Though you’ve known the day might come since the moment you enlisted, preparing for your deployment still comprises a daunting assortment of tasks that you need to complete before you go. Deciding how to prepare for your deployment involves a series of deeply personal decisions, some of which can be challenging and full of profound reckoning about your future. Here are just a few of the decisions you’ll have to make, along with some steps you can take to stay in a clear, positive, and optimistic mindset as you prepare. Decide which of these steps belong on your personal checklist.

Prepare Emotionally

Before we get into the details of paperwork and bureaucracy, emotional preparation for deployment is perhaps the most critical item on the to-do list. Not only will your deployment most likely represent the most significant change in your life thus far, but it will also result in a momentous change in your loved ones’ lives. Strengthening your bond with your spouse or partner and members of your family is deeply important before your departure—not just for you but for them as well.

From the moment you learn you’re heading out to the moment you leave, time is finite, and you should try to make the most of the time you have remaining with the people in your life who matter most. Plan some outings and day trips that everyone will remember fondly, set apart activity time at home, and try to enjoy a full spectrum of experiences before you have to say goodbye for a while. Keep communication open with your spouse or partner, and don’t be afraid to discuss your worries, fears, anger, sadness, or any other emotions you’re wrestling with as deployment looms. Resist the urge to prepare for deployment by receding within yourself and prematurely taking yourself away from your loved ones—you’ll likely regret the wasted time after you’re gone.

Power of Attorney

Even while you’re going about meeting your emotional and familial needs, there are some instances where you’ll have to get down to business and put pen to paper before you go. One such example is determining a power of attorney in your absence. Granting another person power of attorney gives them the ability to make certain legal and financial decisions on your behalf while you are unable to do so—in this case, due to your deployment. Such decisions can include buying and selling real estate, making investments in stocks and bonds, and managing your bank accounts.

Granting power of attorney to your spouse can help them manage the household in your absence and allow them to secure military benefits, such as government housing and healthcare plans, for members of your immediate family. The durations and conditions of POA documents vary. They may last a specific period (such as the duration of your deployment), or they can be indefinite, up to and including the event of incapacitation. Moreover, if you wish to include power of attorney over only specific decisions and not others, this is also an option. Consult with your spouse or partner to determine which course of action is best for you and your family.

Money Matters

Make sure you take full account of your finances before you go. Determine whether you have any outstanding debts to pay and how much money will be going out against what’s coming in. While you do earn money while you’re away from home serving your country, the expenses on the home front don’t abate. Set up a plan to ensure that someone will take care of paying these necessary expenses and that the accounts you have in place before deployment will remain in service while you serve. This is why outlining a power-of-attorney document, as outlined above, is so important.

When possible, switch to automatic bill pay for utilities and internet, but check the expiration dates of your credit cards—you don’t want to find that one or more of your cards have expired while you’re away and can’t attend to the matter yourself. Set up an appointment with your insurance agent to determine ways to reduce your insurance costs in your absence. With one fewer driver in the household, you may be able to temporarily cut down on monthly insurance fees and keep more money in your bank account. The same goes for cell phone service—if you’re going someplace where you won’t need or have access to your phone, you can temporarily suspend service and, in turn, reduce your monthly phone bill.

Finally, though it may seem prohibitively morbid as deployment weighs on your mind, don’t leave for your first tour without writing or updating your will. You may have new children to include or changing situations concerning legal guardianship in your stead. Not only does a will determine who will inherit your estate, but it’s also necessary to set out who will look after members of your family if you’re gone.

Make Any Last-Minute Purchases

In civilian life, you probably became quite familiar with the impulse section of the grocery store. Just as you’re ready to check out, there are a few items, such as candy and magazines, on display in case you think you forgot them on your way out. The impulse section of preparing for deployment is quite a bit less frivolous than candy bars and celebrity tabloids, though. Anything you decide to pick up in the waning moments before you leave for your deployment will most likely be relevant to how to prepare for your deployment.

Our military uniform store features apparel and accessories that you may need wherever you may go—and some gear that can be just as useful when you return to civilian life. Once you’ve drafted and completed your checklist, visit our online store to see what you still may need before the big trip ahead. When the day comes to say goodbye, having the peace of mind that you’re leaving with absolutely everything to need will lay to rest some of the worst anxieties you may harbor about deployment.