Change is a fact of life, and part of military life is changing commands. This entails a Sailor and his family to uproot themselves from their home and move to another part of the country or the world.

Naval Station Everett’s housing program is one of the many programs and services provided to Sailors to help make their transition as easy as possible.

“Housing should be your first phone call when you find out about a new duty station,” said Family Housing lead, Vern Little. “You should touch base with housing as soon as you receive your orders, and get in touch with housing as soon as you arrive in the area. If you don’t, you’re losing opportunities and will never know what we have to offer until after the fact.”

For Sailors with a family, the family housing office offers a multitude of options for finding the perfect home.

“My team makes sure military families making a permanent change of station (PCS) are provided with as much information available so that they can find the right home and services they need,” Little said.

In February 2005, Navy Family Housing in the Northwest became privatized, with the exception of Naval Base Kitsap’s Jackson Park. Privatization provides a quicker solution for renovating and replacing aging military family housing. The Northwest region has formed partnerships through Public-Private Venture (PPV) housing with Forest City Military Communities and Carroll’s Creek Landing to provide this service.

“My family and I absolutely love our home,” said Electronic Technician 2nd Class Robert Quanbeck, who lives in Forest City’s Constitution Park in Lake Stevens. “Base housing was so much help to us when we needed a bigger house to better accommodate the arrival of our second child.”

If the Sailor does not want, or qualify for PPV housing, there are other programs available to help find a home out in town.

The Rental Partnership Program (RPP), available in the NAVSTA Everett and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island areas, establishes a new relationship between the Navy and local private property owners. RPP is designed to help military families find affordable, secure, quality off-base rental property at their new duty stations.

Housing also can refer Sailors to the Automated Housing Referral Network (AHRN) as an option for finding a home out in town.  AHRN, sponsored by the DoD, is designed to improve the process of securing available housing for relocating military members and their families. AHRN serves military members who are looking to find, rent, buy, or sell a home as well as Property managers, landlords, and temporary lodging managers looking to list their available properties.

“We care for our Sailors and their families,” said Little. “We truly want to give them as much help as we possibly can because we are here for them.”

Housing does not only cater to senior Sailors, and those with families either. Bachelor housing is there for the single, junior enlisted members as well.

Bachelor housing focuses more on providing for single Sailors in the paygrades E4 or lower, and who have been in the service for less than four years. 

NAVSTA Everett has four BEQ buildings and every barracks room is equipped to allow each Sailor a bed and basic furniture such as a dresser, desk, chair and television. 

Shore-based Sailors can apply for a barracks room by going to the Charles Luke Milam BEQ on base. Shipboard Sailors must be recommended by their Chain of Command in order to live in the BEQ.

For more information on the region’s housing program and the services available, go to: http://www.navylifepnw.com{{PERIOD}}