For Newcomers

New in town? Check out Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation's weekly Community Readiness Expo, or CRE, held at the 604 Banquet Center on Schofield Barracks every Thursday from 9-11 a.m. The interactive orientation allows you and your family to learn about Army community resources from service agency representatives.

Want more info? Check out the Relocation Readiness Program at https://hawaii.armymwr.com/programs/relocation-readiness-program.

All Soldiers to Hawaii must report to the U.S. Army Hawaii Replacement Company Airport Liaison desk near baggage Claim 19 at the Honolulu International Airport.

Soldiers should have a copy of their orders bringing them to Hawaii, leave form, personally owned vehicle shipment form and flight itinerary, which lists all dependents.

For more information, visit the Replacement Company's webpage.

If you plan to bring pets to Hawaii, begin planning as soon as possible to minimize the time your pet may be required to be quarantined.

For the latest on quarantine information, visit Hawaii's Department of Agriculture's Animal Quarantine website.

Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation operates a pet kennel in Halawa Valley near Aliamanu Military Reservation and Aloha Stadium.

Certain breeds are not allowed on Army installations, and there are rules and regulations regarding owning pets in post housing. All applicable policies can be found on the Command Publications page.

After you arrive in Hawaii, the Army's Veterinary Corps can provide services for your pet(s) at one of their four veterinary facilities on Oahu.

For families with children ages 4 weeks-5th grade requiring child care in Hawaii, requests for care must be submitted online at through https://militarychildcare.com/. Child care is available at Child Development Centers or Family Child Care homes.

Requests for care may be made in advance and is highly recommended to prevent a delay of services when you arrive on island.

Fee-assistance is provided for eligible military families who are unable to access on-post child care. For more information, visit Child Care Aware ⚠ or contact Parent & Outreach Services.

For information on programs offered by Child and Youth Services, to include day care, school age care and teen center programs, visit https://hawaii.armymwr.com/categories/cys-services.

Dependent children can attend public, private or charter schools in Hawaii.

Public schools are run by Hawaii's Department of Education. The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools has information on private schools.

The Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation's School Liaison Office coordinates and assists Army school-age youth with educational opportunities and information necessary to achieve academic success.

Incoming spouses can find information on education geared towards them from the Employment Readiness Program under the "Resources and Information" and the "Career Research and Education Links" drop downs.

Soldiers can find information on continuing education on the Education Center's website.

For information on programs offered by Child & Youth Services, to include day care and the School Liaison Office, call (808) 655-8326 or visit their website.

For more information about employment for dependents, please visit the Employment Opportunities page.

Spouses of Soldiers may be eligible for reimbursement of qualified state relicensing fees that result from a permanent change of station or assignment to a different state. Visit the Spouse Reimbursement Program page for more information.

The Army in Hawaii focuses on energy conservation efforts through technology, partnerships and personal accountability to reduce consumption so the Army can efficiently and effectively execute missions today and in the future.

All Soldiers, families, residents and civilians have a personal responsibility to enforce directives to ensure energy and environmental conservation and sustainability for the future.

In an effort to encourage the efficient use of energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense established a utility consumption responsibility policy that holds the Soldiers and their families responsible for the utilities they use in on-post housing.

As of March 1, 2019, the utility billing program has been suspended pending a Department of the Army review. Residents will still receive mock bills so they can monitor their usage, but will not be charged for above-average use, or refunded for below-average use.

The Joint Personal Property Shipping Office at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam handles all processing for temporary storage and/or delivery of your personal property once it arrives on island. You can reach them at (808) 473-7760.

Incoming Soldiers and civilian employees can learn more about and manage their move at https://move.mil/, the Department of Defense's official customer moving portal.

The Surface Deployment and Distribution Command handles all privately owned vehicle shipments. Incoming personnel can track the status of their vehicle shipment online at https://www.pcsmypov.com/⚠.

For Soldiers and families relocating to Hawaii, temporary lodging and housing is available both on and off post.

Visit the Army Housing Online User Services website for more information on Army Family Housing, Residential Community Initiative Housing, Housing Services Office, and Unaccompanied Personnel Housing.

The Army's on post housing partner is Island Palm Communities ⚠. Other on post housing partners on island include Hickam Communities ⚠, Ohana Navy Communities⚠ and Marine Corps Communities ⚠.

Please note some Army housing areas are not on installations or areas that are guarded 24/7. These include Aliamanu Military Reservation, Helemano Military Reservation, Mendonca Park (near Schofield Barracks) and Red Hill.

If you and your family are interested in living off-post, you can search for available rental properties at https://www.homes.mil/.

If you and your family are moving to Hawaii, work with your health care provider, whether Tricare (service members and their families) or another provider (civilians), before you arrive to ensure a seamless transition in care.

Visit our health care page for more information about medical and dental care in Hawaii.

The U.S. Army Hawaii Religious Support Office provides religious worship and education opportunities for service members and their family on the island of Oahu.

For a list of worship, education, fellowship and other services, visit https://home.army.mil/hawaii/index.php/garrison/rso.

For emergency chaplain support, please call (808) 656-3272.

U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii is very similar to other Army installations and has an on-post commissary, main exchange, restaurants and express stores (shoppettes).

Due to being spread out over 22 installations, depending on where you live, it may be closer to utilize another branch of service's on-post amenities.

Both the Hickam and Schofield Barracks exchanges offer curbside pickup.

• Commissary
• Post Exchange & other AAFES facilities

Hawaii's natural resources are very beautiful - but also can be very deadly. Make sure you and your family are prepared:

• Local Hazards Course courtesy of the Garrison Safety Office
• Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources: Health and Safety website
• City and County of Honolulu's Department of Emergency Services: Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services website
• Hawaii Lifeguard Association: Hawaii Beach Safety website ⚠

Requesting a sponsor is one of the wisest pre-move decision you will make during this important transition.

Service members must request a sponsor online through the Total Army Sponsorship Program.

Civilian employees will be assigned a sponsor from the office that hired them.

If you have not been contacted by your sponsor, reach out and contact your gaining unit or organization's sponsorship coordinator.

Moving with children? Request a youth sponsor from Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation's School Support Services program.

Personally-owned firearms must be registered with the state of Hawaii and either the Schofield Barracks Provost Marshal Office or the Fort Shafter Provost Marshal Office with 72 hours of arrival.

Visit the Directorate of Emergency Services page to learn more.