As a group of volunteers, the Military Family Services (Europe) Advisory Committee’s primary role is to provide advice to the Senior Manager MFS Program Europe about the needs of the community and to enhance the effectiveness of the program, regardless of where families are posted throughout Europe. If you want to get involved with the MFS(E) AC, contact Sue Goddard , MFS(E) Senior Manager.
Here are a few suggestions to ease your way into a European OUTCAN posting:
MFS(E) frequently offers webinars that can help with orientation. Webinar schedules are emailed monthly. Recordings of previous webinars may also be accessed via YouTube.
Get involved! It can be overwhelming to put yourself out there and ask for help, or attend events where you don’t know anyone. However, generally speaking, the longer you wait to get involved and create a local support network, the harder it becomes. Attending local coffee mornings and community events, will help you to become familiar with your community and start building relationships. In communities which are not served by a resource centre (NSE), community members are able to volunteer to organize community events. Your Community Services Manager (CSM) is the best person to contact to initiate the process of volunteering and requesting funds for such events.
Try not to overwhelm yourself with multiple relocation tasks in one day. Going to the post office, grocery store or hair salon in your new location can take much longer than you’d expect, especially where English or French isn’t the mother language. Plan to attempt one important task per day. For example, in Italy, applying for your “Permesso di Soggiorno” (residency permit) can be a long appointment. So, scheduling something immediately following could create a timing issue and therefore, a stressful situation. Aiming for one achieved task per day allows you to focus on the current task at hand. It also provides a great sense of accomplishment when your to-do list is complete for the day!
We strongly encourage you to read the handbook relevant to your posting location. The guide is an excellent reference or even starting point for your own research. Recommendations have been made by other community members based on their experience living in your community.
Being open to new experiences and opportunities can greatly enrich your OUTCAN experience. We hope you enjoy the unique experience of living in Europe!