Housing and Allowances at MCAS Iwakuni

Housing

New info as of 4/20/2001 (thanks for the "head's up", Capt.!): There are now 9 midrise units, with a 10th scheduled to be completed in 2002. The Northside townhouses, which were NOT fenced when we lived in them, have now been fenced! Fencing is also being added in front for the upstairs units of the Monzen 2 Bdrms. I also read that garden plots are still available, if you are interested in growing veggies for yourself this season! Call x6817 or e-mail gilmours@iwakuni.usmc.mil

Per the handbook, "Community Standards- MCAS Iwakuni":

"Assignments- Waiting lists of applicants are maintained by grade category and bedroom entitlement in chronological order by control dates. The member at the top of the waiting list will be offered the first available unit appropriate for their grade and family size. Any quarters voluntarily accepted will be considered adequate for that occupant.

Unit Size- The number of bedrooms that a member is entitled to is based on the member's family size. Each dependent other than the spouse should normally be assigned one bedroom. Field grade officers and equivalents and enlisted personnel in pay grades E-8 and E-9 are entitled to a minimum of three bedrooms based on grade, regardless of family size.

Refusal of Assignment- Applicants will be offered the first unit that becomes available for their bedroom eligibility. The applicant has the option to refuse the first offer and will remain at the same position on the waiting list but his TLA/TQSA will be terminated. At initial refusal, the applicant may indicate a preference for either a midrise or a townhouse. This preference can not be changed for a period of one year once elected. When offered a second selection, the sponsor must accept the quarters or his name will be removed from the waiting list."

From "CURRENT HOUSING INFORMATION", dated 27 JAN 99

Estimated time on waiting list (in months)

Note that this can change drastically on an almost daily basis- I include this only as a guideline- for the most current info, contact the Housing Office directly, by phone, mail or e-mail. This is only a guess-timate (and not mine, at that).

Median Private Sector Rental Costs (in U.S. Dollars)

Average Wait for Private Sector Quarters (in weeks)

Square Footage of (on-base) Housing Units

The amount of time you are allowed in the TLF has been reduced, to NO MORE THAN 60 days. You will notice, too, that the waiting times for houses in town indicates that if you want more than a 2 bedroom, you will be waiting longer than the 60 days you are allowed, on average. This means you may well have to accept a 1 or 2 bdrm., and continue to look in town for a 3 or 4 bedroom, then move a fourth time, into base housing when it finally becomes available! Housing is reccommending non-concurrent travel; ie., your active duty member comes over and stays in the barracks until housing is available for the family, then sends for you. This would probably be what I would do, given that as many as 4 moves in a year or less would have me on Prozac!!! You should realize though, that your seperation may be as long, or almost as long, as an unaccompanied tour. Unless you really want to see Japan, it may not be worth it. Just one of those little decisions you have to make in military life :-) Housing reccomends that you bring your washer and ELECTRIC dryer, as these are not provided. There are no accomodations for gas dryers. Fridges are provided in on-base housing. If you KNOW you'll want to stay out in town, "on the economy", you should probably NOT bring your washer and dryer... the Japanese houses won't support them, and you'll need to get a Japanese appliance, perhaps used. The base will provide stoves, refrigerators, and transformers (no more than 3) for the duration of your stay off-base.

Official sources will try at every turn to convince you NOT to bring your pet to Iwakuni. If leaving your pet behind is a reasonable idea for you, you should probably listen to them- pets can make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find off-base housing, and your wait for on-base housing will likely be a lot longer (and you cannot keep them in the TLF). There is a chance that the veterinary clinic will know of someone willing to give temporary foster care to PCS'ing pets, since they asked for interested folks to give them a call at DSN 253-3588. You might also want to consider shipping your pets from the states AFTER you have obtained housing (my understanding is that this can cost several times more, because they are treated as unaccompanied baggage by the airlines). I will say, though, without recommending any course of action, that we brought our cat, whom we consider part of the family, and many people DO successfully bring pets to Iwakuni. I guess it depends on how much sacrifice you are willing to do to keep your pet with you. Anyway, the mid-rises (apartment style housing), which make up approximately 60% or more of the on-base family housing here, do NOT allow fur-bearing animals. The townhouses do, but the yards are rather small, though the size of yards varies a lot.

Floor Plans:

I scanned in one floor plan, to e-mail to someone who requested more information; I put it up on this page and added more. This is all I have, for now. I got these at the housing office, by the way. They're all different; some are a little easier to read than others.

TOWNHOUSES (Even though these say Monzen, they appear to be essentially the same thing we have over here on Northside):

• Monzen Townhouse 2 Bdrm B & D (GIF, approx 12K) For A & C units, the floor plan would be reversed.
• PH-1 Monzen Townhouse 3-Bdrm A & C (GIF Image, approx. 18K) For B & D units, the floor plan would be reversed.
• Monzen and Phase Two 4-Bdrm Townhouse (GIF, approx. 11K)

MIDRISES:

• Midrise 656- A 2-Bdrm Apartment Bldg. (GIF, approx. 11K)
• Midrise Floor Plan (3 Bdrm.) (GIF, approx. 10K)

Allowances

COLA/OHA, MIHA, Rent Ceilings, Utilities and Recurring Maintenance Allowances

There was a chart here, but it was outdated, so I took it off. You can get current, allowance information, based on your family size, rank, etc., at the DFAS link below. The location code you will need for MCAS Iwakuni is JA019.

Your allowance while waiting for housing is called TLA (Temporary Lodging Allowance). You are granted TLA in 10 day increments, while living in the TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility). Iwakuni is authorized up to 60 days TLA; extensions will only be granted in certain cases with extenuating circumstances. An August '97 message detailed TLA changes for MCAS Iwakuni:
"Under the New Order recipients of "Arrival TLA" must:

1. Complete a minimum of 5 bona fide housing searches** in the first 10 day TLA period.
2. Complete a minimum of 20 bona fide housing searches** in the second and all subsequent 10 day TLA periods.
3. Submit paperwork (Receipts and Housing Search Form) to Station Adjutant Office within 3 working days of the completion of any TLA period.

The Movers

Moving services for MCAS personnel are taken care of by Fukuoka Soko, Co. LTD. (I am still in possesion of numerous boxes with their name!) Gotta say, they are very careful... excessive use of bubblewrap is the norm :-) Here's a couple photos from our move-out...

For info on weight allowances, etc., see the Relocation link below.

Links to other sites on the Web

MCAS Iwakuni OFFICIAL Housing Page! There is a lot of useful info on the new page, especially that dealing with "living on the economy" here. And there is an e-mail address for further questions! :-) I'm very glad to see the info made available!
Defense Finance and Accounting Service: Military Pay Oh, Boy!!! This site is a dream come true! For all those who want current COLA/OHA info, it's here, updated biweekly, and personalized for you! You can also look at Military pay charts, etc.
Defense Finance and Accounting Service The top page, just in case you want information on Civilian pay, or other info not covered under Military pay!
MCAS Iwakuni Relocation Information This page has your weight allowances, and other info needed when you PCS to Iwakuni

© 1999 usmcspencers@usa.net