Families facing permanent changes of station should find the going easier, under improvements made to the system of shipping personal household goods. The U.S. Transportation Command, the lead agency in handling such moves, is adopting a new automated process of scheduling, tracking, invoicing, and filing claims relating to household goods. The change should provide better levels of protection and recourse in the event of lost or damaged goods, officials said. In addition, families will be able to make arrangements for moves from their home computers at any time of the day or night, and file and track damage claims online as well. At present, the new arrangement applies only to moves handled by the Defense Personal Property System. Moves that involve overseas shipments or long-term storage will not be affected until sometime in 2017.
