{"id":47046,"date":"2018-02-13T15:39:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T15:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/13\/pcs-poll-results-readers-mixed-on-whether-dod-can-or-will-change-the-system\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:46:21","slug":"pcs-poll-results-readers-mixed-on-whether-dod-can-or-will-change-the-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/home-hq\/2018\/02\/13\/pcs-poll-results-readers-mixed-on-whether-dod-can-or-will-change-the-system\/","title":{"rendered":"PCS poll results: Readers mixed on whether DoD can, or will, change the system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While Defense Department officials have discussed slowing the rate<\/a> of military moves<\/a> in recent months, the majority of Home HQ readers don\u2019t think those talks will lead to any real change in move frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 31 percent of the respondents to a Jan. 31 poll<\/a> said they expected DoD would make changes that would limit future permanent change-of-station moves. Another 31 percent said they expected no changes, and 38 percent said changes may take place, but any new regulations won\u2019t lead to a noticeable drop in move frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army Secretary Mark Esper, one of the DoD officials who has discussed decreasing the PCS rate, recently outlined some of the reasons why that opinion split isn\u2019t unusual throughout his service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Army Secretary Mark Esper discussed possible changes to the service’s permanent change-of-station policies during a roundtable discussion Feb. 6 with service organizations at the Pentagon. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Changing duty stations too often hurts families,” Esper told a Pentagon roundtable of veteran and military service organizations Feb. 6, per an Army.mil report<\/a>. He also outlined how those moves can hurt the Army: Frequent staff changes can ruin unit cohesion, for instance, and the moves themselves cost the service money.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But without those moves, Esper said, some soldiers would suffer career stagnation. While turnover may not always help unit performance in the near term, it\u2019s necessary to ensure qualified troops move up the ladder and into assignments with greater responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\t