{"id":46666,"date":"2019-03-26T23:11:50","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T23:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/26\/here-are-4-things-dod-is-doing-to-make-your-military-move-better-this-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:41:45","slug":"here-are-4-things-dod-is-doing-to-make-your-military-move-better-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/2019\/03\/26\/here-are-4-things-dod-is-doing-to-make-your-military-move-better-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Here are 4 things DoD is doing to make your military move better this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With last year\u2019s brutal moving season <\/a>looming large in the rear view mirror, defense and service officials are taking steps to improve service members\u2019 household goods moves<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That moving process affects a lot of different areas within the Defense Department, and begins with service personnel officials issuing those permanent change of station orders. This year, service officials are giving military members earlier notice of those PCS orders, which allows them to schedule their moves to their next duty station earlier, said DoD spokeswoman Heather Babb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marine Corps officials, for example, have issued PCS orders 160 days ahead of report dates. They also adjusted some screening boards and some promotion boards to earlier times, so they could issue those orders earlier. Based on what officials are hearing from the personal property offices, Marines are following advice and coming in early to set up their moves, said Brian Imler, a transportation specialist with Headquarters Marine Corps. \u201cFoot traffic has picked up drastically. Marines are coming in to set up shipments for July and August already,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service members who schedule their moves as soon as possible have a better chance of getting the move date they want, with the best movers available. The peak moving season is from May 15 to Aug. 31, and military moves are competing with those in the civilian population to get on the schedule of busy moving companies<\/a>. The DoD\u2019s personal property program moves more than 400,000 shipments for service members and civilian employees each year, and about 40 percent of those moves take place during that peak season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been an increasing shortage of commercial trucks and drivers to haul shipments, and a shortage of labor to handle the packing and loading. The shortages are getting worse, as workers leave the industry with the improving economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During last year\u2019s moving season, a number of military families complained about problems such as delays in delivering their household goods, damage to their belongings, and lack of accountability of the moving companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoD formed a cross-function team bringing together representatives from the services\u2019 personnel and logistics arenas, to identify gaps and make improvements to the household goods movement process, Babb said. That team is chaired by senior leaders \u2014 the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness and the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This team represents a fundamental shift in DoD\u2019s approach to relocation and household goods movements, Babb said, and “a commitment at the most senior levels of the department to enact meaningful change, specifically by addressing gaps between personnel and logistics processes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marine Corps had also previously formed a team to address issues after last year\u2019s peak season issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\t