But before all this happened, as soon as you get your orders you can log on to the move.mil site and begin the process of scheduling your move. You will apply for a login to the system they use (DPS I think) then you login in and you have two options; you can self-counsel your move or you can schedule a counseling appointment with your nearest personal property office. Since I was not in San Diego I decided to self-counsel which was challenging because I have never done it before but I figured it out pretty quick. It might be easier if it is your first move to go into the office but that is completely up to you. Just FYI when you self-counsel online you will still have to print out all the move request paperwork at the end, sign it, and email or fax it to the closest personal property office so they can schedule your move.
You will then be assigned a move counselor and they will contact you and set up your move dates. I only scheduled a HHG and UB move but if you also want long term storage you have to schedule that too. They are each individual applications. My two shipments were also on two different days. My HHG was first and then my UB was second, I unfortunately couldn't be there for my UB shipment but luckily my roommate was able to get the day off and could sign for it. But just make sure if you are having someone else sign for it that you let your move counselor know so they can note that for you.
Once your move has been scheduled, which they are pretty flexible with dates or at least they were with me, you can get your things kind of together and then just relax a little! The moving companies will call you to confirm days and times and you will be getting a lot of emails but just keep them all. They will also call you to talk to you about what kind of things you have so they know how much stuff to bring, boxes, movers, etc. Move day is the easiest day then! You just sit back and relax and they pack everything up for you! I have never used movers before so I didn't realize what it was like so maybe some already know you don't have to do anything but I was like ready to help! Anyways easiest move ever! Once they are done they will go over a lot of paperwork with you and have you pretty much sign your life away and give you a copy of everything. Then they close up the boxes, put your name on them, and drive away to ship them away!
I would recommend taking pictures and videos of any high value things you have just in case because I have heard good and bad things about military moves. Hopefully all my things make it and I won't need those pictures and videos! They also disassemble a lot of your things and I was told by the movers that it is a worldwide understanding that movers will disassemble and reassemble. So when I saw a whole box of parts I got really scared that I was going to have to figure out how to assemble all that but apparently they will do it for me in Japan! Just an FYI.
Other than that I will update you guys when I get to Japan about the process of getting your things and what the move in a foreign country is like. I have heard great things, sometimes communicating can be a challenge but other than that the Japanese movers are great. But as for the move process that I have already gone through that's about it! Pretty simple once everything is said and done and I have had a very good experience so far. Let me know you guys have any questions! :)