The Day the Air Force FAILED My Family

Now before you get too caught up on the title of my post (which is going to be a long one I must add) I want to start off by saying how grateful I am to be a military spouse. We have been an Air Force family for over ten years now and while it has not been all butterflies and rainbows, I couldn’t imagine my life doing anything else. I have three specific reasons in sharing my story with you. First, to prevent this from happening to other military families that may read it before they PCS overseas. Second, to bring this issue to light, because it IS a major issue that is continuing to happen to families, and it needs to be actually DEALT with. Third, at the time of my publishing this post (six months after our move) we STILL have not been re-imbursed the $5,352.40 for our airline tickets. I also want to apologize in advance because this ended up being A LOT longer than I wanted after including a bunch of details. So if you actually make it to read through my entire post, God bless your heart, and thank you.

When we got our very first duty station assignment in 2014 we were ecstatic. We got our first choice on our “Dream Sheet”, Cannon AFB in New Mexico. I know what you are thinking, because you’ve only ever heard bad things about Cannon, but that is a story for another day. Another guy in Travis’ graduation class got an assignment that none of us thought was possible, RAF Mildenhall in England. We had never heard of anyone getting an overseas assignment straight out of Tech School. From that moment on, the awe (and a small bit of jealousy) spawned our dream of one day living in England.

Fast forward eight years later, where we are now living at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. We have been here almost four years and my husband just made Tech Sergeant. A single spot becomes available for his job at RAF Mildenhall, a Tech Sergeant position. He applied and we crossed our fingers, toes, had everyone we could possibly tell praying about it. This single spot was open Air Force wide to apply for, so the chances of us actually getting it were pretty slim.

About a month later Travis got home from another TDY and we headed to watch our daughter, Aurora, cheer at a football game. While we were sitting in the bleachers cheering on the team, Travis slipped me a chocolate bar and said he grabbed it for me while he was gone. He doesn’t usually bring me stuff from his TDY’s (it is no big deal, he is gone almost every month) so I looked at it and said “thanks” then turned my attention back to the game. He then insists that I look at it again and I read aloud the words on the label of the chocolate bar “London Heathrow Airport” and I look at him. That’s when he says “we got it baby, we are going to England”. Lots of happy tears and squealing (and here is a screen shot of the video he took when he told me), then came all of the preparation.

I am a VERY organized person. I research things thoroughly and have everything in order when it comes to PCS moves. This was our first overseas assignment and I knew it would be much harder and much more involved than any other move we had done before (this was our fifth PCS in ten years). I had a binder, a BIG binder. It was filled with a ton of printed papers, PDF pamphlets, copies of forms, official documents, copies of official documents, and other relevant information. I also printed all 50+ pages of the RAF Mildenhall Welcome Packet which I read and marked on and highlighted. I joined all of the RAF Mildenhall spouse pages, contacted people I knew that currently lived over there or had just moved over there, and started scouring the base and local websites. I researched everything we would need for the move, to get our dog overseas, we started getting ready to put our house on the market, prepare for four different shipments, and trying to make a million different decisions on schools, vehicles, what stuff to store or get rid of, etc, etc, etc, etc. It was A LOT to juggle. All the while my husband being deployed January through April when we were set to leave for England in May. So yes, I did pretty much everything to do with the move itself and all four of our shipments by myself.

Now let’s skip ahead to January (we got our RIP in September), I was calling our base’s TMO Office daily to ask about the rotator schedule being released. We had decided to take the rotator because this was the most cost effective way for us to get our dog, Muffin, overseas. Unless you have experienced it yourself, you cannot even imagine the amount of paperwork, vet appointments, and hoops you have to literally jump through to get your pet into another country. There are only two rotator flights per month. There are only twenty spots available for pets per rotator flight. Only ten of those spots are in cabin pets, the other ten being cargo spots. Muffin has flown many times on airplanes, always with me in the cabin though. He had never flown in cargo and some airlines did not even allow that because he is a snub nosed breed (shih tzu). It was essential to us that we get him an in cabin spot. If we were flying commercial to England, he would not be allowed to fly in cabin. Why? Because it is a law incoming to England that pets must fly in cargo. The commercial route to bring your pet is very costly (upwards of $3,000 per pet) plus there is a lot more paperwork and airline regulations to deal with. I’m pretty positive the TMO office knew my name at this point because I had called every day for over a week before finally the May flights released. We got an in cabin spot for Muffin and all three of us were booked for the May 8th rotator flight. I have attached the paper below that we got as a confirmation of our flight. This was the ONLY communication of information we got from the “Patriot Express” AKA the rotator before we showed up to fly on May 8th. I did remove some sensitive information.

May 8th we roll up to BWI Airport at 2:45pm. I literally had to Google what terminal it was in because we had no idea where inside the airport we were suppose to go to check in for our flight. Our flight was not until 9:20 pm but you are suppose to arrive six hours ahead of your rotator flight. Which honestly seems a bit ridiculous, especially for those people with young kids, but alas I am not here to try to change Air Force policy. When we arrived, well within the six hours prior to flight, we were about the tenth family in line. Just imagine, each family has 8 or more bags, Costco size rolling carts piled seven feet high with luggage and dog crates bigger than a human. I actually took a photo I will post below so you don’t have to imagine, it was CHAOS. The AMC Passenger workers finally opened the desk around 3:30pm for check in. They took the first three families to check in and we ended up sitting in this same spot for TWO HOURS. Nobody was telling us anything, the line was not moving AT ALL, babies were crying, toddlers were having melt downs, and all any of us wanted to do was get through to the gates so we could actually sit down. To my future dismay, we would find out later why we sat there for hours. The line actually started moving and we got up to the check in desk around 6:30pm. First thing the girl asked was to see our passports. We put all three of our passports on the desk and when she opened the first one to look, she said “oh, I need your no-fee passports”. We told her that they had not come in before we left and she said “okay just one minute” and she left. I also want to mention the fact that our no fee passports took NINE weeks to finally come in.

It was at this point where I wish I could go back in time because the amount of panic and stress that started at this moment I will never forget. A manager came back to speak with us and informed us that Aurora and I were not going to be allowed on the flight because we were not allowed to legally travel without our no-fee passports. Here begins the arguing, the going back and forth, the phone calls, the frantic pleas, and the stress. Oh, the stress. Im 100% positive I lost at least six years of my life and gained about twenty grey hairs from the stress that day.

Now let’s break this down. We are an Air Force family with PCS Orders to RAF Mildenhall, trying to board a Military flight to get to our next duty station. The workers at the AMC Passenger Terminal, are not in fact military, they are contractors. So whenever we tried to argue and plead with this “manager” he would just say “it is not us (me) requiring your no fee passports, we just work here”. We asked where specifically it says that we are required to have our no fee passports to board this flight. Specifically talking about Aurora and I, because apparently Travis as the Active Duty member, this rule did not apply to him so he did not need one. I pulled out the printed confirmation of our ticket from the rotator (which I attached above) and asked him to show me where it said we were required to have our no fee passports. IT DOESN’T. It has information about check in, departure, uniform requirements, baggage, and absolutely NOTHING about requiring a no fee passport. The manager tells us that it is part of the Foreign Clearance Guide and that it was the rotator flight has to adhere to.

So Travis calls his first sergeant back in Washington and I call the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Passport Office. I explain to the lady on the phone that they are not allowing us on the flight because we don’t have our no fee passports in hand. She insists we do not need them to board the flight. I am arguing back and forth between the passport office and the AMC manager before I’m finally like “can you just talk to him directly” and I hand him my phone. They argue back and forth, both reading through the Foreign Clearance Guide from the computer. He finally hands me back my phone with the Passport Office on the other line, she says to me “I am so sorry, they are interpreting the Foreign Clearance Guide differently than us and I tried to speak with him, but it is clear that he is not going to let you on the flight”.

The anger, the hurt, the tears I was fighting really fervently to hold back in front of this manager and about a hundred other people in the airport around us. Let’s rewind back to the second week of March. Aurora and I went into the Passport Office at Fort Lewis (because the Army runs Joint Base Lewis-McChord) to apply for our no fee passport. A no fee passport is basically a passport that the military applies for on your behalf so that you can stay in a foreign country for an extended amount of time, because you live there as an American citizen stationed in that country. We took care of all of the paperwork, took our photos, and went back to sit in the office with the worker. She told us how it worked, when we needed to use it, and said that they would email my husband when they came in for us to collect. I specifically asked her what would happen if they did not come in before we left (which was more than six weeks away, so it should not be an issue) and she assured us that it was no big deal because we “DIDN’T NEED THEM TO FLY THERE” and that they would just mail them to us at our new duty station if that happened.

Well guess what? It was in fact, a big deal. So these would be the first people that failed us, the Passport Office at our losing base. They even went as far to give us a memo after the fact, stating that we didn’t need them. Ill pop that lovely signed and sealed memo below for you to look at.

Next we are faced with a terrible decision, because we finally (but still in complete shock of the situation) accepted the fact that these people were not going to allow Aurora and I on that flight….what do we do? So here are our grim options:

Stay Behind in Baltimore
We have no rental car. We have no hotel. We have sixteen bags. Yes, SIXTEEN. Eight checked bags, a carry on each, a personal item each, a dog kennel, a car seat, and a dang partridge in a pear tree. Muffin had already been cleared for flying into the United Kingdom, and if he did not make it into the country by 4pm on May 9th, then we would have to re-do all of his Health Certificate paperwork at a random vet in Baltimore which is a process that takes multiple days and multiple approvals.

In fact, let’s break down what I had to do to get to the point where he was actually approved to fly into the United Kingdom:

(Ten days prior to arriving into the UK) Vet appointment to complete a full health check and fill out his Health Certificate $250.55

Health Certificate is overnighted to the closest USDA to go over and approve or deny paperwork. Paperwork was approved, Health Certificate is now overnighted back to vet.

(72 Hours before arriving into the UK) I take Muffin back to the vet for them to administer his Tapeworm Treatment and officially sign the Health Certificate $37.69

As soon as I received the scanned copy of his Health certificate that night I email it over to the United Kingdom Animal Aircare. These are the people that actually tell you whether or not your dog is cleared to fly into the country. Also keep in mind at this point it is an eight hour time difference between London and Seattle, so the email correspondence is taking hours/days when we are already en route to the East Coast.

Pet Fee for Flight from Seattle to Baltimore $125

Once we arrive in Baltimore, which is Saturday afternoon (our flight to Mildenhall was Monday night, arriving Tuesday morning) I check my email again and realize they have finally responded and there is an issue with his paperwork. This was my absolute worst nightmare. What would we do with Muffin if he is not cleared to fly? We are now in Baltimore, where we know absolutely no one, three thousand miles from our previous home. I will let you read these three emails that went back and forth with us first.

WHAT THE ACTUAL (insert bad word of your choice here). I kid you not, I was off and on the phone with our Vet in Seattle and they had no clue what the Animal Aircare people were trying to say was missing from his paperwork. The fact that they said they could not tell me what was missing and that the vet should know, I was absolutely dumbfounded. After multiple emails and calls back and forth of myself having to go between the Vet and Animal Aircare I finally asked them if they could just call the Vet and explain what was missing. Finally, after SO much stress, the morning of our flight he was approved to enter the United Kingdom.

£330 / $403.35 Paid to UK Animal Aircare

At this point we had spent a total of $816.59 to get Muffin into the UK (which is NOT reimbursable might I add). There was absolutely no way we were going to go through the vet and paperwork process all over again, so we decided this was not an option for us.

Split Up
We were going to have to split up. As much as I did not want to travel with Aurora alone to a foreign country I had never been to before (especially with all of these bags) it was our only option at this point. Travis could go on the rotator with Muffin and Aurora and I would have to fly commercial. So at this point he calls the military travel booking agency. They had booked our flights from Seattle to Baltimore, and they were the ones that were suppose to book any and all official military travel. This phone call was a mere three minutes long. Travis explained what happened and that he needed them to book Aurora and I commercial flights to the UK. She informed him that if we were traveling unaccompanied (without the active duty member) that they could not book our travel. So basically, they would only book our travel if we were all traveling together.

There were some nice volunteers at the AMC Passenger Terminal and one of them was trying to keep some kiddos entertained while parents were checking in, Aurora included. Because may I remind you that we had been at the airport since 2:45pm, standing at the same spot in line until we got to the desk at 6:30pm, and at this point it was around 7:15pm. She had overheard everything that happened and told me that there was a British Airways flight flying non-stop to London Heathrow Airport leaving at the same time as the rotator flight. So I frantically walked over to the British Airways desk and asked if there were any seats left on the flight. There were three. I needed two of those. So then I asked if she could sell me the tickets, but after some back and forth the two ladies behind the desk informed me that I had to book the tickets online on the website. I have never booked airline tickets so fast in my entire life.

So we bought two commercial airline tickets about an hour and a half before the flight, to the tune of $5,352.40. We put the tickets on Travis’ Government Travel Card, which is a credit card that the Air Force gives its Active Duty Members to use for all official travel expenses.

Now we walk back over to the AMC Passenger Terminal check in desk to inform them that Travis is going to fly with the dog, Aurora and I are not (obviously because they wouldn’t let us), and figure out the luggage situation. Here arises yet another issue. The in-cabin pet spot was attached to my ticket, not Travis’ so they are not sure if they can move it to Travis’ ticket instead. That takes them another fifteen minutes to figure out.

At this point it is around 7:45pm and it’s time to figure out the luggage. Travis says it’s easier for him to take all of the luggage because he will have his sponsor waiting for him with a truck when he gets off the plane at RAF Mildenhall. Our hotel was also at RAF Mildenhall and since Aurora and I were flying into London which is about 2.5 hours away, this is the most feasible. Again comes the AMC Passenger Terminal manager to shatter all of our dreams “Sorry, you can’t do that. You are only allowed two checked bags”. At this point I feel like vomiting and good God did I know exactly which direction to aim it if it comes up my throat. So I run back over to the British Airways desk (which may I remind you I still haven’t even checked in for this flight yet that leaves in less than two hours) and ask how many checked bags I am allowed to bring. They said that Aurora and I can have three checked bags each, and the car seat is an additional free checked bag. So now I have to get two luggage carts with three suitcases each wheeled over to the British Airways desk by myself while Travis is still checking in at the AMC desk. The British Airways staff was so nice and helpful. I had cried several times at this point and they were doing everything they could to help us in our situation. They let the few pounds over slide and did not charge us extra. Which is a stark contrast to the AMC people. Both of Travis’ checked bags were over. Let’s keep in mind that our household goods shipment left while he was still deployed, so all of his deployment gear was with him in these bags. They would NOT let it slide. So there went another $250 ($125 each bag) that was overweight.

& another $125 Pet Fee for the rotator flight

At this point it is around 8:15pm and we are literally running to get through security and to the gates. We get through security and Travis gives both Aurora and I a hug. We leave him at his gate and run to ours which has already started boarding. It is around 1 am in England so Travis was not able to get ahold of anyone at our new unit to let them know about our situation. So let’s let that sink in. I am flying into an airport in a foreign country where I have absolutely no idea how I am getting from the airport to the base that is 2.5 hours away. I also have no idea how I am going to get through the airport with six checked bags, two carry on suitcases, two personal items and a car seat by myself. I got a whopping 30 minutes of sleep that night on the plane.

I bet you are wondering how we were able to board the plane in the first place, since we didn’t have our no fee passports. Ice will call it a gray area, but legally you do not have to have no fee passports to fly commercial into the United Kingdom. Now since we are United States Military personnel flying into the UK to live, we are suppose to have them. The no fee passport is what allows us to stay in the country for more than 60 days. It is NOT required on commercial flights yet it IS required on the rotator flight which is specifically for military personnel and their families. Something to do with that grand ole Foreign Clearance Guide.

Mentally dead and completely exhausted Aurora and I Iand in London and when I turn my phone on I have a text from a guy named Bryce saying he is on his way to pick us up at the airport. Thank God that someone from the unit saw Travis’ texts and emails when they woke up that morning. I had no idea that the rotator flight had been delayed so Travis was not landing until 1 pm whereas we landed at 9 am. I have never despised something so much in my life than I did those airport luggage carts that day. The ones where you have to hold down the handle for it to move. Three of the biggest suitcases they make, piled up on each cart. I could not even see over the cart, and poor Aurora tried so hard to push it but she could not. So I was pushing one cart ten feet with one hand because I have the carry on suitcase in the other. Then going back and getting the other cart and pushing it ten feet forward and taking turns through customs and to the exit. I had no idea what Bryce looked like and he had no idea what I looked like. He was nice enough to grab me a coffee which I ended up dropping and spilling the entire thing in the parking garage before I tried to get in the car on the passenger side, which is actually the drivers side in the UK. I had no tears even left at this point to cry so all I could do was laugh hysterically.

Arriving at RAF Mildenhall was the point when I realized that all anybody was going to do was point fingers at someone else. We brought attention to our situation and what happened to us to all the appropriate base agencies. We spoke with Finance, the Airman & Family Readiness Center, and several different base agencies at the newcomers briefings we had. Pretty much everyone at RAF Mildenhall pointed the finger at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. What made me angrier than anything was that the Patriot Express wanted nothing to do with the situation and had no intention whatsoever to investigate further.

Now lets discuss who RAF Mildenhall blamed for what happened to us, essentially, the people that failed us from Joint Base Lewis McChord (our losing base) which I already mentioned the first being the Passport Office. Whenever we told someone about our situation, these are the people they said over and over and over again should have told us that we needed the no fee passports.

The second person that failed us, Travis’ Relocation Counselor at JBLM. Upon every PCS the active duty member is given this large checklist of paperwork to complete before he is cleared to leave his current base and head to his new base. You are assigned a Relocation Counselor to help with this process and any speed bumps you hit. She specifically asked him if we had them, and he informed her that we had applied for them but that they had not come yet. We were checked and cleared to leave.

The third person to fail us, Travis’ Sponsor. Each time you PCS the active member is assigned a Sponsor at his new duty station to help him on his arrival. Help with questions he may have about the move, where to live, what schools for our child were the best, anything and everything. He did not tell us that we needed the no fee passport to fly on the rotator. Nor did the countless other people I spoke with prior to our move for that matter.

TMO at McChord Air Force Base mentioned absolutely nothing about us needing the no fee passports to fly on the rotator. They booked our spots on the rotator with no mention of passports or requirements whatsoever.

About a month prior to leaving I did a virtual “Pre Arrival Orientation” with the Airman & Family Readiness Center at RAF Mildenhall. There was no information stating you need a no fee passport to fly here. I have since brought this to their attention, and to my knowledge they have added it.

I spent hours scouring websites while we were in TLF. The Patriot Express Website says this on the home page:

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

Passengers traveling in conjunction with a PCS or official travel must have in their possession a travel order or similar authorization issued by an appropriate authority, and an official identification card issued by a DoD Component, federal, State, or local government authority. In addition, passengers may be required to carry passports, visas, and immunization records etc. when applicable.

Responsibility to obtain required documentation lies solely with you, the traveler. Additional information can be found by accessing https://www.fcg.pentagon.mil/.

That’s it. That’s all it says. I scoured the FAQ section too. Absolutely nothing specifically about needing a no fee passport to fly. There are also several PDF documents on the site, they say the same exact thing as above.

The BWI AMC Passenger Terminal said nothing about needing a no fee passport the time we traveled. It has now been updated to include a statement that family members need a no fee passport to fly from BWI to RAF Mildenhall. Hopefully I can also attribute this updated information for bringing our situation to the attention of higher ups within the AMC and Patriot Express.

Remember how I said that one of my reasons for sharing this post was to prevent this from happening to other families? We were one of three families who were turned away from that rotator flight. Upon posting our situation on the local spouse page, it turns out it has happened to multiple families. I found three other people it had happened to earlier this year. None of the families it had happened to were from the same losing base as us. We were all from different bases around the U.S., so clearly there is a disconnect somewhere and break down in communication. If you look at one thing all of us had in common, we were all put in this very stressful situation by the rotator. We were all denied boarding on a flight to our new duty station because we did not have no fee passports. The rotator did not tell us that we needed no fee passports to fly.

I’d like to stress the fact that the rotator/Patriot Express is the common denominator for all of the families that this happened to. What other airline do you fly with that only send you one confirmation email? No email about check in. No email about where to go once arriving at the airport. No email explaining that we need our no fee passports to get on the plane or we will be denied boarding. That email I attached above was the ONLY form of communication I ever got from the rotator besides what they sent me in regards to Muffin. The rotator emailed everyone bringing pets on the plane a week prior to the flight with information about what your pet needed and where to send the completed Health certificate to. Which honestly at that point a week prior does not help anyone with pet stuff considering the first item on the list has to be completed ten days out. BUT you are telling me that the rotator can send an email to people bringing pets with information, but they cannot email people telling them they are required to have no fee passports to board the plane?

Both my husband or myself have spoken with and emailed the RAF Mildenhall base commander, head of Finance, agencies from our losing base JBLM, USAFE higher ups, the Patriot Express people, the AMC Passenger People, staff at the Airman & Family Readiness Center, my husband’s commander, my husband’s first shirt, Master Sergeants, you freaking name it. Trust me when I say I was very professional and when I lined out the details of what happened and I was respectful and kindly asked for help with our situation (it was not me pouring my heart and soul out like this post).

Nobody has been able to reimburse us for the $5352.40 we spent on Aurora and I’s commercial airline tickets. We arrived in the UK on May 9th, 2023 and it is now November 2023. The Air Force basically said “tough luck, not our fault, here is $289 per person which is our cap to pay you”. So we were reimbursed $578 total of the $5352.40 we paid for our airline tickets. Im not sure if you know this, but enlisted Active Duty members do not get paid all that much. So to make us fork out $4,774.40 of our own money traveling to a new duty station you sent us to (because you denied us boarding on the military flight we were suppose to be on) is absolutely ridiculous. It is not something we just have lying around to throw out the dang window. Which is another reason for writing this post, so maybe somebody, somewhere, knows the right person to make it happen that we can get paid back.

That’s where you come in, I’m asking that you please share my post on your social media account so maybe it will get seen by the right person who can somehow make a difference in our situation. We are now settled in England and absolutely loving it, but I would really love to finally resolve this financial issue/burden and be able to move on.

Sincerely,
a very frustrated military spouse