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Pre-Deployment Checklist

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
Prepare a will.
Create a living will for you and your spouse. Once completed, be sure your spouse, relative, or friend is aware of its contents.
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
Copy of Emergency Data Card (DD Form 93)
Burial and funeral instructions
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
Review your renters/homeowners policy.
Notify your homeowners insurance company if your home will be vacant during your deployment.
Notify your renters insurance company if you are storing your belongings in a storage facility.
To ensure your mail is received, complete a temporary change of address form.
Inventory and photograph your personal property for insurance purposes.
Consider a safety deposit box to secure your high value items ($1,500 or more).
Consider a commercial storage facility to protect your personal property.

Home Maintenance
Cancel your newspaper delivery.
Cancel any unnecessary utilities, phone services, cable, etc.
If you have any weapons, make sure they are secured and out of reach within your home. Notify your spouse of their location.
Consider setting up a home security system.
If you already have home security, make sure it is in working condition. If the alarm should activate, make sure you leave instructions with a trusted friend or family member.
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.
Create a household emergency kit for your family: Flashlight Candles First Aid Kit Fire extinguisher Extra batteries Matches Electrical Tape Bottled Water Canned Food Cash

Auto Matters
If your vehicles will not be driven, contact GEICO to place your car or motorcycle into a Storage Protection Plan.
If you take your vehicle overseas or will be purchasing a vehicle overseas, check out our overseas insurance options.
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.
Create a roadside emergency kit: Flares Jack Spare Batteries First Aid Kit Blanket Flashlight Spare Tire Maps Jumper Cables Ice Scraper Tool Kit Bottled Water

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.
Due to increased overseas fraud, consider purchasing GEICO's Identity Theft Protection policy.
Record financial account numbers in a secure location and take a copy of that record with you when you deploy.
Review investment options with a financial advisor.
Discuss budgets for home and deployment expenses.
Plan for unexpected car maintenance and home repair expenses.
Consider keeping additional funds in your checking account at all times.
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 dependents and will not expire during your deployment.
Notify your children's school of your deployment.
Arrange care for your pets. Ensure veterinary records are up to date. Contact your veterinarian if someone will be taking care of your pet.
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.

Medical
Make sure your prescriptions are current.
Have a spare set of eyeglasses and/or contact lenses.
Designate a medical power of attorney for health care decisions in the event of injury.

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	(800) MILITARY (645-4827)