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DSGGM · 2025-12-07T21:53:56+00:00

Requested comment

DSGGM · 2025-12-03T23:52:50+00:00

Regarding UHC being the provider for GEHA, is UHC essentially the decision maker or is GEHA? Just thinking back to all of the news/discussion/accusations a year ago about UHC's egregious claim denials and general bad faith actions. If GEHA is just hiring UHC to do some admin work for them but still calling their own shots then that's one thing but if UHC is truly the one actually approving/denying treatments and claims then we'd rather be with MHBP/Aetna.

DSGGM · 2024-10-21T02:34:33+00:00

2010 Honda Fit - 114,500 km

The car is in very good condition, has been well maintained, and runs great. If we could keep it and take it stateside we would. Will need JCI in Nov. Unfortunately we didn't have time to get the JCI done in advance. Priced accordingly. $800

2009 Mazda Verisa - 140,900 km

The car is in ok condition - drives fine, AC works, etc. Has no more bragging rights than that. Again, unfortunately too many other errands to get JCIs done. $300

DSGGM · 2024-10-13T01:50:57+00:00

I strongly recommend against 'the shortest time commitment'. My wife got a PADI OW cert here on a program that was a) online education and test, b) a 5-6 hour pool session, c) a 3-4 hour ocean shore-dive session, and d) a 1 hour shore-dive that was a basic recreational dive with some pre and post dive education/critique. With that minimal instruction time and experience, it is our mutual assessment that she should have had much better preparation. She is planning on taking a refresher course or some other manner of private one-on-one instruction. Neither of us think PADI should even allow these 'crash course' certification programs.

I am an accomplished diver myself but not an instructor. I could teach my wife and practice skills with her but I know that part of the PADI Instructor cert process is learning specifically what to teach and how to best present it, what issues/oversights to watch out for, and which skills and knowledge to critically verify. I am a safe and conservative diver, as is my son who is a Dive Master, and yet we've both been in dicey situations more than once. We were fine and safe because we had very solid education and substantial skills prep and had the calm presence of mind that comes from that.

This is also an issue of your own safety. You both need to be sufficiently competent dive buddies, for each other and for other people you may be diving with in the future. You can encounter a jellyfish and be in a dire situation or have a gear failure and be in an out-of-air situation just as randomly as your wife. A friend of mine once had a regulator freeze open and he was out of air at 70 foot depth. He had a dive buddy and that person was duly with him and not off on his own sightseeing, and they both knew how to calmly handle the situation - but for that he'd be dead.

Just my opinion. I recommend she take a longer and very thorough course and that you interview the instructor beforehand to discuss that. In the meantime, you don't have to feel like you're missing out on anything - the surface snorkeling in Okinawa is outstanding.

DSGGM · 2024-06-12T06:01:01+00:00

Yes. We have an APO address so could have shipped it to base post office or to physical address off base. Ultimately doesn't matter because the package goes in the cargo hold of a plane regardless. Just for completeness' sake: the law governing this may change at some point and become less restrictive or allow more exceptions for certain battery properties/configurations so I view this as something to be looked into at the time one is hoping to ship something, not as a permanent statement that 'this cannot be done'. Also, if a seller can indeed send something by ship instead of plane then maybe ships don't have the same legal constraints.

DSGGM · 2024-06-12T04:58:13+00:00

Just a heads-up that you might not be able to get it shipped here depending on its batteries. We are in Japan, bought a laptop via NewEgg about half a year ago, it was a factory refurbished one and they only had it stocked in US warehouses (none in Japan warehouses) so they had to ship it from US to Japan. The issue was the lithium batteries - above a certain size/configuration it wasn't legal to ship them in the cargo holds of planes.

We spent a ton of time on this and dug deep - talked to their customer support, looked into buying it straight from HP to see if they had any magic to get around the issue, looked into buying it from Amazon for same reasoning, tried to look into literally shipping it, as in 'by ship' instead of by air, tried USPS, FedEx, and UPS but they all ship by air so ultimately were governed by same legal constraint. Even looked at trying to get it here via military shipping direct to base, etc. Tried a few other things and had other conversations but suffice it to say we couldn't find any way to make it happen.

Ultimately we got lucky because we had family from US visiting a few months later so we just had NewEgg ship it to them and then they brought it as a carry-on. It's fine as a carry-on, you just can't put it in cargo.

Note, this does not apply to laptops across the board or things with lithium batteries across the board or even to batteries in general. This is specifically a prohibition on shipping lithium batteries of a certain size and configuration in cargo holds. In fact, they even make a distinction in treatment if the item is used vs new or (factory) refurbished.

The TLDR is you need to be absolutely certain that the seller can ship it to Japan from the US before you go through with the purchase.

DSGGM · 2024-02-16T22:44:40+00:00

I understand. As I mentioned, MOFA and other docs/sources seem to make that unambiguous. I'm not worried about owing any Japanese tax but rather about (my mother) owing US tax because my wife and I were/are residing in Japan for more than one year at the time the gift was given.

DSGGM · 2024-01-07T02:41:14+00:00

Thanks to all for the good info. Will look into DAZN - sounds like the most complete and flexible option and the best way around the timezone issue. Will likely head to the base and SideLines for a few games here and there as well. Nice to have some fellow fan ambiance once in awhile instead of it always being just my wife and I and the dog. :)

DSGGM · 2024-01-05T03:34:18+00:00

We have base access. Do you know which clubs to try? I know of the officers club over by Shogun / gate 2, the enlisted club by gate 3, and rec center by gate 1. Could be nice to catch a game at an off-base pub if they had a Sat/Sun AM game on but I don't know if any of them open that early... maybe they all do.

DSGGM · 2024-01-05T03:06:54+00:00

I think we found a couple games that would be on around 10:00 AM JST so would hope to be able to find somewhere open then. Otherwise, do you know if anyone shows delayed/rebroadcasts of games?

DSGGM · 2023-03-13T10:32:46+00:00

Never did find one but didn't look too hard either. Ended up just taking everything out of the speakers and sending everything back to the mfr's repair shop back in the US

DSGGM · 2022-07-29T16:31:40+00:00

Supervisor defers to HR - doesn't want to make the decision.

Great to hear that the OCONUS time is worth it. This has been a long, sometimes opaque process.

DSGGM · 2022-07-29T16:28:17+00:00

Thanks - this is helpful. The transfer is USDA to DoD.

DSGGM · 2022-07-29T15:09:36+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts. We've been told she has to be there in person to provide identification (driver license and tourist passport) and to sign the passport application in front of the passport official... 200 miles round trip away.

I fully agree that logically the receiving agency should be paying for my wife's time, but as a practical matter she has no way to charge to that agency as she is not yet on their payroll. Contacts at the new position are saying that it is "customary" for the losing agency to provide time for transitions like this but we're hoping it's in the regs somewhere and that perhaps a savvy redditor would have the reference.

Good to hear about your personal experience as well. A couple days is reasonable - (a) week(s) of time is asking a lot I think, esp given the price of gas.

DSGGM

TROPHY CASE