MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI,Japan -- Tenants in family housing can now feel a little more at ease during a permanent change of station knowing that their home will be cleaned free-of-charge by the family housing center.
Before funding was made available on Jan. 3 to pay for contract cleaning, rotating families would have to spend anywhere from two to five days and upwards of $400 to get their apartment ready for inspection.
Now, family members will only be responsible to complete a small list of basic maintenance tasks before rotating out of the Station.
In addition to making things easier on the departing family, incoming families will be able to get a home quicker, and it will be cleaned and maintained just as if it were being issued for the first time.
With the new service available, the amount of temporary lodging allowance will be shortened from 10 days to six days. However, the new service will save enough time to make up for the lost days, according to Sue Kear, family housing director.
"Since cleaning will be available to families PCSing, the time to clear their quarters will be cut, shortening the time needed for temporary lodging," said Kear.
For the remainder of this fiscal year, family housing predicts to spend up to $80,000 for the contract cleaning in the housing buildings, but, according to Kear, the Station will save money in the long run by cutting down on temporary lodging allowance.
"The cleaning is a big step in making the overseas PCS process easier, and is a big quality of life improvement for families aboard the Station," said Sally Gilmour, family housing manager.
Families getting ready to PCS can now take advantage of the free cleaning, by contacting the Family Housing Office at 253-4516 for more information.