Pre-Deployment Checklist

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Pen and paper or point and click - whichever works for you. You can print the checklist below and fill it out by hand or download it to your computer and keep track of it there.

Legal Matters

  • Consider giving Power of Attorney to someone that you trust to handle your affairs while you are deployed
  • Contact your base legal office for information on types of Power of Attorneys and advice on which one you should use
  • Contact your base legal office to assist you with updating or creating your will
  • Consider establishing a joint account with your spouse so they can more easily pay bills, buy groceries, and take care of finances
  • Review your current life insurance coverage
  • Confirm your SGLI beneficiaries and update if necessary
  • If you are currently renting and need to cancel a lease agreement, notify your property management company of your upcoming deployment
  • Understand your rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)

Legal Documents

Keeping copies of the following legal documents together and in a secure place will help your family handle certain legal issues that may arise:

  • Will
  • Power of Attorney
  • Insurance policies (Life, Health, Home, Vehicle, Flood)
  • Tax Records
  • Court orders (child support and custody documents, divorce paperwork, etc)
  • Social Security cards of each family member
  • Birth certificates of each family member
  • Marriage license
  • Passports/Visas
  • Citizenship/Naturalization paperwork
  • Vehicle titles, registrations, and inspection information
  • Copy of your most recent LES

Personal Property Matters

Home Maintenance

  • Cancel any unnecessary utilities, phone services, cable, etc.
  • Replace all smoke detector batteries
  • Change air conditioning and heating system filters
  • Check and replace any fuses in your fuse panel if necessary
  • Make sure your spouse or significant other knows how to check fuses and circuit breakers
  • Make sure your spouse or significant other knows how to turn off your water heater, water pump, furnace, and any other major household systems
  • Make any repairs or complete any maintenance that may need to be done prior to deploying

Auto Matters

  • If your vehicles will not be driven, contact GEICO to place your car or motorcycle into a Storage Protection Plan
  • Check your insurance ID cards to make sure you have the most recent copy and keep a copy of up to date ID cards in your vehicle
  • Ensure that maintenance records are up to date and kept in the vehicle
  • Complete any necessary vehicle maintenance (i.e. oil changes, transmission flushes, tires rotated, etc)
  • Make sure the spare keys to your vehicle are kept in a safe place
  • Keep an emergency roadside kit in vehicle
  • Add Emergency Road Service coverage to your insurance policy
  • Keep Emergency Road Service cards in the vehicle
  • Call GEICO and give 3rd party authorization to a trusted individual to take care of your insurance matters while you are deployed

Financial Matters

  • Notify your credit card companies that you will be deployed
  • Create a record of accounts with account information and bill due dates - maintain in a secure place for whoever is taking responsibility for bill payments
  • Set up automatic payments - have your bills paid on time automatically
  • Ensure your automatic payment account information is up to date including card numbers and expiration dates so payments can continue

Family Matters

  • Update your Emergency Data Form ("Page Two") with your family's most current contact information
  • Ensure ID cards are current for your dependants and will not expire during your deployment
  • Make sure your spouse has all necessary Tricare and dental plan information
  • Create a memory book with your family (family photos, mementos, etc)
  • Make a personal bag to bring on deployment that includes pictures of loved ones and mementos from home
  • Record a birthday greeting for your child or spouse if they will be celebrating their birthday while you are deployed
  • Look into international calling plans for your home and cell phones to help maintain contact with your family
  • Familiarize yourself and your spouse with the various options for internet chatting (i.e. Skype, Facebook chat functions, etc)
  • Set up your Skype account before you leave for your deployment to avoid having to ask a family member to do it on your behalf.
  • Check out GEICO Privileges for discounts at 1-800-Flowers, FTD Florists, and many more

Miscellaneous

  • Enroll in Paperless Policy and Paperless Billing options for easy access to policy documents
  • Create list of any computer or banking passwords your spouse or significant other may need to access
  • Create a list of important phone numbers and email addresses to bring with you on deployment

Contact Numbers

Tricare:

Dental:

Local hospital:

Doctor:

Dentist:

Ombudsman:

Red Cross:

Electric Company:

Water Company:

Sanitation:

Housing:

Relatives:

Bank/Credit Union:

Schools:

Electrician:

Plumber:

MWR:

Veterinarian:

GEICO Service Center: 1-800-MILITARY

Whether scheduled or last-minute, deployments can be very disruptive to life. Being prepared is crucial for you and your family. Go through this list now, so you won't worry about it later. Call us at 1-800-MILITARY (645-4827) today. We can help.