Seeking custody in move-away case

[Bunjea]

I am a father of 2 beautiful children. I am also active duty military. I have been stationed overseas for 2 years of a 3 year tour. When I accepted the orders to go overseas it was with the belief that my ex-wife understood that I fully intended to return to the area in which we both lived when I left. I also believed she understood that I would want to return to our previous agreement of having the children 50% of the time when I returned to the area. Unfortunately over time she has come to believe that I gave her sole custody of the children. She is also losing her job and, I believe, is using child support as a means to supplement her income, despite being remarried and relying also on her new husband's income. She made it clear to me that she had no intention of seeking employment after her termination with the military. Now she wants to move the children out of state. Not just out of state, but across the country. I believe she is doing this because: 1) She wants to continue to use child support as a source of income rather than seeking employment, and 2) she wants to keep the children as far from me as possible. I believe she wants the children to favor her and her new husband over me, and by maintaining as great a distance as she can between my children and me, she stands a better chance of making that happen. I am not interested in being my children's favorite parent. I just want to be their father. I have asked for and received an early return to the US, and want to pursue orders to prevent my ex from moving the children out of state. I also want to pursue custody if she chooses to move out of state anyway. I have a new spouse and step-children, which is essentially the same situation my ex now has with her new family. Her husband's daughter resides with them full-time. My children have expressed a desire to spend more time with me, and I have this in writing in the form of emails and letters from the children. I do not have enough money to retain an attorney due to the high amount of child support I am being forced to pay. My ex receives over 1/4th of my monthly gross income. My spouse is unable to work in her professional field in the duty station in which we live, and would not earn enough to even pay for child care in the available fields here. On return to the States (probably mid-July 2004) she will be able to return to her profession and contribute to the family's income, but my ex wants to move the children in August, so I need to move quickly. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!