STUTTGART, Germany—Just over one month ago, my active-duty Air Force husband and I, along with two cats, three suitcases, and an acoustic guitar, set off from Washington, D.C., for the southern German city of Stuttgart as one of many U.S. military families trying to make an overseas move during a pandemic.
Any overseas move is unpredictable and chaotic. This year, the pandemic has made it even harder. A turbulent process that began weeks, even months, before stepping on an airplane is reduced to a brief respite in purgatory—in our case, a Marriott hotel that has become our new home—where our lives are put on hold and our movements governed by local and U.S. military policies that can change in a day.
