Alaska Caravan for 2012?

[derald1961]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derald1961 To wit : Active Duty, Dependants, retiree's and Honorably discharged veterans with 100 percent Service-connected disability. ID is DD Form 1173 or DD Form 2765 Involuntarily separated service members under the Transition Assistance Management Program ID is DD Form 2 Personnel separated under the Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) and Special Separation Benefit (SSB) programs for two years after separation ID is DD Form 2

Sorry,I should have also included these persons that are also eligible:

Military personnel of foreign nations and their family members when assigned or attached to a U.S. military unit or installation or on U.S. Travel Orders.

U.S. employees of firms under contract to Department of Defense working in the Pacific Region outside the U.S. on Department of Defense Government orders.

Other personnel on official business with Department of Defense as may be specifically authorized by the General Manager or his designee.

ID is DD Form 1173 or 2765

Unremarried surviving spouses of personnel who died while on active duty or while in retired status ID is DD Form 1173 or 1173-1
Un-remarried former spouses who were married to military members for at least 20 years while the military member was on active duty ID is DD Form 1173

U.S. Department of Defense Civilians and Family Members Current and retired (APF and NAF) Department of Defense (DoD) and Coast Guard (CG) civilian employees. DOD or CG ID card, Retired ID card, or current Leave and Earnings Statement with photo ID required for check-in.

[sdennislee]

See tables 1 and 2 in the link below for eligibility requirements for MWR. Tables start on page 21.

http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/c...df/101510p.pdf

[djpotts50]

Good news, the deadline for signing up for the SMART Alaska Caravan has been extended to April 1, 2012. Currently 4 coaches signed up plus the wagonmaster and tailgunner. If you were concerned about the sign-up/payment date, this extension is great news.

[djpotts50]

More good news, I just checked the SMART AK Caravan webpage and they now have 7 RVs signed up plus the wagonmaster and tailgunner for a total of 9 RVs. Since they extended the sign-up date to April 1st, I think more Vets will be signing up for this caravan.

[ImagineIF]

I just sent SMART an email asking for their schedule, agenda, events, etc... We are going to AK this summer, so we may also be joining the group.

Gil J
USAF 75-95

[LKicklight]

Hello, good to hear about this trip in 2012. It is however a year earlier than we plan to go. If you are thinking about 2013, please count us in for sure.
Get back with us as we are making our serious plans at the present time. We have just recently purchased a new 5th Wheeler just of the trip, so yes we are serious.
LKicklight@aol.com

[djpotts50]

Gil - Hope to see you joining the caravan!

LKicklight - Too bad you can't make it this year. This caravan is the cheapest of all of them because the wagonmaster/tailgunner are club members that work for free. I estimated SMART charges between $250 to $500 per RV above actual expenses if you did the exact same itinerary on your own. This is the very reason I chose to join SMART and do my first RV trip to AK with a caravan full of Vets.

[LKicklight]

We do want to apply for membership in SMART. It seems we vets always get along with others of our own kind, you know what I mean. Serving in the Military always gives a bonding that others cannot fully understand.
So, let me know how and when I need to join SMART...looking forward to our trip, wish we could make it this year, but our time line with my wife's business is alreay written in blood you might say. We have a lot to do before 2013. The new 5'er is our ride to Alaska, we are still getting the bugs out of it..keep me informed on what's going on..
Regards,
Randy and Cheryl

[djpotts50]

I just checked the SMART AK Caravan webpage today and they now have 8 RVs signed up plus the wagonmaster and tailgunner for a total of 10 RVs. My caravan is now paid-in-full and started putting away some funds for the expected expensive fuel costs this summer. June 17th will be here before we know it!!!

[Ramblin]

So, is something like this open for regular folk like us, or is it only for veterans?

[djpotts50]

Ramblin;

You can go as a guest of any regular member such as myself. They do this service so that friends of regular members can join them as a traveling buddy on the caravans. You still would need to join as a "Guest Member" at a huge discount that is only good for the duration of the caravan you are going to take; this is an insurance requirement of the club. If you are eligible to join as a regular member, I would recommend that as your option. No matter which type of membership you utilize to go on the Caravan, it would be at a huge overall cost savings compared to all other caravans out there.

[djpotts50]

Here is an updated message posted on the SMART website clarifying the fact that people that are non-SMART members can sign up as Auxiliary members to join the caravans.

SMART CARAVAN TOPICS (by Craig Christen, Assistant National Travel Coordinator)

SMART 2012 Caravans still have room for more participants

Three of our 2012 SMART caravans have immediate openings for participants. We are at or slightly below minimum participants to go on some of our planned caravans. With more participants we can reduce costs and add extra caravan events. We have TRAINS, PLANES & the LAST WILD FRONTIER (ALASKA) still available for you.

Some of these may not be available again. Please look at the caravan descriptions. We are doing everything we can to make all these caravans GO. Even though some deadlines have passed, we can often still get you onto a caravan.

If you are interested in any of the 2012 SMART caravans, especially the Colorado Adventure, Alaska, or Oshkosh EAA Airshow/Wisconsin Area, we need you to contact the respective caravan wagonmaster IMMEDIATELY and submit your application and deposit to HQ SMART. Remember, you can sponsor non-SMART eligible RVing friends to go along with you on the caravans (they become Auxiliary members).

The top 5 Excuses you should not go on a SMART Caravan this year-- debunked

1. The fuel is too expensive this year
a. Fuel is not going to get any cheaper
b. Your RV is a very expensive lawn ornament if not used
c. A 25% increase in fuel prices makes less than 10% increase in total caravan costs
d. Traveling in SMART caravans offsets the higher fuel prices with lower caravan costs

2. I’ll wait until next year
a. Next year never comes
b. Your health may not hold until next year—are these on your “bucket list”
c. The caravan you want to go on may not be offered next year
d. The cost will probably be more next year
e. Many our caravans fill up early and you might not get to go next year

3. Caravans are too expensive
a. SMART caravans are the least expensive quality structured caravans by 40-50%
b. SMART gives you back any left over money
c. Wagonmasters pick quality RV parks and exciting value-packed events & tours
d. You attend more quality activities to more wisely experience your travel locations and not just waste your travel $$.

4. Caravans are too restrictive
a. You can deviate from planned route as you want
b. You have the safety net of other folks and trained wagonmasters
c. Caravans are great way to get to know an area that you are unfamiliar with
d. SMART caravans travel slowly and give you free days to do/see your own thing

5. Caravans are not fun
a. New experiences & places is more fun shared with friends
b. Traveling with folks of common military background is fun
c. Wagonmasters use experiences from other caravans to help everyone have fun
d. Just read the last few SMART Traveler magazines to see the fun we have
e. You can bring your non-SMART RVing friends along if you want

[djpotts50]

I just checked the SMART AK Caravan webpage today and they now have 10 RVs signed up plus the wagonmaster and tailgunner for a total of 12 RVs. Anyone else that is interested, still has time to join this caravan; it will be a great trip traveling with all military Vets and/or retirees. June 17th will be here before we know it!

[djpotts50]

Here is a link to a page full of Alaska Webcams. It is nice to be able to view the area up there to see how the weather looks. Should come in handy for those that are heading up there this summer.