Flying Space A

Who wants to know anything about Space A flying? Ok who doesn't want to know??? If you have never flown Space A (formally called MAC Flights) I'm sure you have a LOT of questions. I know I did. Well I just took a little trip across the Atlantic Ocean, and along the way I asked questions and I'm hoping I can answer some of yours!

Before I give you the Q and A, I'll tell you a little bit about my experience.

First step, Marito asked to get a Command Sponsorship Letter for me, and he also asked to receive an EML form (which boosts you up a category). After receiving the proper documents we went to the Terminal on base to register for the flight back to Norfolk. You can call and ask when flights "typically" are scheduled to your destination, but they aren't confirmed until 72 hours prior.

When registering for the flight, you need to ask "When is roll call?" Roll call is when they announce who has made the flight. You need to be checked in BEFORE this time or your name will drop to the bottom of the list- no matter what category you are.

I didn't know if I had made the flight until an hour before boarding time, but I asked the clerk how many empty seats their were on the plane and how many people were registered for the flight. It gives you a ball park idea if you are going to make the flight. YOU NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE!

The flight was a regular Chartered Commercial Airline (Omni Air and North American Air)- so you're not sitting in the back of a military plane but you can catch flights on some of those to certain locations.



Let me break down your timeline if you were to catch a flight from Naples to Norfolk and back

Friday morning (day of flight)

• Check in no later than 0930 at the INFORMATION Desk.  (Time changed to OPSEC purposes)
• Listen for you name to be called around 1000, then proceed to the CHECK IN Desk with your luggage.
• If you are PCSing you can skip the Info Desk.
• The flight is $29.10 currently (I don't know if they take credit card, but exact change is preferred)
• 1100 you will board your flight
• 1205 is take off.
• Stop in Lajes, Azores, Portugal five hours after take off.
• Exit plane onto runway to board a bus which will take you to the Terminal while the plane refuels and is loaded with fresh food.
• The Layover is approx 2 hours
• Board the plane for a 6 hour flight to Norfolk, Va.
• You will arrive in Norfolk around 1900
• You must go through customs, so please fill out a customs card (flight attendants pass them out)

Tuesday night (almost 2 weeks later)

• Check in no later than 1900 at the information desk
• When name is called, go to check in and get your ticket.
• The cost is $16.10
• Board and hour before take off
• Take off is at 2120
• Fly for 4 hours and 15 minutes to Lajes.
• Two hour layover
• Fly 4 hours and 15 minutes to Naples.
• No custom form was given on my flight back nor was I asked to present one when I arrived here.

Ok! Now for some Q and A. Below is the "dummy version" that I wrote. The proper answers are located on a PDF that you can open up at this link! The Air Mobility Command website is found here, and the links on the left side are VERY helpful.

What is Space A you ask?

Space A means Space Available. If there are any empty seats on a military flight about 2 hours before take off, there is "space available" thus allowing the terminal to give those seats away to people wanting to travel.

How do I sign up for a flight?

Your sponsor must first get you a Unaccompanied Command Sponsorship Letter. Simply go to admin and ask for one. It will then go up the chain of command. This allows you to fly on a military flight, without your sponsor WHILE STATIONED OVERSEAS. Then you can email/call your terminal that you want to book a flight with, or you can personally go to the terminal with your proper documentation and book a flight.

Along with a Sponsorship Letter, you can also get Environmental Morale Leave (EML) and/or Emergency Leave. Not sure about Emergency Leave, but EML is granted twice a year per family. Meaning since I took EML leave to go to the states, as a family, my husband and I have one EML left for the year. I can go with out him, him without me, or together. Flying under EML or Emergency Leave boosts you up a category. For more info on categories see below.

How much luggage can I bring?

You can CHECK TWO bags up to 70 pounds per person. Families can pool their luggage together as long as the total is not over the allotted amount. Each person is also allowed one carry on and one personal piece of luggage (purse, briefcase etc.) You cannot have or pay for excess luggage unless you are on duty status.

Can I bring my Pets?

No. DOD has pet shipment for families undergoing PCS.

Is Space A Free?
 
No. There are fees. For Instance when I flew from Naples to Norfolk the flight cost $29.10, and the flight back to Naples only cost $16.10.

When is the best time to fly?

Any time other than peak holiday and travel seasons (Dec-Jan, June-Aug)

What are the Categories?

Cat I- Emergency Travel, Uniformed Service family members whose sponsor is overseas and there is an emergency in CONUS, full time, paid personnel for American Red Cross serving overseas, and US civilian citizens of DOD serving overseas.

Cat II- Sponsors on EML with their family members (sponsor must also be on ordinary leave), DOD Dependent School Teachers and their accompanied family members on EML during school holidays and vacations.

Cat III- Military members on TDY while house hunting, military members on ordinary or reenlistment leave status, uniformed service patients on convalescent leave, dependents of military members deployed for 365 consecutive days or more.

Cat IV- Unaccompanied family members (18+ yrs) traveling on EML orders (under 18 must be accompanied), DODDS teachers or family members traveling in EML status during summer break, dependents of military members deployed for 120 consecutive days.

Cat V- students whose sponsor is station in Alaska or Hawaii, students enrolled in trade school in CONUS when sponsor is stationed overseas, military members traveling TDY for other than house hunting, unaccompanied military dependents  (18+) stationed overseas traveling CONUS and return- must have Command Sponsorship Letter which is valid for 90 days and one round trip.

Cat VI- National Guard/Reservists who are on the Active Status List and retired members (and their family when accompanied) who are issued DD Form 2.


Now that I have overloaded your brain with information, take into consideration that if you fly Space A, you are NOT guaranteed a seat. You need patience and flexibility, especially if you can't make it to your final destination.

It was wonderful to be able to pick up and go on this flight back "home" and I encourage everyone to attempt to fly Space A, but don't rely on this method if you MUST get back to the States. I hope this helps answer some of y'alls questions.

HAPPY TRAVELS!

Christmas Markets, Accidents, Parties and more

Hey Ya'll!! Happy New Year! I am so sorry I haven't written in so long. This girl needed a mental break, but I have a few stories to fill you in with. So please bear with the long post- I'll do my best to keep you entertained! Lots of pictures in this post! You have been warned.

I left off talking about the Costa Concordia, and the trip my mom and I took out there. I can't believe a full year has almost passed since the disaster. Two people are still yet to be found, and the ship is still there. I do recommend a quick day or weekend trip out there to Giglio Island- it's a story you will have with you for the rest of your life.

After Mom left to go back home the holidays came in, and so did my 25th Birthday! As my birthday/Christmas present from Marito we took a USO Tour to Germany and Austria to experience the Christmas markets. We took a 14 hour bus ride overnight to Garmish, Germany where we stayed at Edleweiss (the military only resort). From there we headed straight to Munich to walk through our first Christmas Market.

Let me tell you, Germany is a gorgeous country. Clean, crisp, and beautiful. Our tour guide, Oscar, walked us through town to get to our destination, pointed out some good restaurants and places to shop and then set us loose. The first spot on our list was lunch. Marito, myself and some new friends made our way to the Hofbrauhaus Brewery to get a taste of local cuisine. I am not a big beer drinker... who am I kidding? I barely like Apple Cider "Beer" but being in Germany I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try a German beer. So I ordered the fruitiest beer there and Marito ordered the darkest. I took my two sips and was good! Still not a beer drinker I guess. We feasted on a sausage platter, and sauerkraut. It was as delicious as everyone claims it to be.









We made our way back to the markets and got a mug of Gluewein (mulled, spiced wine). It was just ok, but apparently I went to the wrong stand to get the good stuff. The stands give you gluewein in a mug that you can keep, or return the mug and get 2 Euros back. Marito wanted to keep the mug, but I didn't want to keep a mug from a not so delicious Gluewein stand! Do you blame me?! We will get another one later.


It snowed in Munich, which was awesome. Thick heavy snow, Christmas markets, warm Gluewein, being in Germany with my husband, it was one of those perfect memories that if there was music playing it could have been in a movie. My heart was soooo happy!

The next day we went to Salzburg, Austria, and in my opinion has the best market. Marito, Oscar, some friends and I went to a little place to grab lunch and kill time, then it was off to go shopping. I bought so much STUFF! Christmas ornaments, nutcrackers, cutesy decorations for my house! Oh and CHOCOLATE! Mozart chocolate everywhere! Don't look at me weird when I tell you that I spent 40 Euros on chocolate alone! And of course I didn't eat it all! I ate about half and had the rest as a dish for a Christmas party! I also tried Gluewein again, and it was much better. I am not a big wine drinker, and I thought it was a very nice winter drink. It definitely kept my fingers warm. Even beer drinkers like gleuwein, so when you are in the Germany/Austria area during the winter time, I urge you to try it! Oh! And keep the cup!

Edleweiss was very nice and WARM! Do you know what heat means in the winter time? It is so precious when you live in Naples because it costs so much to heat your house. We had a day off, where you can go skiing, walk around the town of Garmish or do as I did... sleep in and get a massage. I will never go back to a normal massage, after having a Hot Stone Massage. Oh Em GEE! It was phenomenal! I highly recommend one to everyone! A group of us from the tour went out to dinner at an authentic German restaurant and feasted on some amazing food. Don't ask me what I ate, I just know it was finger licking good!

The day we left to head back home, we stopped in Innsbruck, Austria, a picturesque town at the foot of the mountains. Again, I bought more chocolate. Don't judge me. The bus ride back was long and torturous, but it was a lesson learned- check to see if it is a bus ride or a flight! 14 hour bus rides are NOT comfortable. But over all it was a great experience and a wonderful birthday gift.



To continue the birthday celebrations, I have been working with the Hotel Agora to throw an Ugly Sweater party to celebrate the reason for the season and the slew of Sagittarius birthdays. It was potluck style, Trap Neuter and Release brought door prizes and we were able to fund raise for them. They were able to fix 3 female dogs with the donations they received. The local markets had tons of ugly sweaters, my girlfriends and I had a blast digging for gold. I swear the vendors should have paid us to take these sweaters off their hands, but for 1 Euro or 2 it wasn't a bad deal and made us laugh. We had a fantastic turnout, and some seriously U-G-L-Y sweaters! I am pretty sure we will have to do this again next year because it was a superb time.

A few days before hand, one of my girlfriends and I braved Christmas Alley. We didn't take the metro, instead we drove my big ole SUV through downtown and inevitably we drove down Christmas Alley. The streets were packed, and how I didn't hit anyone is a miracle. It was pretty interesting to see the different shops there, but pretty much everything for sale was either a magnent, an ornament or a nativity scene. I am glad to have gone though, so I know what to expect. Nothing really worth getting but like I said, interesting to check out and be in the athmosphere.

On the way home from Christmas Alley we saw a bright rainbow. Double rainbow at that! And if you want a good laugh check out this Double Rainbow Youtube video. With this rainbow being all the way across the sky, full arch, and so vivid, we were geeking out! No, like seriously geeking out! We actually pulled over on the Tange and took a picture. Then we decided to follow it to see if we could find where it ends, who knows maybe we will find a pot of gold. As we get off the interstate, we notice that it looks like it ends at Ipercoop (a mall). So like the women we are, we of course take a picture of the rainbow ending at the mall and then went shoe shopping!

Just two days before Christmas I get a text from a friend who lives a couple of parcos down, her husband was in a car accident. Before she could ask for me to come get her I was out the door. Fortunately he was ok, and so was the other driver but they didn't have the number to call base and get help. Marito works for Dispatch (911) so I was able to call and get the process started. If you are in an accident here is your to do list:

• Call Dispatch- 081-568-4911
• Get the Insurance information from the other driver

Dispatch has Local Nationals (some really cool and nice people by the way) who speak both English and Italian. So they can talk to you, and they can talk to the person you were in an accident with. They will ask you if you need a Tow Truck- from Lago Patria to Support Site it is 100 Euros. Make sure you ask for a receipt because your insurance company will probably pay you back for it. They will also send out the Carabineri. If there is no injury they will not come out. I recommend you say "yes there is an injury" because, better safe than sorry. Besides, the Carabineri work closely with the Military. Now here is the kicker, my friend is Canadian and the person he was in an accident with was from Bulgaria, so it made things a bit complicated. India 7 (another form of police) was called to come out, but they had a higher priority to handle at the time. You want someone to be there to get your side of the story. So make sure the Carabineri come out.

After everything is said in done, you want to go to Support Site and go to the Police Station (connected to Pass and ID) to turn in your Official Statement. Hopefully no one will need this information, but it is always good to know!


The next day I had a Christmas Eve party at my house, and three cars got broken into on the street. The burglars got 10 liters of gas coupons and some CDs, they tried to steal a stereo but weren't successful. Park in people's driveways! So what you have to play musical cars when people need to leave. It's better than getting a window busted out, and the heart attack of seeing your car has been messed with. Or leave your car unlocked with nothing worth stealing in it. It is one of those risks you take, and the joys of living in Naples. Again if your vehicle gets broken into, file a report at the Police Station.

New Years came and went, but it was a New Years for the books! Naples knows how to party on New Years. It seemed like EVERY house in Naples was setting off fireworks. I can't even imagine how awesome Naples looks from the top of Mt. Vesuvius! The Hotel Agora (my home away from home) had some entertainment, food, and music for the evening. But let's not forget the fireworks. The owner must have spent a couple of grand in explosives! After majority of the citys' fireworks were done, that's when the hotels' firework started. A SOLID 20 minutes of AMAZING HUGE FIREWORKS. Not those wimpy blah fireworks. I'm talking POW POW! BOOM! It was a blast.

Now the New Year is here and it's time to start cracking down on planning trips for 2013. First on my list is Norfolk, Va. I am going home next week on a Space A flight (fingers crossed). So I will update you on the ins and outs of Space A travel.

Buon Anno!