Shortly after the war with Iran started in late February, one military spouse was about to go back to Bahrain with her husband. Then they got a call from the U.S. Navy.
"A day before we were supposed to leave to be stationed at Bahrain together, we were told we need to go somewhere else for a short period of time, and then here we are five months later," she said.
NPR has agreed to withhold their names and location. The Navy spouse is concerned about the potential impact on her husband's career. The two of them are now living out of three duffel bags, in their seventh hotel room.
"We were at one location for a while and then, spur of the moment, sent to another location for what ended up being 10 weeks," she said. "So it's a lot of moving with very short notice, and you can't really unpack or own too much because you never know when you're going to be going somewhere else."
They're on what's called temporary duty status, so they aren't eligible for base housing or money for rent to pay for housing in the community.
U.S. bases in the region remain targets for Iran. Bahrain is less than 130 miles from Iran by sea, and ships have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. After a first story ran on NPR in April, the Navy conceded that at least 1,500 troops and their families had been ordered to evacuate the Navy base in Bahrain.
Home to the Navy's 5th Fleet, the base has been the Middle East hub for the Navy and U.S. international partners. On Jan. 12, just over a month before the evacuation, the base began a $15.8 million overhaul of the barracks for junior sailors.
Some evacuees remain in what's called their "safe havens" — places that military members and their families have designated as the place they will return to if there's an emergency overseas. Others are still moving from base to base. Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of the Fleet Forces, told NPR that the Navy hasn't released an overall plan, but reopening Bahrain to families seems unlikely in the near future.
"We're really trying to take each case individually and make sure those people are taken care of and we understand what they want. But with things heating back up over there right now, it's not an option," Thomas said.
With most of their belongings still overseas, families have had to decide whether to buy a car and replace clothing, according to advocates, sailors and family members.
"We're looking at the monetary issues and challenges for some of those families that aren't where they intended to be," Thomas said.
Some sailors and families came through Norfolk, Virginia. Hundreds have arrived in Tampa, Fla., home of U.S. Central Command. Blue Star Families, which advocates for military families, is bringing food to families living in hotels. As the school year rolls around, families with children are trying to enroll in local schools in the area. They may not have all their records, said Suzy Malloy, executive director of Blue Star's Tampa chapter.
"When the kids first arrived, we gave them backpacks and school supplies because, you know, they left so quickly they didn't think to grab all of what they needed to go back to school," she said.
Inge Michiels runs Jetpet Global, which transports animals in and out of Bahrain. Her clients include military and civilian defense workers. She still lives in Bahrain and remembers when the war began six months ago.
"The early days were quite shocking, especially since Bahrain is considered safe. It's a small island with friendly people. So when I woke up, I was literally blasted off my bed," she said.
Clients weren't prepared for the cost and paperwork involved in transporting pets out of the Middle East. It can cost several thousand dollars, and prices skyrocketed during the first few months, when flights out of Bahrain were canceled. Many people had to leave their animals behind. Pets were left with neighbors or friends and still haven't left the country.
"A lot of people are in panic mode, and our team as well. We are going under that same stress where alarms go off and deprived sleep and uncertainty," Michiels said.
The country is still under periodic attack. For most clients, she said, all she can tell them is to be patient.
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